‘About time.’ His arms wound around her and she was hauled close to his strong body that had continued to strengthen back to normal over the past year.
Vicki knew nothing but Cole. His lips on hers, his man scent, his love pouring into her. This was her man, her life, her everything. They’d done it. Overcome the odds and found a stronger happiness together where each felt comfortable to talk about anything that worried them, which was surprisingly little these days.
Then someone tapped her on the shoulder. ‘I’m so happy for you.’ Molly. There was a river streaming down her face.
Turning in Cole’s arms, she reached for her friend and hugged her tight. ‘Thank you for everything.’ The support, the understanding, and the celebration when she and Cole had learned they were having a baby.
‘How is baby? Any reaction to her parents’ special day?’
Looking down at her swollen belly, she had to laugh. ‘Last time I swapped vows with Cole I could see my shoes. Not a chance today.’
Cole swung her up into his arms, lifting her legs so she could see her feet. ‘There you go. Looking glam, if I might say so.’
‘Not bad for a pair of swollen feet and toes like little sausages.’ Then she leaned in against his chest and returned to kissing him. To heck with the champagne. Kisses were far more exciting. And important. ‘Here’s to us.’
‘To us.’
And his mouth claimed hers, giving her a taste of their future. All good and exciting and filled with love.
* * *
If you enjoyed this story, check out these other great reads from Sue MacKay
A Fling to Steal Her Heart
The Nurse’s Twin Surprise
Taking a Chance on the Single Dad
Redeeming Her Brooding Surgeon
All available now!
Keep reading for an excerpt from The Paramedic’s Unexpected Hero by Alison Roberts.
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The Paramedic’s Unexpected Hero
by Alison Roberts
CHAPTER ONE
OH, MAN...
It was clearly going to be one of “those” days. Ari Lawson could hear the shouting as soon as he pulled his helmet off, having shut down the engine of his powerful motorbike and secured it on its stand. Checking the house numbers in this outer suburban London street confirmed that one of the people engaged in this heated argument was standing in the doorway of the address he’d been dispatched to but it definitely wasn’t the person he’d been asked to check up on. This was a belligerent man in his mid-thirties—about Ari’s age—who was waving his fist at the middle-aged woman from the next-door terraced house.
‘Mind your own bloody business,’ he was yelling.
‘It is my bloody business,’ the woman yelled back, ‘if you’re punching holes in walls that I’m on the other side of. I’ve called the police.’
‘As if they’ll listen to you, you daft old bat. They never have before.’
Ari had lifted his kit from one of the panniers on the back of his bike. He walked towards the house.
‘Who the hell are you?’ the man demanded. He looked Ari up and down, his expression disgusted. ‘Get lost, whoever you are. You’re not wanted here.’
‘I’m here to see a Vicky Tomkins. This is where she lives, yes?’
‘There you go.’ The next-door neighbour folded her arms across an ample chest. ‘Vicky’s called for help. ’Bout time, if you ask me.’
‘Nobody asked you,’ the man spat. ‘And she didn’t call anyone.’
‘Yes, I did.’
Everybody turned instantly towards the woman now framed by the doorway behind the angry man. An obviously pregnant woman who was pale enough for alarm bells to start ringing for Ari.
‘I called my midwife,’ she said. ‘She said she couldn’t come but she’d find someone who could.’ But the younger woman was sounding hesitant now. ‘Another midwife...?’
‘That’s me,’ Ari confirmed. ‘Your midwife—Yvonne—is busy at the hospital in the middle of a delivery at the moment so she asked if I could come and see you. I’m a midwife, too.’
The moment’s silence didn’t surprise him. Ari was quite used to people finding a male midwife an unusual concept. Add in the fact that he was well over six feet tall, wore a leather jacket to ride his motorbike and kept his shoulder-length hair up and out of the way in a man bun for work hours and the reaction from others could often be a lot more than bewilderment. It wasn’t the first time he’d heard something like the raucous burst of laughter from the man in front of him.
‘You have got to be kidding me,’ he said. ‘A midwife? Well, you’re not getting anywhere near my wife, mate.’
For the umpteenth time, Ari had to wonder why
it was such an odd concept that the only appropriate male role in pregnancy or childbirth was that of an obstetrician. At least he was quite familiar with dealing with this kind of prejudice.
‘I think that decision is up to Vicky,’ he said calmly. ‘She’s the one who called for help.’ He caught her gaze and held it, doing his best to convey reassurance that she could trust him. ‘You’re experiencing some abdominal pain, yes?’
She nodded. ‘And I’m bleeding,’ she told him. She had a protective hand on her belly and her voice dropped to a shaky whisper. ‘Please... I’m scared...’
The man wasn’t about to move but Ari was a head taller and he wasn’t about to let this client down. He knew she was less than thirty weeks pregnant and, if she was in pain and bleeding, she could be in real trouble. He could hear a siren not far away, which reminded him that he could well need to call for back-up sooner rather than later.
‘There you go.’ The neighbour sounded satisfied. ‘That’ll be the cops on their way and they’ll sort you out. I hope they lock you up this time.’
Sirens were commonplace in any huge city and this area of London had more problems than many so Ari thought it unlikely that they would be responding to a minor disturbance like this, but Vicky’s husband was incensed, stepping sideways and raising his hands as well as his voice so that he could grab the fence railing between them and shake it. Ari used the opportunity to step closer to the person who had called for help.
‘Are you safe here?’ he asked quietly. ‘Or do I need to get you somewhere else to check what’s happening?’
Vicky shook her head wearily. ‘He’ll settle down,’ she said. ‘He just gets wound up sometimes, you know?’ There was curiosity in her glance this time. ‘Are you really a midwife?’
‘I really am. But if you’re uncomfortable with that, it’s okay. I can refer you to hospital for an obstetric check.’
‘I don’t want to go in there. I’d have to wait for hours and I’m supposed to be working tonight. Ow...’ Vicky clutched at her belly with her whole arm as she bent forward. ‘Oh, that really hurts...’