Mia got through the rest of the morning and did the hand-over. It was after two p.m. when she collected her coat from the staffroom. Penny was at her desk; she looked up and grinned when Mia went in.
‘Well done, you! I hear you sent the redoubtable Leo Forester away with a flea in his ear.’
‘Don’t!’ Mia grimaced as she shrugged on her coat. ‘I suppose it’s all round the hospital?’
‘Of course. Suffice to say that most folk consider you to be a real heroine. Leo Forester isn’t exactly top of everyone’s Christmas card list,’ Penny added dryly.
‘I really shouldn’t have said what I did,’ Mia admitted. ‘It was a stupid thing to do.’
‘You’re only human, love. Which is more than I can say for the handsome Leo. Heaven only knows how he ever became a father. Oh, he’s gorgeous looking and everything, but he’s so cold. I mean, can you imagine him letting go enough to actually make love to a woman?’
Mia felt a tide of heat sweep up her face. She bent down to retrieve her bag from the locker, not wanting Penny to witness her reaction to the question. Maybe Penny couldn’t imagine it but she could. Only too well.
Fortunately the phone rang so she was saved from having to reply. Mia mouthed ‘Goodbye’ and left hurriedly. If the trains were running on time, she should be home just in time to collect Harry from school. She headed out of the main doors, pulling up the hood of her coat when she discovered it was raining. Afternoon visiting was under way and there were cars coming and going from all directions. She paused to allow an expensive sports car to pass through the gates ahead of her, sighing when it stopped and the passenger window rolled down. No doubt someone was going to ask her if she knew where they could park.
‘Get in.’
Mia jumped when a deep voice barked out the command. Bending, she peered into the car, feeling her heart leap when she saw Leo Forester behind the wheel. His expression was as bland as ever but she could see a spark of something in his eyes that warned her it would be a mistake to argue with him. Opening the door, she slid into the seat, buckling the seat belt as he pulled out of the gates. They drove in silence for several minutes before he spoke.
‘I think it would be best if we agreed to forget what happened today. Neither of us expected to find ourselves working together, but as there’s nothing we can do about it, we’ll just have to get on with it.’
Mia felt a rush of relief flood through her. ‘You don’t intend to make a complaint about me, then?’
‘Of course not.’
He sounded so surprised that she grimaced. ‘I thought you might, that’s all.’
‘Well, you can stop worrying. I won’t be making any complaints, not unless you do it again, of course. I don’t think my ego could take another battering.’
The hint of laughter in his voice was so unexpected that Mia stared at him. ‘I was sure you’d want to teach me a lesson.’
‘I probably would have done if circumstances had been different.’ His grey eyes met hers for a second before he returned his attention to the road but it was long enough to make Mia’s heart race.
She took a deep breath, calling herself every kind of a fool. Leo wasn’t interested in her, not the person she was. He was only interested in Harry. She had to remember that and not allow herself be duped into thinking that he cared about her feelings any more than she must care about his. It was the children who mattered, Harry and his son Noah. And his next words confirmed that.
‘I assume that you’re going to collect your son from school?’ He drew up at the traffic lights and turned to look at her. Mia steeled herself when she saw how solemn he looked. She had a feeling that she wasn’t going to like what he had to say.
‘Yes, I am. Why?’
‘Because I’d like to ask a favour of you.’ His eyes held hers fast and for some reason she found that she couldn’t look away. ‘May I go with you, Mia? And meet Harry?’
ONCE, JUST BEFORE he had gone off to university, Leo had made a parachute jump. All his friends had been keen to try it and he’d gone along with them. In the event, most of them had chickened out so there’d been just two of them in the plane and he’d been the first to jump. As he had stood in the doorway, watching the ground rushing past below, he had felt his stomach sink with a mixture of excitement and fear. Although he had never jumped again, he remembered the feeling quite clearly. It was exactly how he felt as he waited to meet Mia’s son, scared and elated because he was about to leap into the unknown.
‘There he is.’
Mia touched him on the arm and Leo flinched. He looked over to where she was pointing but he couldn’t pick out one child from another. There seemed to be a sea of small excited faces staring back at him…
Leo’s breath caught as his eyes alighted on a sturdy little boy with dark brown hair standing up in spikes around his head. It had to be Harry; he just knew it was! Even though he would have dismissed the idea that his genes had somehow recognised those of his son if anyone had suggested it, he knew it was true.
Anyway, the boy had his nose as well as his hair. He had his chin too and his cheekbones, he realised in astonishment. In fact, the resemblance was so marked that he couldn’t understand why Mia hadn’t noticed it. Surely she could see how alike they were, he thought as she brought the child over to meet him?
‘Harry, this is Leo. He’s a doctor and he works at the hospital. He very kindly gave me a lift here so I wouldn’t be late.’
Leo had to hand it to her. Even though she must be finding it extremely difficult, there was no hint of uncertainty in her voice as she made the introductions. Her only concern was for her son and his admiration for her increased tenfold, especially when he found himself comparing the way she behaved to the way Amanda would have reacted.
The thought of the scene his ex-wife would have created was very hard to swallow and his mouth thinned with displeasure. Harry took one look at his grim expression and scooted behind his mother’s legs. Leo took a deep breath, cursing himself for allowing thoughts of Amanda to spoil the moment. Amanda had caused enough damage without him allowing her to ruin this too.
‘Hello, Harry. It’s nice to meet you.’ Leo fixed a smile to his mouth but Harry obviously wasn’t convinced it was genuine. He shrank away when Leo held out his hand.
‘He’ll come round,’ Mia said quietly. ‘Just give him a moment.’
She led Harry to the gate, leaving Leo to follow. There were a lot of parents milling about and they soon disappeared from view. Leo experienced a moment of panic as he peered over the crowd because he still had no idea where she lived. Maybe it was selfish but he needed a few more minutes with Harry, a bit more time to get to know his son.
The words seemed to dance in neon-bright letters before his eyes. Harry was his son; he was more certain than ever it was true. But where did that leave Noah? He loved Noah with an intensity he had never believed himself capable of feeling. From the moment he had been handed the wrinkled, bloodied little bundle in the delivery room, he had known that he would
