His Longed-For Baby. Josie Metcalfe

      

      “Jake, what would you say about having a baby?” Maggie blurted.

      “A baby?” Jake blinked, obviously startled by the abrupt question.

      “Your baby,” she prompted expectantly—knowing she was doing this all wrong—but she couldn’t hold back now.

      “My baby?” he echoed softly, and his eyes darkened a fraction of a second before he brought the shutters down. “Look, Maggie, I know you were badly let down, and that the two of us…went a bit further than we should have that night. But I told you up-front that I won’t be getting married.”

      “But I wasn’t asking you to marry me,” she retorted, completely sidetracked. She suddenly realized that he still hadn’t commented on her announcement, and wondered if she hadn’t made herself clear. “Jake, I just wanted to tell you that we—”

      “I’m sorry, but I’m just not cut out to be a family man.”

      Dear Reader,

      As a member of a large family, I have always been fascinated by the differences between brothers and sisters, even though they share the same basic genetic makeup. Even their relationships with their parents can be very different.

      In Maggie ffrench’s case, the feeling of always being second-best to her parents didn’t affect the love she had for her brother, David. She even followed him into medicine in a subconscious attempt to get her parents’ appreciation, but discovered that she actually loved it! Her career became important to how she felt about herself. Yet, despite working long hours in a busy E.R. department, she still longed to have a loving family of her own.

      As soon as Maggie met E.R. consultant Jake Lascelles, she knew he was the perfect candidate with whom to start that family. Jake was the man of her dreams—except he made it clear that he would never be a “happy families” man. So she had to settle for friendship.

      And now, with her brother having troubles of his own on the other side of the world, when her latest attempt at forever collapses, it’s Jake’s shoulder Maggie finds herself crying on, knowing she’ll never stop loving him.

      Look out for David’s story later in the year.

      I hope you enjoy getting to know the ffrench doctors as much as I enjoyed writing about them.

      Happy reading!

      Josie

      His Longed-For Baby

      Josie Metcalfe

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      CONTENTS

       COVER

      Dear Reader

       TITLE PAGE

      CHAPTER ONE

      CHAPTER TWO

      CHAPTER THREE

      CHAPTER FOUR

      CHAPTER FIVE

      CHAPTER SIX

       CHAPTER SEVEN

       CHAPTER EIGHT

       CHAPTER NINE

       CHAPTER TEN

       COPYRIGHT

       CHAPTER ONE

      ‘YOU’LL just have to find yourself another wife, Liam…’ Maggie said in a voice that shook with something more than mere anger.

      Ordinarily, she hated drawing attention to herself, but she was so incensed that she barely noticed the increasingly fascinated stares of the party-goers surrounding them.

      ‘If you’d told me you just wanted someone to take care of your children, I could have helped you to look for a nanny. As for a wife’s other duties,’ she continued as a scathing finale, ‘I’m sure it would be far more economical to pay by the hour—you’d get more variety that way.’

      She was vaguely aware that he was purple with embarrassment by the time she turned her back on him and started to make her determined way across the room. By that time, she had begun shaking with reaction and all she wanted to do was disappear into thin air.

      What on earth had she done? Had that really been her making such a scene? And as for suggesting that he should pay a prosti—

      ‘Hang on, Maggie. I’m coming with you,’ Karen muttered in her ear, grabbing her sleeve to halt her progress for a moment. ‘I just need to get my coat.’

      Maggie didn’t even pause. The awful silence was being replaced by whispers and giggles as the colleagues nearest to them reacted to the impromptu entertainment she’d provided for them. It was obvious that almost every eye in the room must have been watching the little drama and she knew she couldn’t bear to wait another second to get out.

      ‘Don’t bother, Karen,’ she said with a brief smile for her friend. ‘You might as well enjoy the rest of the evening. I’m just going to go home. I’ve got some thinking to do.’

      And wasn’t that the understatement of the year? she thought wryly as she hurried back towards the blessed seclusion of her flat, grateful that Karen had finally taken her at her word.

      She really didn’t think she could take an evening of well-meant sympathy—she was too disgusted with herself.

      How could she have been so blind? She’d known Liam for nearly a year now. They’d been engaged for more than three months and she was supposed to have been marrying him tomorrow. How could she not have realised that the hospital’s up-and-coming cardiothoracic surgeon was nothing more than a liar and a cheat?

      An hour later her hands were still trembling with the after-effects of the distasteful scene as she struggled to tie a piece of string around the top of a black plastic rubbish bag.

      Someone tapped softly on her door and she froze, hoping that if she stayed still and quiet they would go away. It had to be one of the other people who lived in the house because they were the only ones with a key to get past the main door.

      While they didn’t all work in the same department, they were all colleagues working at the same hospital and relished the opportunity to let their hair down with a celebration. She’d hoped she’d have the house to herself for a little longer—after all, she knew they’d all accepted her invitation to join her for a drink on the night before her wedding. She’d presumed that the rest would take Karen’s lead and stay out enjoying the evening in spite of the fiasco it had turned out to be.

      In fact, it was probably Karen out there, she thought with a touch of guilt for ignoring her friend. Hopefully she would go back and join the others because she really didn’t want to see anybody until she’d got her thoughts under control.

      She gave a silent snort.

      ‘Thoughts? What thoughts?’ she muttered under her breath.

      She’d been home for an hour and she was still replaying the moment when all her dreams had shattered into dust. For several interminable moments her brain had turned to mush when she’d overheard Liam’s gloating conversation with his best man, Jake. Where she’d found the words to throw at her bridegroom-to-be she’d never know, especially when just the thought of them made