Tempted By Collection

When they arrived, she would plaster on that fake smile, be gracious and pleasant. She would greet people, all the while hating every minute, scanning the room, knowing that she had to talk to Tom.

Stefan arrived in his tuxedo, and she had to admit he looked rather charming, but she only felt sadness when she met him at the door. She felt it should have been Tom standing there.

There was a slight evening breeze, and the cool air danced around her bare arms and back as they went outside and climbed into the taxi. Stefan chatted amiably as they travelled and she tried to seem attentive. When they finally arrived at the hotel, she slowly made her way up the steps into the building and then suddenly, with her nerves racing, they entered the ballroom.

It was magnificent. It was as if they’d stepped inside a palace. Jackie had been right: the events team had really pulled out all the stops to make the place look magical. There were high vaulted ceilings lit by chandeliers and fluted lights lined the walls. Past all the porticoes and columns, Naomi could see a small orchestra in the corner, and could hear someone very talented playing the grand piano at its centre. Everyone was dressed in their finery—the men in tuxedoes and the women in beautiful ball gowns of every conceivable colour. Waiters covered the room like silent hummingbirds, offering drinks and canapés on silver trays as people clinked champagne glasses, laughing and chattering.

If only everything were different.

She wanted to be able to enjoy it. She could certainly appreciate all the hard work that had gone into the occasion. The fact that she couldn’t be here with the one person she wanted the most made her sad, tearful almost.

There were already a few couples dancing in the centre of the floor. She would have loved to dance with Tom and be close to him again, the way they had been at the roller disco. The image came to her of being in his arms, laughing, pressed up close against his chest. She could almost feel his heart pounding away, her hands in his as they had stared deeply into each other’s eyes...

She wiped away a small tear and offered Stefan a brave smile. ‘It’s gorgeous!’ she exclaimed as she followed her date down the steps into the room.

It was warm and so many people were wearing perfumes or aftershave that the aroma started to make her feel queasy. Laying a hand upon her stomach, she took a glass from a passing waiter’s tray and sipped at it to help wet her dry mouth.

Ugh. Alcohol.

She looked around for another drink, searching for something that looked like fruit juice, but as she turned away she lost sight of Stefan. Suddenly she was left in the middle of the ballroom all alone.

So this is what it feels like to be lonely in a crowd, she thought.

Jostled and bustled, she tried to make her way over to one side of the room where she could hide. There was a line of tables with a buffet selection. She wondered if she might find something there to help settle her stomach.

A few people she knew recognised her, greeting her with air kisses. Then she moved on again, telling herself that if she couldn’t find Tom, she would only stay for an hour. She would make sure she’d said hello to everyone she knew, then she would make her excuses and go.

She felt a hand on her arm and she turned, expecting to find Stefan standing there.

Tom!

All of a sudden her stomach began churning wildly, her mouth grew dry and she almost couldn’t speak. She couldn’t believe how good it was to see him here! He looked absolutely dashing in his perfect tuxedo, staring at her, as if...as if he couldn’t bear to look anywhere else.

‘Tom?’

He was here. Which meant that she would be able to tell him about the baby. She’d been worried that he wouldn’t turn up, and that she would have to find him at work. But now, the moment was here. She would have to stand in front of him and tell him that his world was about to change! That he was going to become a father. She would tell him that she would stay out of his way if that was what he wanted—even if it would kill her to do so—but she prayed that he would love and cherish their baby.

He would make a good dad, she felt sure of that. Perhaps he might be the one to teach their child to ride a bike? He would be patient, she knew; supportive, encouraging.

Tears were welling in her eyes again.

She blinked furiously, and dabbed at the corners of her eyes, hoping the tears wouldn’t fall and betray her.

Tom gave her a small smile.

‘Naomi. May I speak with you? Privately?’ He seemed serious and Naomi wondered what this could be about. She wondered if he was going to discuss work with her. Maybe he wanted to talk about what would happen now that her secondment with the paramedics was coming to an end.

