her feel a little woozy. Their eyes met, and she saw his lips curved in a half-smile and realized hers were, too. Then he gave her a quick wink, and it was so unexpected from autocratic Prince Rafael Moreno she gave a little breathless laugh.
“We’ll hold that thought until later, hmm, bella?” he murmured.
They walked down the corridor, and Gabby couldn’t help but stare at the number of people around. Some wore uniforms, and others were dressed in elegant clothes. There were even quite a few children, and while some occupied themselves quietly with a board game, several boys were tearing down the hall, kicking a ball and shouting.
“This looks like a hospital, and yet not,” she said to Rafael in disbelief. “Does the hospital director know this is going on?”
“I’m willing to bet he’s done this drill once or twice so, yes. Also planned ahead and put away any equipment that could be damaged by an errant kick.” His eyes twinkled. “Let’s see how our patient is doing. I’ll find out where she is.”
He stepped toward a small group of women and started speaking in some language Gabby had never heard, amazed at him and his various skills. Though she shouldn’t have been, really. Probably a prince grew up learning any number of languages. She felt embarrassed all over again at her very rudimentary knowledge of Spanish, vowing to study it more. She hadn’t needed it too much in Seattle, but speaking the language even halfway well would come in very handy in California.
“This way,” Rafael said. He didn’t lead the way, having her follow. Instead, he waited for her to join him, then pressed his hand against her lower back as they walked together.
“More of your gentlemanliness? Waiting for me?” she teased.
“Or maybe I just wanted an excuse to touch you.”
The gaze that met hers was twinkling, but hot, too, and Gabby sank her teeth into her lower lip to make sure nothing came out that shouldn’t. Something along the lines of You don’t need an excuse, which I’m pretty sure you know.
Acutely aware of that wide hand on her back, she had to wonder when she’d gone from being an efficient workaholic uninterested in dating to a woman with sex on her mind in the middle of a hospital. Though she knew the answer, and it was standing right next to her in all its six-foot-plus gorgeous glory.
When they went into the patient’s room, Gabby was in for yet another unexpected sight. The place looked more like a plush hotel room than a hospital room. Even more so than The Hollywood Hills Clinic rooms—and, since she’d always thought they seemed right out of a five-star hotel, that was saying something. This had to be one of those situations Rafael mentioned where they’d brought in furniture for their stay. A portable wall between two rooms had been removed, creating a huge space, and comfortable furniture filled the area. The bed was still a hospital bed, but it had beautiful linens, and the bedspread looked like something from a high-end furnishings magazine.
An exotic-looking woman lay in the bed, which surprised Gabby a little. Since she wasn’t connected to any monitors or IV at this point, Gabby would have expected her to be sitting in one of the deep, upholstered armchairs, but maybe she felt more comfortable lying down. Or maybe, since Rafael had said her husband was worried, everyone thought she should stay in the bed to be safe.
Rafael made introductions, then focused his attention on speaking with the Sheikh, which also surprised Gabby. Normally, getting information and history directly from the patient was important, but since Rafael knew that, it must be part of the typical protocol in this very atypical situation. Maybe this was exactly why he’d wanted her to come, so she could speak directly to the patient without going through her husband first. If she spoke English, that was.
Of course, she couldn’t deny that she hoped Rafael had wanted her along for another reason, too. Then scolded herself for having that sex subject dive back into her mind when she had work to do.
“Hello, Amala, I’m Gabby Cain, a nurse midwife from The Hollywood Hills Clinic. I understand you’re having some pain, and are worried about the baby?”
“Yes.” Thankfully, Amala spoke excellent English, and Gabby smiled in relief. “I keep having pains. Contractions, I think.”
“Have you timed them at all? To see how far apart they are?”
“No. But they happen often.”
“Okay. I’m going to take your pulse and blood pressure to check those—is that all right?” She pressed her fingers to the woman’s delicate wrist. “Tell me about the pain. Where is it, exactly?”
“My belly. Low. And down...there as well.”
The woman seemed uncomfortable even using a euphemism, and Gabby smiled wider to hopefully relax her. “The good news is that your pulse and blood pressure are normal. So, are you feeling any pain in your back? Up high in your belly?”
“No. Not my back. I am not sure about how high. But they go away sometimes if I lie down.”
Sounded like Rafael might be right about this being false labor, but it was too soon to say for sure. She glanced up to see him finishing his conversation with the Sheikh, then he came to join her on the other side of the patient’s bed.
“I’m Dr. Rafael Moreno. It’s my privilege to come see you today. I understand you’re thirty-four weeks pregnant. Can you tell me about your symptoms?”
Amala repeated what she’d told Gabby, and more as he asked additional questions. Finally, he nodded. “Let’s take a look at what baby is doing inside you, using ultrasound. You have it ready, Gabriella?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” He reached to lift the patient’s shirt over her belly, but she stopped him.
“I’d like Gabriella to do it. Please.”
The surprise on his face was gone in a blink, replaced by a calm smile. “Of course. Gabriella is excellent with ultrasound, and I can read them later as well, if you want. I’ll be back in a little bit.”
His gaze lifted from their patient and his eyes met Gabby’s. She absolutely could not control the gleeful little smile quivering on her lips that the tide had turned, and this time the patient trusted her to do the job instead of him.
Gabby slowly ran the wand through the warm jelly she’d squeezed on Amala’s abdomen, and carefully studied the pictures on the monitor. Seeing that everything looked one hundred percent normal, and that baby seemed healthy in every way, Gabby’s knees got a little jelly-like, too, as relief for the woman swept through her. “Baby looks absolutely perfect in there, all snug and happy. I’m going to go over my findings with Dr. Moreno, but I’m confident that the pain you’ve been experiencing is false labor, which can be very hard to distinguish from true labor.”
“Oh, I hope so. I want my baby to be born at home, so this is good news. Thank you so much.”
“So glad to be here to help you.” And she was. Glad, in a strange kind of way, that she knew exactly how this pregnant woman had felt, which made her a better caregiver. A better nurse and midwife. She cleaned off the gel and got the patient’s top back in place. “Let me see what Dr. Moreno thinks, okay?”
She found him sitting at a round table, playing the board game with the kids there, all of them laughing. Struck by how boyish he
