The Woman He's Been Waiting For

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She picked up a magazine and proceeded to ignore him as she flicked through its pages. Harry sighed because he really wasn’t in the mood to play games with her at the moment.

‘Look, Grace, I apologise if I’ve done something to upset you—’ he began, but she didn’t let him finish. Tossing the magazine onto the table, she glared at him.

‘I am not upset. If you want to chat up every single woman in this hospital then good luck to you. However, I do object to being told a pack of lies. If you wanted to go and find that nurse, why didn’t you say so? I’m hardly going to fall down in a heap because you’re chatting up some woman.’

So that was it. Harry felt a wave of relief wash over him. Grace must have seen him talking to that nurse and assumed he’d engineered the meeting. He hastened to reassure her, even though he wasn’t sure why it was so important that she knew what had really gone on.

‘I did go out for some fresh air. I just happened to bump into Cathy on my way back, that’s all.’

‘Oh, so it’s Cathy, is it? Obviously, you didn’t waste any time getting acquainted with her.’

Grace treated him to another of those icy smiles and he sighed again. It was obvious that she didn’t believe he was the innocent party.

‘Just because I know her name doesn’t mean that your allegations are true,’ he pointed out in his most reasonable tone. ‘It happened exactly as I told you. I was coming back inside when she stopped me.’ He shrugged. ‘I couldn’t just ignore her, could I?’

‘Of course not. I mean, it would have been unthinkable to tell her that you were far too worried about your friend to think about your…uh…other needs.’

Her voice dripped with scorn and Harry gritted his teeth. It took a massive effort of will to damp down his anger, but he really and truly didn’t want to fight with her right now.

Was that what she was trying to do? he wondered. Poke and prod at him until he retaliated? He sensed it was true yet he couldn’t understand why she would do such a thing. Unless she was afraid that if they didn’t argue, she might be forced to admit that she was jealous of the attention he’d been paying the other woman.

The thought was so mind-bogglingly complicated that he didn’t know how to handle it. He was still struggling, in fact, when the door opened and Penny appeared. Grace jumped up, ignoring him as she led Penny to a chair and sat her down.

‘How is Miles?’ she demanded, sitting beside her.

‘Much better than I feared.’ Penny gave them a wobbly smile. ‘They’re fairly sure that he suffered an angina attack rather than a full-blown myocardial infarction. The resting ECG tracing shows no sign of damage to his heart but they want to do more tests tomorrow—get Miles onto the treadmill to see how his heart responds during exercise. The consultant I spoke to seems fairly confident that it was a coronary artery spasm, though.’

‘Probably brought on by the pressure that Miles has been under recently,’ Harry observed, relieved to have something to focus on other than what Grace might or might not be thinking. ‘Let’s face it, Miles has been running himself ragged of late. It was just a matter of time before something like this happened.’

‘I know, and that’s why I’m determined that he’s going to have a complete rest.’ Penny took a deep breath then looked at him and Grace. ‘I know you two have had your differences in the past, but if you could just put them aside for now, you could actually be saving Miles’s life. He needs complete rest and the only way he’ll get it is if he knows the practice is being taken care of. I know it’s a lot to ask, but do you think you two could manage to work together for the next couple of weeks?’

CHAPTER THREE (#ua1a77883-0da0-58e5-983c-ec5498957801)

HARRY knew that if Penny had asked him that question a couple of hours ago, he wouldn’t have hesitated. He would have told her quite emphatically that there wouldn’t be a problem. Now he was no longer sure if it was the truth. Could he really imagine himself working with Grace when just a few hours of her company had caused such an upheaval in his life?

‘I…um…well…’ he stumbled as his usual composure deserted him.

‘I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t desperate.’ There were tears in Penny’s eyes now as she looked up at him. ‘I just can’t bear to think of anything happening to Miles, especially now.’

She laid her hand protectively on her stomach and Harry knew he was sunk. How could he turn his back on his two oldest friends when they needed his help so desperately? He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if anything happened to Miles or this precious baby, so he would have to agree and simply hope that he and Grace could get through the coming weeks relatively unscathed.

He turned to Grace, praying that she couldn’t tell how uneasy he felt at the thought of their forthcoming alliance. ‘I’m willing to give it a shot if you are.’ He held out his hand. ‘So, shall we call a truce?’