She didn’t see the need for privacy if that was the case, but she was keen to get out of the crowd. She wanted to get away from the mixture of scents and the cacophony of too many people in one room.

‘Sure,’ she said.

‘There’s a small foyer over there.’ Tom pointed and then took her arm as he escorted her through the crowds.

She tried not to think too hard about his arm tucked through hers. It was a too painful reminder of everything that she couldn’t have. She wished he wouldn’t touch her at all. That would be easier.

When they got to the foyer, he let go of her arm and closed the doors behind them, shutting out the noise of the chatter and the soft piano music. She breathed in deeply, relishing the fresher air coming in through the open windows.

Now that they were here, he stood in front of her, looking a little unsure of how to start.

‘What’s wrong?’

He licked his lips and stared at her for a moment. Then he spoke.

‘Naomi? First off, I just want to say that I’m sorry. Dreadfully sorry for the way I reacted to you that night we were together.’ He reached for her hands and held them in his as he faced her. ‘That night was the most amazing thing in the world to me because it opened my eyes. No...not just my eyes. But my heart...my soul. I’d kept them locked away, determined that no one would ever have the chance to tear me apart again, but being with you...being with you made me realise that I could love again. That I could take that chance and risk my heart because I loved you.

‘It scared me. It sent me into a whirlwind of confusion and shock. I hadn’t known it was possible to care for someone that much for a second time and when you told me that I’d shown you that love was possible, I’ll admit I was frightened. It was all too clear that you’d changed me in the same way and I wasn’t ready to accept that it was okay. But I am ready now.’

She stared up at him, tears now openly falling down her cheeks as his words pierced her heart and the barriers she’d been putting up to protect herself. Those barriers were crumbling away, breaking into a million tiny pieces at every word he said.

‘I know I hurt you—I’m sorry. I know I shut you out—I’m sorry. I can’t say it enough to make amends for all the pain I caused you and I know that I have no right to expect you to forgive me. But I’m asking you to consider it. I’m asking you to find forgiveness in your heart; if not now, then maybe some time in the future, I don’t know. I just need to tell you that I love you. And if you’ll have me, then I’ll be here for you until the end of time.’

Naomi sobbed, wanting to wipe the tears away, but at the same time unwilling to let go of his hands.

He loved her?

She laughed through her tears, knowing she must look a mess, but too happy to care.

‘Oh, Tom! I do forgive you. I do. I’m sorry I put you through so much torment. And that I caused you this much pain in the first place! There you’d been, working your way through life, knowing exactly what you wanted from it, and I came along and turned it upside down.’

‘I needed you to turn it upside down.’

‘I needed you. You showed me what real love could be. It wasn’t just the physical stuff, but also the incredible companionship, the time we spent together, having fun, taking risks—’

‘The burnt dinners?’

She laughed. ‘Yes! The burnt dinners... I told you what that all meant to me before you were ready to hear it. I knew what you’d been through, that you were uncertain, and yet I couldn’t hold it back because I was so determined to be open and honest about how I felt. Because you know something? Even though I loved Vincent, I wasn’t open and honest with him. I always kept my feelings about everything locked inside, because I didn’t want to upset him, or worry him, because I thought he already had so much to deal with. But with you...’ she squeezed his fingers in hers ‘...I was overwhelmed by my feelings. I spoke without thinking, but... I love you, too, Tom. You know that I do. It’s torn my heart to pieces spending this time apart.’

‘Me too.’

‘I love you. I want to be with you.’

‘I love you, Naomi.’

He dipped his head to kiss her, but she backed away and he looked at her, confused.

‘What?’

‘There’s something else.’

‘Oh?’

‘Someone else.’

His eyes darkened and he glanced at the double doors leading to the ballroom. ‘Stefan?’

She shook her head. ‘No.’

Tom looked puzzled. ‘Then who?’ he asked, appearing to brace himself.

She smiled and blushed. ‘I can’t believe I get to tell you this and actually be happy about it.’

He stared at her, waiting for the axe to fall.

‘I’m pregnant, Tom. With our baby.’

