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Saving Baby Amy
Annie Claydon
Brought together…and bound forever!Fiercely independent orthopaedic doctor Chloe Delancourt will do anything for her teenage sister Hannah and little niece Amy. So when Amy falls ill, and Hannah runs away, Chloe steps in, with the help of gorgeous paediatrician Jon Lambert…igniting an unexpected attraction!Saving baby Amy brings Jon closer than he ever wanted to get to another woman after his disastrous marriage. But Chloe’s determination and unwavering loyalty remind Jon of what a real family should be…and that this could be his chance to have everything—with Chloe!
Brought together...and bound forever!
Fiercely independent orthopedic doctor Chloe Delancourt will do anything for her teenage sister, Hannah, and little niece, Amy. So when Amy falls ill and Hannah runs away, Chloe steps in, with the help of gorgeous pediatrician Jon Lambert...igniting an unexpected attraction!
Saving baby Amy brings Jon closer than he ever wanted to get to another woman after his disastrous marriage. But Chloe’s determination and unwavering loyalty remind Jon of what a real family should be...and that this could be his chance to have everything—with Chloe!
When he saw her he got to his feet, whispering so as not to disturb Amy. ‘Sorry. The door was open…’
‘That’s okay. When I heard about the accident I held her a little tighter.’
‘We have to protect her.’
‘We will.’
He’d settled for want, instead of need, and gone upstairs to check on Amy. But now that Chloe was here… Jon reminded himself that she had her own issues about being touched, and that the intensity with which he wanted to touch her would probably be unwelcome.
But she touched him. He drew away and she touched him again, taking hold of the front of his shirt and pulling him towards her. And then she was in his arms. Chloe reached out, curling her fingers around his neck.
One breath. One look.
There was no longer any him or her—just one frozen moment in time which they both owned equally. Chloe seemed to understand everything that was in his heart, every question and every sadness.
Dear Reader (#ud8bb723b-07c8-5a58-af50-2ffeda5534a9),
There are times when I dream of perfection. But in reality I know that it is just a dream. Because, to me, a world without any flaws would hold no challenge—nothing to strive for. And perhaps it’s the way we deal with situations which are less than perfect that is the truest measure of our spirit and humanity.
So a hero who wants perfection isn’t someone I’d normally see eye to eye with. Perhaps that’s why I gave Dr Jon Lambert a particularly hard time in this book, throwing him together with a heroine who resists taking the help he offers and facing them both with a situation that tests Jon to the limit. But, like any true hero, Jon has it in him to rise to the challenge—even if it does mean that he’s forced to re-examine his perspective on life.
When Chloe Delancourt’s niece, baby Amy, is in danger of being abandoned by her mother, Chloe must fight to reunite her family and secure Amy’s future. Jon isn’t her first choice of ally, but she has no choice but to admit she needs his help. And in working together to save baby Amy both Jon and Chloe discover that perfection isn’t something either of them needs in order to find true happiness and fulfilment.
Thank you for reading Jon and Chloe’s story. I’m always thrilled to hear from readers, and you can contact me via my website at annieclaydon.com (http://annieclaydon.com).
Annie x
Saving Baby Amy
Annie Claydon
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Cursed with a poor sense of direction and a propensity to read, ANNIE CLAYDON spent much of her childhood lost in books. A degree in English Literature followed by a career in computing didn’t lead directly to her perfect job—writing romance for Mills & Boon—but she has no regrets in taking the scenic route. She lives in London: a city where getting lost can be a joy.
Books by Annie Claydon
Mills & Boon Medical Romance
Stranded in His Arms
Rescued by Dr Rafe
Saved by the Single Dad
The Doctor She’d Never Forget
Discovering Dr Riley
The Doctor’s Diamond Proposal
English Rose for the Sicilian Doc
Visit the Author Profile page
at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk) for more titles.
To Rosie, with love.
Praise for Annie Claydon (#ud8bb723b-07c8-5a58-af50-2ffeda5534a9)
‘A compelling, emotional and highly poignant read that I couldn’t bear to put down. Rich in pathos, humour and dramatic intensity, it’s a spellbinding tale about healing old wounds, having the courage to listen to your heart and the power of love that kept me enthralled from beginning to end.’
—Goodreads on Once Upon A Christmas Night…
Contents
Cover (#u891df620-d4ef-5634-a082-63b7a9a88eb9)
Back Cover Text (#u7142c222-0d88-572e-ba77-5f8b073af222)
Introduction (#u50df4ace-faf7-5b6a-8a95-cce543e80fb5)
Dear Reader (#u3efadcb4-8065-5737-85ec-d8415d014989)
Title Page (#u011c1bcb-3a94-50a0-b2a4-6cbb9ae220b8)
About the Author (#udd1e4a39-8f72-55ae-8c04-a9bc79c01db1)
Dedication (#u038fba4b-6744-5f88-8980-65ec79b7e357)
Praise (#ue8f78e99-502f-538e-94da-8175de9667eb)
CHAPTER ONE (#u91de88f5-2c4e-5562-aa48-250a8eaf6c90)
CHAPTER TWO (#u11892d4e-5978-5f24-8cc5-6dfe32727197)
CHAPTER THREE (#ua332a2b6-7b6c-5751-be8c-9ef0fc88100c)
CHAPTER FOUR (#u4f47c124-a794-5057-a0b2-eccbbefe62b5)
CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FIFTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIXTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINETEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ONE (#ud8bb723b-07c8-5a58-af50-2ffeda5534a9)
HOSPITAL GOSSIP WAS a bit like the wind: unpredictable and prone to sudden gusts in one direction or another. Information could easily end up at the furthest corner of the hospital before it came to the notice of the people involved. So it was no particular surprise to Chloe Delancourt that she’d walked all the way over to the canteen before hearing a piece of news that quite obviously pertained to her.