An expression which looked almost like panic crossed her face before she quickly stood up. ‘All right. I’m willing to meet you halfway, if it means we’re helping Miles and Penny.’

Harry smiled wryly. It hadn’t been panic at all, but Grace being her usual cautious self. It was typical of her to qualify her agreement like that, to make sure he knew that she was accepting his offer purely for the sake of their friends. She would never admit to any sign of weakness in front of him, never acknowledge that she, too, would benefit from his help in the surgery. She would never give an inch if it meant he might gain any ground, and maybe it was that thought that made him decide to seal their agreement with more than the customary handshake. The thought of getting a little further under Grace’s skin was oddly appealing.

He took her outstretched hand but instead of shaking it, as she’d expected him to do, he pulled her towards him and kissed her on the cheek. ‘Sealed with a kiss. There’s no going back on our pact now, Grace.’

He let her go, hoping she couldn’t tell the effect the kiss had had on him. It was his own fault for trying to goad her, but it had been ages since he’d felt this stirring in his blood, so long, in fact, that he’d begun to wonder if it would ever happen again. Yet all it had taken had been the touch of his lips against her skin and he was all fired up and raring to go. What was happening to him? Did he fancy Grace, or was he going completely crazy?

‘I wouldn’t dream of going back on a promise,’ Grace said stiffly. She turned to Penny, trying to resist the urge to run her hand over her cheek. She could feel the lingering warmth of Harry’s lips making her skin tingle and longed to erase it, but there was no way that she was going to let him think that the kiss had had any effect on her.

‘It looks as though your problem has been solved, Penny. Now there’s no excuse for Miles not to follow his consultant’s advice.’

‘And I intend to make sure he follows it to the letter.’ Penny stood up and hugged her. ‘Thank you so much, Grace. And you, too, Harry. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to you both.’

‘Don’t mention it.’ Harry treated them to one of his most charming smiles, the kind of smile that normally made Grace grind her teeth. The fact that she didn’t feel like grinding them now just increased her anxiety. What on earth was going on? Why did she feel all warm and sort of…breathless just because Harry was smiling at her? She was still trying to work out the answer when he opened the waiting-room door.

‘I won’t be long. There’s something I need to do before we leave.’

‘Hmm, that something wouldn’t have anything to do with a pretty blonde nurse who’s been extolling your virtues to all and sundry, would it?’ Penny laughed when he looked suitably modest. ‘You never change, Harry. You’ll still have women queuing up outside your door when you’re ninety.’

‘With a bit of luck.’

He winked at them then left, and it was a good job he went when he did. Grace knew that if he’d stayed there even a second longer, she would have been tempted to throw something at him. Maybe Penny found his womanising antics amusing but she thought they were pathetic.

‘Grace, what’s wrong? Are you feeling all right?’

She jumped when Penny touched her on the arm, and dredged up a smile when she saw the concern on her friend’s face. ‘I’m fine.’

‘Are you sure?’ Penny looked increasingly worried despite the reassurance. ‘I shouldn’t have done that, should I? I know how you feel about Harry and it was wrong of me to force you into a corner like that.’

‘You didn’t force me, Penny. It was my decision and I’m perfectly happy with it.’ Grace held her smile, although it felt as though her face was about to split into two. However, she had to convince Penny that she was telling the truth, otherwise her friend would continue to worry.

‘Harry and I are both grown-ups and we can handle working together without World War Three breaking out. In fact, I’m rather looking forward to it.’

‘You are?’ Penny looked at her in surprise.

‘Mmm. Harry’s got bags of experience and I’ll learn a lot from him,’ Grace assured her, hoping the words wouldn’t choke her.

‘Yes, of course you will, although it won’t be all one-sided,’ Penny said loyally. ‘You’re a brilliant doctor in your own right, Grace, so I expect Harry will learn just as much from you.’

Grace didn’t say anything to that. However, as she followed Penny from the room so they could go and tell Miles the good news, she found herself wondering exactly what she had in her repertoire of skills which would be of interest to Harry. There certainly wasn’t anything on the romance front that she could teach him—he was an acknowledged expert in that field. As for her medical skills, well, he could probably match her any day of the week.

