Medical Romance December 2016 Books 1-6. Sue MacKay

The King and Queen of Montanari. They wouldn’t like her. They wouldn’t like her at all. She’d ruined the plan to unite the neighbouring kingdoms and was going to give Montanari an illegitimate heir. Her face was probably currently fixed to a dartboard or archery target in their throne room.

      ‘And are they forcing you to do this too?’ The words came out in a whisper. Every muscle in her body was tensed.

      Duty. That was what she was sensing here.

      He might be sincere. But there was no love—no compassion here. Tears threatened to fill her eyes. She licked her dry lips and stepped back, out of his hold. He hadn’t answered her question and she couldn’t quite believe how hurt she felt.

      ‘I think you should go back to Montanari, Sebastian. I’ll let you know when the baby arrives and we can sort things out from there.’

      He looked surprised, his hand still in the air from where he’d touched her hair. He stared at it for a second, then shook his head. ‘Who says I’m going back to Montanari?’

      She concentrated on her shoes. It was easier than looking at him. ‘Well, you will, won’t you? You’ll have—’ she waved her hand ‘—princely duties or something to do. You can’t stay here. There’s been enough tittle-tattle about who the father of my baby is. The last thing I want is for someone to realise who you are and gossip about us. I’m the talk of the steamie already.’

      He shook his head in bewilderment. ‘The what?’

      ‘The steamie. You know—the washhouse.’

      He shook his head. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about. But you know what? Just keep talking. I’d forgotten how much I loved the sound of your voice.’

      Ditto.

      ‘The steamie. It’s a Scottish term for an old washhouse—the place where people used to go and wash their clothes before everyone had washing machines. It was notorious. The women used to always gossip in there.’

      ‘So, that’s what we could be? The talk of the steamie?’

      She nodded again. ‘And I’d rather not be. It would be easier if you left. We can talk. We can make plans about access arrangements when the baby arrives. We have another six weeks to wait. There’s enough time.’

      ‘Oh, no, you don’t,’ he replied promptly.

      She had a bad feeling about this. ‘What do you mean?’

      ‘I’m not going anywhere. I’ve already missed out on things. I’m not missing out on anything else.’

      ‘What do you mean by that?’ she asked again.

      He leaned against the door jamb and folded his arms across his chest. There was a determined grin on his face. ‘I’ve got work to do here.’ He mimicked her hand wave. ‘Princely duties. I need to sort out the twinning of our hospitals and iron out all the details. Get used to me being around.’ He gave her a little nod. ‘I’m your new best friend.’

       CHAPTER THREE

      IF HE DIDN’T love his friend so much he’d be annoyed by the permanent smile that seemed to have fixed itself to Oliver’s face. Even sitting at a desk swamped with paperwork, Oliver still had the smile plastered on his face.

      ‘Sebastian!’ Oliver jumped to his feet, strode around the desk and engulfed Sebastian in a bear hug.

      Sebastian returned the hug and leaned back. ‘You’re engaged? Do I get to meet the lucky lady?’

      Oliver slapped his arm. ‘You get to be my best man!’ His smile wavered for a second. ‘Are you here for the announcement tomorrow? I thought I would have heard from you.’

      Sebastian gave a brief nod. He pushed his hands into his pockets and looked at Oliver. ‘Not just that. It seems you and I are about to experience some changes together.’

      Oliver’s brow furrowed at the cryptic line. ‘What do you mean?’

      Sebastian glanced around. There was no one hovering near the door. Oliver’s office seemed private enough. ‘We’re both about to be fathers.’

      For a few seconds Oliver’s expression was pure surprise. ‘Theresa’s pregnant? Congratulations. I had no idea—’

      Sebastian held up his hand to stop him. Of course he was surprised. He knew Sebastian’s real feelings about that engagement.

      He shook his head. ‘It’s not Theresa.’

      Oliver paled. ‘It’s not?’

      They were good friends. He’d experienced Sebastian’s parents. He knew exactly how focused and overbearing they could be. They’d spent many hours and a number of cases of beer contemplating the pressures of being an heir, along with Sebastian’s personal feelings and ambitions.

      The grin that spread over Oliver’s face took Sebastian by surprise. He let out a laugh and walked back around the desk, pushing his wheeled chair back, putting his feet on the desk and crossing his arms. ‘Oh, this is going to be good. Tell me all about it.’

      Sebastian shook his head and leaned on the chair opposite Oliver. ‘You find this amusing?’

      Oliver nodded. ‘I find this very amusing. It’s only taken you thirty-one years to cause a scandal. I hope it’s a good one.’

      Sebastian made a face. ‘You might change your mind when you find out the rest of it.’

      ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

      Sebastian shook his head again. ‘Is everything set for the board meeting tomorrow?’

      Oliver nodded. ‘It’s just a formality. They’ve already agreed to twin the hospitals and develop the training programme. You realise as soon as it’s announced there’ll be around forty staff queued outside my door trying to get their name on the reciprocal swap programme?’

      Sebastian took a deep breath. Was there even a chance in a million that Sienna might consider something like that?

      He was still smarting about her reaction earlier. What was wrong with making the heir to the Montanari throne legitimate? It made perfect sense to him.

      Why was she so against it? He’d still felt the chemistry in the air between them—even if she wanted to deny it. He could admit that the timing wasn’t great. But he’d dealt with things as best he could.

      At the end of the day it was his duty to marry the mother of his baby. Maybe he could work on her, get her to reconsider?

      ‘I plan on being around for the next few days—maybe longer.’

      Oliver glanced at him. Sebastian’s visits were usually only when he flew in and out of the UK on business and usually only lasted a couple of hours.

      ‘Really, why?’

      He’d picked up a pen and was scribbling notes.

      Sebastian lowered his voice. ‘Because I have to convince the mother of my child to marry me.’

      The pen froze and oh-so-slowly one of Oliver’s eyebrows rose. ‘Say that again?’

      Sebastian sat back in the chair and relaxed his arms back. He felt better after saying it out loud. It didn’t seem quite so ridiculous a thought.

      ‘Sienna—the mother of my child. I have to convince her to marry me.’

      The pen flew past his ear. Oliver was on his feet. ‘What? What do you mean, Sienna?’ His head turned quickly from side to side. ‘I mean, you? Her? The baby? It’s yours?’ It was almost as if he were trying to sort it all out in his mind. Then his eyes widened and he crumpled back down into his seat.

      ‘Oh, no.’ He looked as if he were going to be sick