THE SURGEON'S CHILD by Alison Roberts

Author:Alison Roberts
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

IT WAS only a matter of time before someone noticed.

The automatic stretch Polly indulged in as she rubbed the small of her back made Stephanie’s eyes widen dramatically.

‘My God, Polly—you’re pregnant, aren’t you?’

Polly gave the door of the drugs room a panicked glance. The reassurance that Stephanie’s observation had not been overheard gave little relief. Her secret was no longer safe.

‘I had my suspicions,’ Stephanie told her more quietly. ‘Then you came back from leave and more than one person commented that you’d put on weight. Why on earth didn’t you tell me?’

‘I couldn’t.’ Polly fiddled with the premixed insulin syringe she had come in to collect.

‘Why not? I thought we were friends, Polly. Real friends.’

‘We are.’ Polly dropped the syringe into the blue plastic kidney dish and gave Stephanie’s arm a quick squeeze. ‘I’m sorry, Steph. I had to get my head around a lot of stuff and I just wasn’t ready to tell anybody.’

‘You mean I’m the only one who knows?’

‘Apart from my mother, and I only told her last week. Promise you won’t say anything. Please!’ Polly reached for an alcohol wipe and added it to the kidney dish. ‘I’m getting a larger size uniform today. That should keep things hidden for a few more weeks.’

‘How far along are you?’

‘Nearly five months.’

Stephanie emitted an awestruck whistle. ‘Who’s the father?’

Polly appeared to be concentrating on calibrating the blood-glucose monitor she had taken from the shelf. She avoided her friend’s curious stare. ‘I’d rather not say.’

‘Fair enough.’ Stephanie checked the drug chart on the bench in front of her and reached for a bottle of tablets on the top shelf. ‘I think I know who it is, anyway.’ She lowered her voice again. ‘It’s Matt Saunders, isn’t it?’

Polly knew she was probably failing to look as though Stephanie couldn’t be further from the truth and her query came out sounding distinctly lame. ‘What makes you think that?’

Stephanie’s smile conceded that it had been a valiant effort. ‘Come on, Polly. I saw the way you looked at him—that day we were coming back from lunch and you spotted him in the corridor. I had a chance to think on my way back to the ward. You’d been miserable ever since Bonnie’s funeral. For as long as Matt Saunders had been out of the country. Then you suddenly took two weeks’ leave after he got back.’ Her gaze was sympathetic now. ‘I take it he’s not too keen on the idea of fatherhood?’

‘He doesn’t know I’m pregnant.’

‘What?’ Stephanie’s jaw dropped. The bottle of tablets in her hand tipped and filled the tiny plastic cup. Polly smiled.

‘I don’t fancy your chances getting Reece Jenson to swallow that lot. I had enough trouble getting one pill into him yesterday. Mind you…’ Polly eyed the large tablets ‘…they are the size of small footballs.’

‘He’s nine,’ Stephanie said firmly. ‘He was told what the consequences would be if he continued spitting out the syrup. It was his choice to take the tablets rather than have injections.

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