No, the only thing she could possibly teach him was humility, although it was a lesson the mighty Harry Shaw might not be keen to learn. When you’ve been at the top of the heap all your life, thinking that you are the same as everyone else wouldn’t come easily, although that wasn’t what Harry had claimed earlier that night. He’d described himself as a man who just wanted to help others, hadn’t he?

Grace shivered. She couldn’t explain it, certainly couldn’t understand it, but she knew the assertion had altered the way she thought about Harry. It was as though there was suddenly something in the plus column to weigh against all those minuses that had accumulated over the years. Although she hated to admit it, Harry might not be all bad after all.

‘I’ve done a printout of all the clinics we hold each month. I thought it would help if you had an idea of our schedule.’

‘Thanks.’

Harry took the list from Grace and glanced through it. His brows rose when he suddenly realised the extent of the work she and Miles had been doing. Nearly every single afternoon was filled with things like the mother-and-baby clinics, antenatal clinics and clinics for people who were trying to stop smoking or lose weight. Add all of those to the regular morning and evening surgeries and it seemed his life was going to be extremely full for the next few weeks.

‘You certainly offer a very complete service here,’ he observed, leaning back in his chair. It was just gone eight a.m. and they were in Miles’s office—the office Harry would be using while he was working there. Although it had been after midnight when he’d dropped Grace off at her house in the village, she had telephoned him before seven that morning to ask him if he would meet her at the surgery.

Harry had agreed immediately, even though he’d been fast asleep when she’d phoned. However, it had seemed like a point of honour not to let the side down so he had dragged himself out of bed and into the shower, and, by skipping breakfast, had managed to get to the surgery a couple of minutes before she’d arrived. He could have murdered for a cup of coffee but he’d be damned if he would show any sign of weakness by suggesting they should stop for a drink. If Grace could keep up this punishing schedule then so could he.

‘We do our best to fulfil all our patients’ needs,’ she said briskly, taking another sheet of paper out of her file. ‘This is a list of our contacts at the local hospital. Obviously, you can request an appointment for a patient through the usual channels, but we find it speeds things up if we approach the head of each department on a personal basis.’ She shrugged. ‘A phone call is all it usually takes so it doesn’t require that much extra effort.’

‘It must add up, though.’ Harry frowned as he took the sheet from her. ‘I know how difficult it is to get hold of people so I doubt one phone call would do it. You must have to phone back several times.’

‘Miles and I tend to make any phone calls after morning surgery finishes. That way we can catch people during their lunch-break and keep to our timetable.’

‘I see.’ Harry didn’t say anything else as he placed the list on top of the other one. He was there to help, not to question how the practice was run. Nevertheless, he couldn’t help thinking that it was no wonder Miles was so stressed when he was cramming so much into his day. Morning surgeries, evening surgeries, clinics, phone calls—he wouldn’t have time to draw breath.

‘How long do you allow for each consultation?’ he asked, opting for a less controversial topic.

‘We allocate ten minutes per patient, more if it’s someone we know we will have to spend extra time with.’

‘That’s quite generous,’ he observed, recalling what other GPs had told him recently. ‘Most practices allow six minutes per patient and try to get away with less than that if they can.’

‘We find it’s a false economy to cut corners. If you don’t spend time getting to the root of a problem, invariably the patient ends up having to come back to see you.’

‘It’s a valid point, although I suppose it depends on how many patients you book in for each surgery,’ he conceded, making a note to add it to his report. If more time was spent at the initial assessment stage then a second appointment might be avoided, and that was bound to be of help to an overworked GP. ‘What’s your maximum number of appointments per session?’

‘We don’t have a set limit. Both morning and evening surgeries are run on an open-door basis—in other words, if someone needs to see us they just turn up on the day.’

‘But that’s crazy. You could have the whole village turning up and have to see them.’

‘I doubt it. Most people around here are too busy to waste their time by making unnecessary trips to see the doctor.’ She shrugged. ‘We find it works so I see no reason to change the routine. But if you find the pace too much for you, you only have to say so. I can deal with any patients you aren’t able to see.’