‘So what’s all this about your boyfriend and a baby?’ One of the other junior doctors joined her at the end of the queue.
‘My boyfriend?’ Jake was long gone, and if he did have a baby it was nothing to do with her.
Petra grinned. ‘All right, so he’s not your boyfriend. Since he’s good looking, single and living with you, that might be classed as an omission on your part.’
‘You mean Jon?’ Chloe had only seen Dr Jonathan Lambert for a total of about ten minutes since he’d moved in two weeks ago.
‘How many good-looking men are you living with currently?’
‘Just the one...’ The ten minutes had been more than enough to notice that he was good looking. And that he had a delicious smile. But apart from that all she really knew about him was that he was a good friend of her brother’s and he kept the bathroom tidy. He’d started his new job at the hospital six weeks earlier than anticipated and had needed a place to stay because the renovations on his own house weren’t finished yet.
‘Glad to hear it. If there was more than one of them, I’d be looking for an invitation to come over for dinner at the weekend.’
Chloe shrugged. ‘Come over anyway, I’m not doing anything tomorrow. It’ll be just the two of us, though, he’s not exactly made his presence felt.’
‘If he’s working nights then I suppose you wouldn’t see much of him during the week...’ Petra was obviously turning the idea over in her head.
‘Or the weekend. He spends every waking hour over at his place. I’ve hardly seen him.’ Maybe Jon was avoiding her. Or maybe he just took the promise that she’d hardly know he was there very seriously. Whatever. It suited Chloe not to get too involved with a face as handsome as his.
‘Well, he’s here now. With a baby.’
‘What kind of baby?’
Petra rolled her eyes. ‘Two arms, two legs...the usual. A little girl, he was calling her Amy...’
‘What?’ Chloe almost dropped her tray and instead thrust it into Petra’s hands. ‘Where is he?’
‘He was in A and E about five minutes ago. Someone said he’d asked for directions up to Orthopaedics—’ Petra broke off as Chloe turned, running for the doors of the canteen.
* * *
Chloe had sprinted across the courtyard and up three flights of stairs, back to her own department. Jon had been up to Orthopaedics and left a message that he was going back downstairs to A and E. By the time she got down to the Paediatric A and E department she could hardly breathe so it was just as well that the receptionist knew what she wanted without Chloe having to say so.
‘That was quick, I’ve only just paged you. They’ve just gone through. Consulting Room Three.’
The pager in Chloe’s pocket buzzed suddenly and she jumped, switching it off. Taking a deep breath, in an effort to slow her racing heart, she thanked the receptionist and walked slowly towards the consulting rooms.
If Amy was here, then where was Hannah? And if Hannah had left her child with Jon that posed a whole slew of other questions that Chloe really didn’t want to think about until she was sure of the situation. She knocked and turned the handle of the consulting-room door before whoever was inside had a chance to answer.
Jon was lifting Amy out of her car seat. He’d obviously dressed quickly, because his shirt was buttoned up wrong, leaving one red checked tail slightly longer than the other at the front. Amy fretted a little, and then seemed to decide that the strong cradle of Jon’s arms was a safe place.
‘What...?’
She hadn’t noticed how blue his eyes were before, or how tender. Or that his light brown hair, falling across his brow, gave him a slightly boyish look. Or that his hands seemed so large and capable next to Amy’s tiny fingers.
‘Sit down.’ Amy stirred slightly at Jon’s words, and then snuggled back against his chest. For a moment it seemed the best place in the world to be. Held in his arms without a care in the world.
But if Amy didn’t seem concerned about the whereabouts of her mother, Chloe was. ‘Where’s my sister?’
‘Hannah’s at your place.’ The tenderness in his eyes seemed reserved just for Amy, and he gave Chloe a more dispassionate look. ‘Sit...’
Clearly something was up, and he wasn’t going to tell her until she was sitting down. She bit back the temptation to tell him that she was a doctor too, and that she’d been working at this hospital a good deal longer than he had. Even if she did feel far more like a slightly panicky aunt than a doctor at the moment.
The dark blue windcheater on the chair next to him had been hanging in her hallway for the past two weeks, and was probably the most familiar thing about him. Chloe moved it, draping it over the backrest. When she sat down, an elusive hint of his scent halted the clamour of her senses for a moment, as if they’d paused to appreciate it. This wasn’t the time, or the place...
His eyes and the slight curve of his lips invited calm. No... Actually, they invited surrender, and that wasn’t something that Chloe was prepared to give. ‘Tell me what’s happened.’
‘Hannah was worried about Amy and she took her to her own doctor this morning. He told her that Amy just had a virus, but Hannah thought it was something more so she brought her to you.’
