Prognosis Christmas Baby - Amy Andrews Page 0,58

‘Guess so.’

‘You missed your Secret Santa gift,’ he said.

She frowned. ‘No, I didn’t. I opened it while you were on round. I got a coffee mug.’

Nash raised an eyebrow. ‘Really? But I just saw one under the tree for you.’

Maggie looked puzzled as she walked towards the tree. ‘I must have missed it. It’s probably part of the first gift. They must have become separated,’ she mused as she bent to retrieve the small package wrapped in a red ribbon.

‘Hmmm,’ Nash said noncommittally, grinning like an idiot behind her.

Maggie opened the second gift without giving it a lot of thought, pretty sure it’d probably be some kind of accessory to the first. Maybe a box of tea bags or something.

It wasn’t until she hit blue velvet that she realised the gift wasn’t from her Secret Santa. But from Nash. She turned to face him, her hands shaking.

‘Nash?’

Nash smiled down at her. ‘Open it,’ he murmured.

Maggie’s fingers were trembling so badly it seemed to take an age to prise the lid open. When she finally managed it, the ring took her breath away. A large square cut blue sapphire sat on the plump velvet cushion.

‘Oh, Nash,’ she whispered, unable to tear her gaze away from it.

Nash, his own fingers a little on the trembly side, took it out of the box. He’d made such a hash of the last proposal he was determined to make this one special.

‘Will you make me the happiest man in the world, Maggie? Will you marry me?’

Maggie couldn’t believe it. The background noise of the unit faded as the world narrowed down to just the two of them in this moment.

In a few short months all her dreams had come true. She, the man she loved and their baby were going to become a family. ‘Yes.’ She smiled, looking into his incredible blue eyes. ‘Yes.’

Applause rang out around the unit as they became aware of their surroundings again. Nash grinned at her as he placed the ring on her finger. ‘Merry Christmas, Maggie May.’

Maggie stood on tiptoe and wound her arms around his neck. ‘This is going to be a hard Christmas to top.’

‘Maybe, but I’m going to spend the rest of my life doing just that,’ he promised.

And they kissed again in front of their very appreciative audience.

Read on for Ch 1 of Prognosis Bad Timing.

PROGNOSIS BAD TIMING – Chapter One

Two more weeks. Two more weeks. Two more weeks.

The words reverberated around Charlie Wentworth’s head in time with the squeak in his back wheel.

Two more weeks until he could start living again.

The regular Sunday visit with his parents had left him with that familiar bitter taste in his mouth. Between his family’s overt disapproval, the uncertainty over his health and tomorrow’s invasion from the hospital administrator, he had a lot on his mind.

All he had to do was get through the next fortnight. Go through the motions. Co-operate with the hospital hatchet-wielder. See his patients. Keep focused. Go get the blood test. Wait for the results. Which would be negative. Then he could get on with living.

Unless they were positive...Then what the hell was he going to do?

He stepped on the accelerator out of pure frustration, the ancient Mazda straining and protesting. His life had been on hold for what felt like years - the separation, the divorce and now this. Gaining steadily on the car in front, Charlie eased his foot off the pedal. Blowing the gearbox wouldn’t bring the next fortnight to a close any faster. He just had to be patient. Once upon a time he’d had that in abundance.

Not so much at the moment...

Carrie Douglas flicked her gaze to the rear-view mirror and tensed as the car behind surged closer. Her headlights stabbed into the darkness and she prepared to dip her high beam for when it overtook. It didn’t, though, falling back to a safe distance again and she relaxed.

Driving at night on an unfamiliar road made her nervous especially when she was carrying such precious cargo. Dana’s blonde head drew her attention. It was slumped to one side, her cute face relaxed in a deep sleep, her ancient blanky snuggled against her cheek.

It was at times like these she realised there was only so much a mother could do to protect her child.

So much more was out of her control.

Thoughts about the job she was starting tomorrow turned over and over in her mind as she flicked her gaze back to the road. The hospital was sending her in