His mouth dropped open, then he gulped and glanced down at her abdomen, a smile slowly appearing on his face. ‘You’re pregnant?’

She nodded.

‘Oh, Naomi!’ He pulled her to him and kissed her.

Naomi was so filled with happiness to be in his arms again that she thought she might burst! She’d never expected this when she’d set out that evening, not even knowing whether Tom would be there. She’d pictured herself telling him about the baby, expecting it to be sombre and sad, with him dutifully promising to be involved. Her heart had almost broken there and then, imagining the scenario.

But here she was. Tom loved her. He wanted to be with her and he was thrilled about the baby!

They would raise their child together. As a couple. Not as single parents, as she’d been prepared to do.

His lips against hers were like magic. She tingled in every place that they touched. Her heart was singing. The dark clouds that had hovered over her earlier had dissipated and she felt like they were both standing in bright sunshine. They were together and strong. And together they would be able to tackle anything. Apart, they’d been broken and weak.

Not any longer.

Now the future looked bright. Optimistic. Full of promise and expectation.

Tom broke the kiss and smiled down at her, then he reached into his pocket and dropped to one knee.

Naomi gasped.

‘Naomi Bloom. You fell into my arms the first day that we met and I want you to stay there until the day that we die. I love you more than life and you would make me the happiest man alive if you would do me the honour of marrying me.’

He opened the small box he was holding and she saw a beautiful diamond solitaire nestled in its bed of navy velvet.

‘I will!’

Tom beamed as he took the ring from the box and gently slipped it onto her finger. Then he pulled her to him once again and kissed her.

Her body sang for him. Her heart soared.

This was the love she’d known was possible. This was what she’d dreamed about when she’d set off to London to find her own way in the world. Here was her chance to find love again. And the fact that it was with Tom, the most wonderful man she had ever known, made it more than perfect.

She couldn’t be happier. It just wasn’t possible.

The noise from beyond the double doors rose an octave, reminding them that the real world still awaited them. Including Naomi’s date for the evening.

‘What about Stefan?’ she asked, smiling.

‘He can be an usher.’

‘I came here with him. I owe him an explanation.’

Tom held out his arm for her. ‘Then we’ll tell him together. I don’t think even Stefan will stand in the way of true love.’

Naomi laid her head against his shoulder. ‘We almost did,’ she said, sucking in a breath as she realised what they’d almost lost.

‘We found our way in the end.’

She looked up at him. ‘I could never lose you again.’

He kissed her. ‘You won’t have to. We have eternity together.’

They both took in a deep breath and then they pushed open the double doors.

EPILOGUE

HE COULDN’T QUITE believe it. It was almost time. All these months of waiting. Of watching Naomi’s tummy grow, of feeling those magical kicks through her skin and marvelling at the life beneath, wondering just who was in there.

Tom hadn’t known he could be this happy. To think of where he had been even a year ago, believing there was nothing left in his life to be glad about...and yet here he was, about to become a father.

Imminently.

‘Come on, Naomi...push!’ He gripped her hand, holding it against his chest, glancing from her scrunched-up face to the midwife and then down to see if he could see their baby’s head yet.

‘Baby’s coming, Naomi. One huge push for me now!’ urged the midwife.

Naomi sucked in a deep breath and focused. She gave this push her all, every tiny bit of strength that she had left. Fourteen hours of labour were nearly at an end. She was sweating. Her hair was plastered to her face.

Tom felt her squeeze his fingers as she groaned and grimaced, before she let out her breath and then immediately sucked in another, ready to push again. The midwife stopped her.

‘Here’s the head! Just pant for me now...pant, pant, that’s it. And just a tiny push for me.’

Tom looked down. They were nearly there. His baby’s head and face were emerging. ‘Look at all that hair!’

Naomi looked up at him and began to cry. ‘Really?’

‘Really.’ He kissed her forehead. ‘You’re doing it. You’re doing it! I love you so much!’

‘Get ready, Dad. Are you going to cut the cord?’

Tom nodded, beaming at the midwife. ‘Try and stop me.’ He watched anxiously as the baby turned naturally and the midwife checked for a cord around the neck, but everything was fine.

