She almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. But at the same time she wanted to cry. Why did he have to come into her life now, when there was absolutely no room for him?
‘I suppose this is the point where I’m supposed to apologise for rushing you.’ His voice was soft. ‘But I’m not going to apologise for doing something that felt completely right.’
She bit her lip and waited for the frantic bump of her heart to slow to something approaching normal levels. ‘Did I see you bring a mince pie into the room?’
His mouth was still close to hers. ‘Are you changing the subject?’
‘Yes.’ She wished he wouldn’t look at her like that. There was a sexy gleam in those wicked blue eyes that made it almost impossible to concentrate. ‘I’m hungry.’
He hesitated briefly and then sat back. ‘You have a ferocious appetite for a woman,’ he drawled, moving away from her and reaching for the plate. ‘Anyone would think you haven’t eaten for a month.’
She gave an awkward laugh and helped herself from the plate. ‘They’re good. Did you make them?’
‘Don’t be ridiculous. I’m a man. I can cook the basics but I draw the line at mince pies. These are courtesy of my sister, who filled my freezer when she was here last.’
‘Is that the same sister who is the mother of those children?’ She glanced across at the photograph and he nodded.
‘Jessica.’
Miranda sighed. What would it be like, she wondered, to have a sister to fill your freezer?
She ate another two and decided that any more would appear greedy so she stopped and snuggled back against the sofa. Suddenly she felt deliciously full and alarmingly drowsy.
‘Five minutes,’ she murmured, closing her eyes. ‘Just five minutes and then I’m going to have to go home.’
And as she finished speaking, she fell asleep.
CHAPTER THREE
THE telephone woke him from a delicious dream of being wrapped in silky dark hair and kissed by a warm, soft mouth.
Cursing softly, still half-asleep, Jake reached out and answered it. ‘Yes.’
‘Mr Blackwell?’
He recognised the voice of the senior midwife on the obstetric unit and was instantly awake. ‘Ruth?’ He glanced round his living room and realised that he was alone. Where was Miranda? She’d fallen asleep and he’d covered her in blankets and then proceeded to fall asleep next to her. Only there was no sign of her now. And the weak, winter sunlight shining through the windows told him that it was morning.
‘Jake—are you still there?’
Trying to ease the ache from his shoulders, he forced himself to concentrate on the phone. ‘Yes, I’m here. What’s happening?’
Was she using the bathroom?
‘I’ve got a nightmare going on here, that’s what’s happening. I’ve just admitted a woman who was hoping for a home birth—fifth baby. But the last one was delivered by Caesarean section.’
Jake struggled to make sense of what she was saying. ‘Fifth baby?’ His brain was still foggy with sleep and his shoulders ached. He hadn’t slept on a sofa since he’d been a student and now he remembered why. ‘She doesn’t sound like the best candidate for a home birth.’
‘Which is presumably why she didn’t register with anyone,’ Ruth said wearily. ‘She was staying with her parents for Christmas and she’s just turned up here in labour because her mother-in-law has bullied her into it. Very stroppy. Hates hospitals. Hates doctors. I’ve managed to persuade her to let me check the foetal heart rate and there’s some bradycardia. I’m not very happy about her really and I don’t want to call Mr Hilton because I think she’s going to be quite difficult to manage and you’re good with difficult patients and he’s not.’
Merry Christmas, Jake.
He closed his eyes and breathed out heavily. ‘All right—what else?’
‘You’re not going to like the next bit of news.’
‘I wasn’t crazy about the last bit.’ He smothered a yawn. ‘Go on.’
‘Lucy Knight’s waters have broken.’