Medical Romance June 2016 Books 1-6. Lynne Marshall
back.”
Gabby managed to extricate her hands from Cameron’s grip and made a quick note of the time her waters had broken and an estimation of the amount of fluid before she moved into the hallway to pull up Dr. Moreno’s number on her cell. Hopefully, he wasn’t at lunch with some bigwig, or with a woman after a date the night before and not answering the phone because of it. And why that thought would make her tummy tighten uncomfortably, she had no idea. Must just be concern for Cameron, because she knew the woman would worry about having a different doctor come to deliver the baby.
But he answered after only two rings, and Gabby let out a relieved breath. “Dr. Moreno, it’s Gabby Cain. Cameron’s waters broke a few minutes ago and—”
“I’ll be right there.”
She stared at the now dead phone. Now, there was a man of few words. And questions. Which was probably a good thing since the sooner he arrived, the sooner he’d wield his potent charm on Cameron to keep her calmer in a way Gabby wasn’t always able to accomplish.
Back in Cameron’s room, she plumped her pillows yet again and checked her vital signs once more. “Dr. Moreno’s on his way.”
“I knew he’d come right away. I’m just praying he gets here before my baby does!”
“It usually takes a while for contractions to get strong enough for baby to be born. Are you feeling any yet?”
“I...I can’t tell for sure. I feel very crampy, like there’s a fist inside my belly. It doesn’t feel good. And my back really aches. Is it going to get worse? I hate pain! I don’t do well with it at all!”
The famous blue eyes staring at her were so scared and anxious Gabby gave her hands another reassuring squeeze. “How contractions feel varies a lot from woman to woman. Some go from feeling cramps that become more intense as labor progresses, and others experience pretty intense contractions. But all that is helping your baby be born, so it’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“How long will it take?”
“That varies too.” Gabby wasn’t about to tell her it could be just a few hours or as long as twenty-four or more. If Cameron was stressing now, that would probably send her into a panic. “I’m going to check your cervix to see how much it’s thinning and dilating, which may give us a clue how far along you are.”
“Okay, but I want an epidural, because it already hurts a lot! So please call whoever does that right away. Unless Rafael will do that himself?”
“Epidurals are done by an anesthesiologist. We’ll let Dr. Moreno decide when that should happen.” Since he’d wanted to be in charge, Gabby was more than happy to pass the epidural discussion on to him.
It seemed Gabby had barely plumped Cameron’s pillows a third time and gotten ice for her to suck on when Rafael Moreno strode into the room as if he owned the place. All tall and powerful and regal, his mere presence seemed to electrify the air. His gaze trapped hers, and everything in the room seemed to fade away except for that intense connection. Suddenly she felt a little unsteady on her feet, but that was probably sheer exhaustion.
“Thank God you’re here, Rafael!”
Cameron’s voice snapped her back to reality. Focus on your job and patient, silly, not the handsome prince. Um, what had she been about to do just then? “Hello, Dr. Moreno. As I told you, Cameron’s had PPROM. I was about to check her cervical thinning and dilation.”
“What’s PPROM?” Cameron sounded alarmed, and Gabby gave her a pat.
“Sorry, I was talking to the doctor. It’s just an acronym for preterm premature rupture of membranes, which just means your waters broke before baby is full term.”
“Let’s check how far along you are, Cameron, okay?” he asked. Rafael donned gloves and began the internal exam, smiling at their patient and asking questions as he did. Somehow he managed to have her smiling back and laughing at a few of his remarks, and Gabby had to grudgingly admit he had a wonderful bedside manner, obviously used to dealing with even the most nervous and difficult kinds of patients.
When he finished the exam he snapped off his gloves and seemed to take a moment to think of how he wanted to present his findings. “Your special little one is, as we know, very anxious to arrive. You are already dilated to six centimeters, which is a bit surprising for a first baby, though of course your bebé has been impatient for some time, hasn’t she?”
Gabby stared at him in surprise and had to bite her tongue to keep from blurting out something like You’re kidding! Six centimeters was way further along than she’d expected, and she had to admit she was glad Rafael was already there, or she would have been concerned that he might not get to the clinic in time, which would have worried Cameron at a time she didn’t need more worries.
“Oh, my Lord, then I need to get an epidural right now, don’t I?” The blue eyes staring at Rafael quickly became panicky as she apparently experienced a contraction. Panting for a moment, she leaned forward to grab his hand. “I hate pain. You can make sure I don’t have any more pain, right? Fix that for me, please.”
So used to addressing laboring mother’s worries, Gabby opened her mouth before realizing Cameron had asked Rafael, not her. And much as it rankled a bit, since she was used to either delivering babies on her own or being part of a team with the obstetrician, she managed to let him answer instead.
“I have already spoken to the anesthesiologist, as I know you want to be as comfortable as possible,” he said in that soothing voice that was also, damn it, incredibly sexy. “Now that we know you’re dilated enough to receive the pain relief, we’ll get the anesthesiologist here pronto.”
He turned the power of his smile on Gabby, and she had to admit to a warmth filling her chest that he’d included her with the “we” word. Though why she should care if he did or didn’t give her that lip service, she had no clue.
“Gabriella, would you please ask Dr. Smith to come now?”
“Yes, Dr. Moreno.”
“Please, call me Rafael. You and Cameron and I are all friends trusting one another here to bring baby into the world, yes?”
“Um, yes.” No. Not friends. Colleagues. Co-workers. But that simple word—friends—made her chest feel warmer even as it contracted with pain as she went to phone the doctor. Her last relationship had taught her that counting on true friendship and closeness with a man was a mistake. That trust was a mirage. An elusive shimmer of light that could disintegrate and disappear in an instant when times got tough.
Briefly closing her eyes, she willed away the hurt, stuffing it down into the deep, dark corner where it usually resided, until unexpected moments like this dragged it to the surface. But this moment wasn’t about her past. This moment was about helping a mother who would soon hold a new life in her arms, a precious child she obviously wanted with all her heart.
Tears unexpectedly stung her eyes, and she angrily swiped them aside. She delivered babies for a living, and usually felt nothing but joy for the new parents, new families. So what was it about this moment, this delivery that was bringing memories to the surface that were better left behind?
The question made her wonder if, somehow, some way, for some bizarre reason, it was Rafael’s presence that was making her feel so strange. But, of course, that made no sense. She didn’t even know him. Didn’t want to.
She kept her life simple. Worked a lot of hours, taking on as many double shifts as possible. Went out with friends occasionally, but that was pretty much it. Could it be that after such a long time of keeping to herself, being around an exceptionally attractive man, annoying or not, had her neglected hormones all charged up or something?
Yes. That had to be it. And knowing that was all it was helped her get her equilibrium back. Time to quit thinking and remembering and start working. She quickly contacted the anesthesiologist, then headed back to Cameron’s room.
“You checked