‘I am more than happy to do my share of the work,’ he said flatly. He knew that she was trying to goad him but he wasn’t going to fall into that trap again. No matter what Grace said or did from now on, he wasn’t going to rise to the bait.

‘Then we won’t have a problem, will we?’ She stood up and came around the desk, pausing as she drew level with him. ‘Is there anything else you need to know? I think I’ve covered more or less everything to do with the day-to-day routine, but if there’s anything you’re not clear about then say so.’

‘No, it all seems fairly straightforward.’

He stood up as well, feeling a tremor pass through him when his arm accidentally brushed against hers as he pushed back his chair. It immediately reminded him of what had happened the night before, and he sighed.

He still couldn’t understand why that kiss had made such an impression on him. He’d been so afraid that Grace would notice something was wrong that he’d been desperate to get away. When Penny had assumed that he was going to look for that nurse, he hadn’t bothered correcting her because it had seemed the easiest way to resolve his dilemma. Now, however, he found himself wishing that he hadn’t let Grace believe that he was interested in the young woman. Maybe it was silly to be so sensitive but he wouldn’t want her to think that he was more concerned with his love life than doing a good job here.

‘Look, Grace, about that nurse last night—’

‘Please.’ She held up her hand, her beautiful mouth curling in distaste. ‘Too much information, Harry. What you do in your free time is your business. I really don’t want to hear all the gory details.’

She swept past him, leaving him feeling completely dumbfounded. Did she honestly think that he was crass enough to discuss his sex life with her? His spirits sank as he realised what a low opinion she must have of him. That he was more than partly to blame for it made him feel even worse. He should have put an end to their squabbling years ago.

Grace hurried into her consulting room and closed the door. She’d been dreading seeing Harry that morning and it had turned out to be every bit as bad as she’d feared. It had been hard enough to maintain her composure when he’d seen fit to criticise the way she and Miles ran the practice, but when he’d started to tell her about his nightly exploits with that nurse…Well!

Heat swept through her and she clutched hold of the doorknob. She didn’t want to think about Harry’s sex life but she couldn’t seem to control the images that were crowding into her head, pictures of him and that nurse curled up in bed together—only it wasn’t the nurse. She’d had blonde hair and the woman in her mind’s eye had brown hair, caramel brown, just like hers…

Grace leapt away from the door and hurried to her desk. She must be more tired than she’d realised if she was dreaming up rubbish like that. It would be a cold day in hell before Harry Shaw got her into his bed.

She’d just switched on her computer when Janet, their receptionist, popped her head round the door to ask if she wanted a cup of coffee. Grace smiled gratefully. ‘Yes, please. I didn’t have time to make myself a drink before I left home this morning.’

Janet shook her head. ‘You should eat a proper breakfast before you come into work. You need to keep your strength up. Why did you have to be here so early, anyway? I saw you drive past my house when I was fetching in the milk and it wasn’t even eight o’clock at the time.’

Grace sighed as she realised that Janet had no idea what had happened to Miles. She quickly explained the situation to her, stressing the fact that Miles should make a full recovery when she saw how upset the receptionist was. Everyone in the village loved Miles and she knew that a lot of people would be upset when they heard the news.

‘So what are you going to do?’ Janet asked, wiping away a tear. ‘I mean, you can’t manage all on your own. There’s far too much work for just one person.’

‘Which is why we’ve enlisted one of our friends to help until Miles is feeling better.’

Grace drummed up a smile, knowing that she couldn’t let anyone suspect that she had doubts about working with Harry. If the patients had any inkling of how uneasy she felt about this alliance, they would have no confidence in Harry. ‘Dr Shaw has offered to cover until Miles is feeling better, and I have to say that I think we’re very lucky to have him. He’s a superb physician and I know that our patients are going to receive the best possible care.’

She glanced up when a movement outside the door caught her attention, and blushed when she saw Harry was standing there, listening to what she was saying. He grinned at her as he came into the room, his blue eyes full of laughter and something else, something that made her feel all hot and shivery, as though she was running a fever. Having Harry look at her as though he was genuinely delighted by her comments was the last thing she’d expected. She wanted to run over to him and tell him that every word had been true, but how could she when she knew what he was really like?

Harry Shaw was a womanising Lothario. He didn’t do anything unless it furthered his own career and brought him personal glory.

