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The Baby They Longed For
Marion Lennox
One night in the surgeon’s arms…One miraculous surprise!Obstetrician Addie and surgeon Noah’s relationship has always been…complicated—since he broke the news that her fiancé had jilted her! Years later, finding themselves working and living together, they both agree to keep things professional. Until one intense day leads to one magical night, resulting in a miracle neither believed possible! Now they must put the past behind them if they want to build a future…together.
One night in the surgeon’s arms...
One miraculous surprise!
Obstetrician Addie and surgeon Noah’s relationship has always been...complicated since he broke the news that her fiancé had jilted her! Years later, finding themselves working and living together, they both agree to keep things professional. Until one intense day leads to one magical night, resulting in the miracle neither ever believed possible! Now they must put the past behind them if they want to build a future...together.
MARION LENNOX has written over one hundred romance novels, and is published in over one hundred countries and thirty languages. Her international awards include the prestigious RITA® award (twice!) and the RT Book Reviews Career Achievement Award for ‘a body of work which makes us laugh and teaches us about love’. Marion adores her family, her kayak, her dog, and lying on the beach with a book someone else has written. Heaven!
Also by Marion Lennox (#ucf563f04-7168-5633-bb32-9f9c96642400)
Meant-To-Be Family
From Christmas to Forever?
Saving Maddie’s Baby
A Child to Open Their Hearts
Falling for Her Wounded Hero
Stranded with the Secret Billionaire
Reunited with Her Surgeon Prince
The Billionaire’s Christmas Baby
Finding His Wife, Finding a Son
English Lord on Her Doorstep
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk).
The Baby They Longed For
Marion Lennox
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-08974-6
THE BABY THEY LONGED FOR
© 2019 Marion Lennox
Published in Great Britain 2019
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
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www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Contents
Cover (#ua578a6af-32b4-580d-8479-489db3889d9e)
Back Cover Text (#u96ce644c-284f-5903-84c7-0bfed2c740d0)
About the Author (#uaf450786-f4b7-559a-9127-12bf4e1c21e5)
Booklist (#uc8889c21-5783-52d8-ac8f-e6f409d73afd)
Title Page (#u689efa89-1ad3-530a-8813-50cd20a54848)
Copyright (#u1d331c39-0c24-5300-8a0f-8272fc1e0f31)
CHAPTER ONE (#u2ec64368-12a0-5cf9-9a61-c5bdbd06de36)
CHAPTER TWO (#u097eee57-b731-591a-97f4-062936fcf633)
CHAPTER THREE (#u0f9647a8-fb14-55fa-a017-99b23ec6b9b1)
CHAPTER FOUR (#litres_trial_promo)
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)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ONE (#ucf563f04-7168-5633-bb32-9f9c96642400)
HAPPY IS THE bride the sun shines on.
Happier still was the bride’s mother.
Addie’s mum had been beaming ever since she’d read the weather forecast. Actually, she’d been beaming from the moment Addie and Gavin had announced their engagement.
Dr Adeline Blair should be beaming, too, but right now she was struggling. In truth, Addie seemed so far away from her normal, workaday self it was like she’d moved into another body.
She didn’t belong...here?
Why? Surely everything was perfect. She was about to marry her childhood sweetheart. She was making her mother gloriously happy. With luck, she and Gavin might even have a baby before...
Don’t go there. Not today.
She glanced sideways at her mum, sitting beside her in the bridal limousine. Cancer. Metastases. Maeve seemed well today, but tomorrow...
No.
‘This is the happiest day of my life,’ Maeve breathed, and Addie hugged her—which, considering the amount of tulle she was wearing, plus the weight of her over-the-top veil, took some doing.
The car pulled to a stop. The church looked picture-postcard perfect. An arch of roses framed the entrance. Guests were presumably tucked up inside, waiting for the arrival of the bride. A photographer stood ready.
Addie had no extra attendants, no bridesmaids. Her mother was being bridal attendant as well as giving her away, an all-in-one package.
In some ways, it was almost her mother’s wedding.
‘Oh, Addie.’ As the chauffeur opened the car doors, her mother’s eyes were like stars. ‘I can’t believe this is happening.’
And Addie finally relaxed. Her mother was happy. Gavin was waiting. She knew she loved him—she always had. The reservations that had prevented this happening years ago were surely dumb.
This was as good as she could make it.
But then...
She lifted the load of tulle from around her ankles, swung herself out of the car—and straight into Noah McPherson.
Noah. Surgical consultant at Sydney Central. Gavin’s immediate boss.
Gav’s best man.
Noah was tall, dark and imposing in his beautifully cut dinner suit. He was in his early thirties but his skill and gravitas made him seem older. Addie saw lots of gravitas now.
Why wasn’t he with Gav?
‘What’s...what’s wrong?’ she managed, but she knew almost before she spoke.
‘Gav can’t do it.’
‘Can’t do...what?’
She couldn’t believe this. She was standing in brilliant sunshine, in her fairy-floss dress, and she was asking a question she already knew the answer to. She’d known the answer since she’d seen Noah.
‘Gav says he can’t marry you,’ Noah said, quite gently. ‘I’m so sorry.’
Silence.
There should be bells, Addie thought, almost hysterically. Her mother and Gav’s mother had organised bell-ringers. Addie had paid for them.
Maybe the bells had moved to her head. She felt like it was about to explode.
Gavin was...jilting her? This wasn’t real.It didn’t happen.
It couldn’t happen.
‘I... Did he give you any explanation?’ She was weirdly proud that she’d got the question out without gibbering.
‘He did. But you don’t want to hear it now.’
‘Tell me,’ she commanded.
Whoa...
Once upon a time Adeline Blair had had a temper, but not now. She’d had years of living in a house where every outburst would be greeted with, ‘Oh, Addie, what would your father say? You’ll break my heart even more.’ Her mother’s tears had pretty much shoved Addie’s temper into a dark cellar, tethered it with chains and left it to its own devices.
But right now she could feel the chains snapping. ‘Tell me,’ she hissed again, and Noah flinched.
‘Addie, we can do this later. We can find somewhere private—’
‘I need to know now. Tell me why.’
He took a deep breath and visibly braced. ‘Gav said...all his life he’s been ruled by women. Their grief and their need. And now your mum’s ill... He couldn’t tell you. He didn’t wish you—or your mother or his—any more unhappiness, but he’s decided that he can’t keep on being needed. He wants his own life.’
‘His own life.’
‘That’s what he said.’
‘So he’s decided...’ Temper or not, she was struggling to find her voice. She had to try a couple of times before she succeeded. ‘He decided to wait to tell me until five minutes before he was due to marry me? And then he didn’t even tell me himself?’ She was fighting rising hysteria. Stay calm, she told herself, but herself refused to listen.
‘I guess... Look, would you like me to drive you anywhere?’
‘Go jump,’ she hissed. ‘He didn’t even have the courage to phone?’
‘He thought you’d talk him out of it.’ He considered his words. ‘Or into it. Whatever.’
