The Consultant's Christmas Proposal. Kate Hardy

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СКАЧАТЬ reminded her. All the same, he came over and checked Helena, too. ‘You’re right, her temperature’s up. Do you know where Lyd keeps the infant paracetamol?’

      ‘Second drawer down next to the kitchen sink. There’s a child lock on the drawer, and the oral syringe is attached to the bottle with an elastic band.’

      ‘Right.’ He returned a few moments later with the oral syringe and a bottle of infant paracetamol. ‘Rightio, little one. We’ll get your temperature down.’ Gently, he measured out a dose and squirted it into the baby’s mouth. ‘Give it a few minutes and you’ll be feeling better,’ he said softly.

      Except the paracetamol didn’t seem to work. When Saskia checked Helena’s temperature again a little later, it was still up. She stripped the baby down to her vest and nappy and gently gave her a tepid sponge bath. The warm water would evaporate from her skin, whereas cold water would simply make her veins constrict and drive her temperature up even more. ‘I think she’d better sleep in my room tonight,’ Saskia said, ‘so I can keep an eye on her.’

      ‘You’re planning to sit up with the baby all night and then do a full shift?’ Toby asked, sounding shocked.

      It was a lot to ask of someone who was completely fit, let alone someone who had a problem like Saskia’s. She shrugged. ‘It’s a one-off. I’ll cope.’

      ‘Saskia, don’t be daft. You don’t have to take the whole burden. There are two of us. Let’s take it in shifts to look after her.’

      ‘And swap her from room to room all night? Hardly.’

      ‘Let’s share a room, then.’

      She stared at him. ‘What?’

      ‘Come on. You slept on my bed often enough when we were students.’

      ‘Crashed out after an all-night study session.’

      ‘I’m perfectly capable of sharing your bed without having sex with you,’ he said quietly.

      Saskia glowered at him. What was he saying—that she wasn’t capable of sleeping in the same bed as a man without demanding sex? Or that she wasn’t able to make him want her, because he found her unattractive? Either way, it wasn’t very pleasant, and she felt colour scorch into her cheeks. ‘Well, thanks a bunch, Tobe.’ Sarcasm dripped from every word. ‘How to make your friends feel really good about themselves.’

      ‘What have I said?’ He raked a hand through his hair. ‘I wasn’t getting at you. Just think about it logically. We’re not students any more. We’re both too old to stay up all night and then work all the next day.’

      ‘Speak for yourself,’ she said with a scowl. ‘You’re the one who’s thirty-four.’

      ‘And you’re not that much younger,’ he sniped back. ‘We’re professionals, so we’re capable of looking after a sick baby between us without ripping each other’s clothes off.’

      ‘Mmm.’ That sounded a bit better. Maybe that was what he’d meant in the first place and she’d just misinterpreted it. She’d already snapped at people today, angry and frustrated because her hands were stiff and achy and she couldn’t do anything about it.

      ‘So are we being sensible about this?’

      ‘Yeah.’ She sighed, knowing that she owed him an apology. Along with about half the hospital. ‘Sorry.’

      ‘Hey.’ His fingers brushed her cheek, very quickly. ‘It’s OK. I know you’re worried about our god-daughter.’

      She blessed him silently for giving her such a great getout. ‘Yeah.’

      And he was right about the bed. They’d shared a bed on countless occasions as students, when they’d fallen asleep over their books. After he’d qualified, he’d still let her study with him. Now she thought about it, she realised how tired he must have been—working long hours as a junior doctor and then studying with her. But he’d always made time for her.

      Which was one of the reasons she loved him so much. He spent time with her. He was the first person in her life who had always, but always, had time for her.

      And that was the real reason—the selfish reason—why she hadn’t done anything about his love life. If she found him the woman of his dreams, he wouldn’t want to spend time with her any more. Toby’s wife certainly wouldn’t want him spending time with his former best friend instead of with her.

      What a bitch she was, putting her own needs before his. You’re going to have to give him up. For his sake, she told herself.

      Just…not until Lydia came back.

      An hour or so later, Saskia settled the baby in bed between two pillows, took a quick shower, cleaned her teeth and was in her pyjamas by the time Toby walked in. Wearing only pyjama bottoms, she noticed. Since when had his shoulders been that broad and his chest so well defined? With just a light dusting of hair over his pecs, enough to be sexy but not enough to be offputting.

      In fact, Toby Barker looked positively edible.

      Quelling her panic, she tried to turn it into a joke. ‘What’s with the stripper act?’

      He grinned. ‘This is a lot more than I usually wear in bed, believe me.’

      Toby slept in the nude? And he was telling her about it?

      Then another thought hit her. Was he flirting with her?

      No, of course not. Toby was like the big brother she’d never had. And she was like the kid sister he’d never had. Just the way it had always been between them. She pulled a face at him and climbed into bed.

      He climbed in on the other side and checked Helena’s temperature. ‘I think it’s coming down a bit.’

      ‘Let’s put her light show on, and see if she drops off.’ Saskia switched on the little machine she’d brought in from Helena’s room and turned off the bedside lamp. The light show played a soft lullaby and projected a series of pictures onto the ceiling. Various coloured stars were followed by a teddy bear in an aeroplane, then soft clouds which turned into the steam from a train driven by another teddy bear.

      ‘This is great! I ought to get some of these for the littlies on my ward,’ Toby said.

      ‘I wouldn’t mind one of these myself,’ she admitted. ‘More fun than a lava lamp.’

      ‘It’d be good if you could get different pictures and different tunes—all you’d have to do would be to slot a different card in. A Christmas one with Father Christmas in a train, and stars and Christmas trees and holly. Nice soft lullaby versions of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” or something. It’d be more fun than the piped carols they’ll insist on playing on our ward from the middle of next week,’ Toby mused.

      ‘You’ve missed your vocation. You could’ve been a toy designer,’ Saskia teased.

      ‘Secondary career.’ He grinned. ‘I’ll definitely get my own kids one. Then, when they’ve grown out of it, they can pass it on to me.’

      His kids. And she couldn’t have children.

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