Grace made herself recite all the reasons why she disliked Harry but they no longer seemed to have the impact they’d had in the past. It all sounded very airy-fairy now, as though they were excuses, not genuine reasons. Did she truly believe that was all there was to Harry, or was she desperately trying to hold onto her old prejudices because she was afraid to face the truth? That Harry was a damned fine doctor who had worked incredibly hard to reach his present exalted position.

She didn’t want to admit that she might have been wrong about him, but nothing seemed certain any more. The boundaries that had been drawn when they’d been students seemed to be breaking down, and Harry was no longer on one side and she on the other. For the next few weeks they would be working together as a team and, quite frankly, Grace didn’t know how she was going to cope. She had a feeling that once Harry crossed that final boundary, her life would be changed for ever.

CHAPTER FOUR (#ua1a77883-0da0-58e5-983c-ec5498957801)

‘IF YOU would pop Bethany on the couch and take off her top and pants, I can examine her. I see from her notes that she was complaining of pains in her legs when you brought her in to see Dr Farrington at the beginning of December. How is she now?’

Harry pulled back the screen and waited while Mrs Clarke settled her daughter on the examination couch. Five-year-old Bethany looked very pale and listless as her mother undressed her.

‘Much the same. She still keeps saying that her legs are sore. Dr Farrington said it was probably a virus because there were a lot of kiddies ill at the time with some bug or other. But it should have cleared up by now, I would have thought.’

‘These things can take time to work themselves out of the system,’ Harry explained, although it was unusual for a child to be ill for this length of time if it was only a viral infection. ‘Can you just explain how it all started? I’ve read Bethany’s notes but it’s better to have a first-hand account, I find.’

‘Well, it’s like I said, Beth kept telling me her legs were hurting. I just assumed she’d hurt them when she’d been climbing the trees in our back garden so I didn’t take that much notice at first.’ Mrs Clarke sighed. ‘She has three older brothers, you see, and she’s always trying to copy them and getting into mischief.’

‘A real little tomboy, are you, young lady?’ Harry smiled at the little girl, although he had to admit that there didn’t seem much sign of any mischief that day. Bethany appeared far too listless to cause any trouble. Bending down, he examined her legs, frowning when he saw that they were covered in bruises.

‘How did she get all these bruises?’ he asked, glancing at the mother.

‘I’ve no idea. I only spotted them at the weekend. If she’d been playing outside, I would have assumed she’d fallen over and hurt herself, but she’s not wanted to leave the house since Christmas.’ Mrs Clarke stroked her daughter’s hair. ‘She keeps saying that she’s too tired to play and it’s just not like her. That’s why I decided to bring her to the surgery again today. It’s not natural for a child this age to be complaining that she’s tired all the time, is it, Doctor?’

‘Not if she’s getting the right amount of sleep at night,’ Harry agreed, moving to the top of the couch. He gently felt around Bethany’s neck and under her arms, hiding his dismay when he discovered how enlarged the lymph nodes were in those areas. Although he would have expected to find some sign of enlargement if Bethany’s body was fighting off an infection, this degree of swelling was unusual. It could be a sign that there was something seriously wrong with the child, although he didn’t intend to rush to any conclusions. He would spend an extra few minutes checking the facts, as Grace had advised him to do.

The thought of Grace sent a rush of heat along his veins. He had to make a determined effort to ignore it as he carried on with his examination. ‘Has Bethany complained of pain anywhere else, or have you noticed anything unusual happening recently?’ he asked, trying not to dwell on how good it had felt to hear Grace praise him like that. He knew that in all likelihood it had been necessity that had prompted those comments: she’d wanted the receptionist to think that she was happy to work with him so it wouldn’t cause any unrest within the practice. However, he couldn’t deny that it had been a boost to his ego to hear her say something good about him for a change.

‘Not really. It’s been her legs mainly that she’s been complaining about.’

‘And there’s been nothing else bothering her?’ he insisted gently, sensing that the mother was holding something back.

‘Well, it’s probably nothing. I told her dad about it but he just said I was fussing so I wasn’t going to mention it, but her gums have been bleeding. It’s not just when she cleans her teeth either, which is why I thought it was a bit odd.’