‘One last push and you’ll have your baby in your arms.’

Naomi nodded and smiled, before giving one last almighty push, the effort of which caused her to cry out.

Their baby was finally fully born, crying, into the world and the midwife lifted the squirming bundle straight onto Naomi’s stomach.

Tom wasn’t sure when he had started crying. Had it been the moment he saw his beautiful baby? Or maybe when he’d seen Naomi’s face, so full of love, as she cradled their child?

‘Here you go, Daddy. Cut between these two clips.’ The midwife handed him the scissors and Tom cut the cord in disbelief, tears streaming down his cheeks. ‘Do you want to see what you have?’ she asked.

Tom was almost afraid to touch the baby. It was so beautiful, so precious! But he rolled it gently onto its back to reveal the sex. ‘We have a daughter!’

Naomi held her tightly, lifting up her top so that their daughter could nestle against her skin. ‘A baby girl!’

The midwife smiled broadly. ‘Do we have a name?’

Naomi looked up at Tom and smiled. ‘We do.’

He laid his hand on his daughter’s tiny head as he announced her name. ‘Sophia Grace.’

He gazed down at his beautiful fiancée and his darling daughter, unable to believe that they were both his. That they were here with him. Safe. Together. Loved. He bent to gently kiss his daughter’s cheek and marvelled how soft her skin was. ‘I love you both so much,’ he murmured softly. He looked up at Naomi and they kissed, their tears of happiness mingling, their joy immeasurable.

‘I love you, too. I’m the luckiest woman in the world.’

He kissed her again, still in disbelief at what he’d just witnessed. He had a child! A beautiful, perfect baby girl, who he already loved so much and wanted to protect until the end of the earth. With love overflowing from his heart, he closed his eyes and kissed his daughter’s head as he cradled both of them in his arms, unable to believe that all of this happiness, all of this joy, was his.

‘Thank you,’ he said, when the afterbirth had been delivered and the midwife had left them alone. ‘For coming into my life. For falling into my arms and refusing to give up on me.’

She touched her forehead to his and smiled, tears of elation still on her cheeks. ‘You’re worth it.’

‘Having so much...all this happiness, all this love...’

She laid her hand upon his cheek and brought his lips down to hers. ‘We don’t need to be afraid of it.’

‘I know. I’ll cherish every second I spend with you and Sophia.’

‘And I’ll cherish them, too.’

The midwife returned to take the baby to clean her up and check her APGAR score, then she handed Sophia back, placing her carefully into Tom’s arms.

Sophia, swaddled and warm, blinked at the harsh lights in the room, then gazed up into her father’s face.

Tom stroked his daughter’s cheek, full of pride and love. Then he looked to the woman he loved just as much and reached out to hold her hand.

Together they were strong.

Together they could face anything.

The Doctor’s Forbidden Fling

Karin Baine

Lady Violet’s baby surprise!

When a family illness calls nurse Violet Dempsey back to the aristocratic world she spurned years ago, she’s finally forced to face Nate Taylor...the boy next door she left behind.

Cardiologist Nate has come a long way from his life as the son of the hired help. Yet Violet’s return shakes his foundations—and his resolve to ignore his lingering feelings for her! But after one forbidden night, everything changes. Now Violet and Nate find themselves facing an unexpected future...as a family of three!

For Tammy. From one special snowflake to another.

Our field trip was epic! xx

Special thanks to my IT guru, Cherie,

who dragged this technophobe kicking and

screaming into the twenty-first century and

managed not to throat-punch me in the process!

As always, I couldn’t have told this story without help.

A big hug to my editor, Laura, to Chellie, Susan

and Alison, and an extra squishy one for Amalie

for her author guidance too. xx

CHAPTER ONE

IN VIOLET DEMPSEY’S experience the family room in a hospital department was where good news and hope came to die. It was in one of these seemingly innocuous side rooms she’d learned of her mother’s fate and now she was waiting to hear of her father’s too. He was fighting for his life in the cardiac care unit down the corridor while she was staring at the wall waiting for that ominous knock at the door.

She knew how crucial the first few hours after a heart attack were and she’d spent them trying to organise a flight back to Northern Ireland from London. Even that relatively short drive from Belfast to the Silent Valley Hospital in County Down had seemed like an eternity when her father was so close to death.

Their relationship was strained to say the least, since she refused to conform to her role as the daughter of an earl, but that didn’t mean she didn’t care. After watching her mother’s struggle to fit into society life, Violet had simply decided to take her own path rather than the one her father had paved for her. They’d barely spoken since.

The tap on the door still made her jump even though she’d been expecting it. This was the reckoning. Life or death. Her stomach clenched as the door opened and the harbinger of impending doom swooped in. Except this was no po-faced stranger invading the already claustrophobic space.

‘Nate?’

He was taller, broader and better groomed than she remembered but she’d recognise that dimpled smile anywhere. The hardest thing she’d ever had to do was walk away from that handsome face twelve years ago. She had no clue what he was doing here but he’d always had that knack of knowing exactly when she’d needed him.

‘Hello, Violet. Or should I say Lady Violet? It’s been a while.’ He closed the door behind him and took the seat opposite her. It was so like Nate to plonk himself in the middle of her problems without a formal invitation.

‘It has, but as I recall you were never one to stand on ceremony. Violet is just fine.’ She hoped he was teasing her rather than trying to rile her when he understood better than anyone how much she hated her title.

They hadn’t parted on the best of terms, on any terms really since she’d left without a word of explanation. Although he would have just cause to turn his back on her after what had happened, or even want a showdown to confront her about her behaviour, she was counting on him cutting her some slack in the circumstances. The old Nate would always have put her needs first and it was odd enough trying to come to terms with the fully formed man version of her childhood companion without finding out he might’ve completely changed character since their last meet too. Especially as she was just as attracted to Nate the adult.

The dark blond floppy hair had been tamed into a dapper short back and sides, the boyish face now defined with a sleek jawline and dusted with enough stubble to be fashionable and sexy. The son of Strachmore Castle’s domestic staff had apparently swapped his hard-wearing flannel shirts for more tailored, expensive attire. He could easily have moved in her family’s circle of friends now. If either of them had ever wanted that. One impulsive teenage kiss had effectively ended their friendship and sent Violet scurrying off to London before she committed to something that could never have worked.

Nate cleared his throat and she realised she’d been staring longer than an old friend ought to. The heat started to build in her cheeks as she recalled their last meet when they had ventured into new realms of their relationship.

‘So... I assume you’re here at your father’s behest? He told me he was the one who phoned for the ambulance.’ She steered the conversation, and her mind, away from dangerous territory. There was nothing like the thought of disapproving parents to pour cold water on certain heated moments that should be left in the past.

Nate leaned forward in the chair, forcing Violet to meet those hazel eyes she’d forgotten were so easy to get lost in. ‘It was Dad who found him, but that’s not why I’m here. This chat is of a more...professional nature. I’m a doctor here. Your father’s cardiologist, in fact.’

She opened her mouth to tell him to stop messing about, then closed it again when she saw how serious he was. There was a ghost of a memory of the sister in charge mentioning a Dr Taylor but she’d never imagined this scenario in her wildest dreams.

‘I didn’t even know you’d gone to medical school,’ she blurted out before she realised how bad that sounded. Cold. As though the spoilt brat with the privileged upbringing had swanned off and never looked back. That their time together had meant nothing to her.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t cared, or thought about him, over the years. Quite the opposite. She’d been afraid she’d become too interested in the life and times of Nate Taylor. For the sake of her new independent life away from her family’s estate, she’d deemed it necessary to sever all ties with the one person who could’ve convinced her to stay.

‘I mean, I keep contact with home to a bare minimum.’ She wanted to justify her ignorance of his success in her absence. Of course she wasn’t vain enough to imagine he’d spent all this time tending the grounds with his father, waiting for her return. She simply hadn’t thought of him as being so...ambitious.