Babies in the Bargain (24 page)

“Not at all.” Holly’s fingers clutched the fork as she plastered a smile on her lips and shrugged. “I have good news. Today Dr. Morey was here. Brendon’s doing better. In two weeks, Dr. Morey is coming back to perform the arterial switch.”

“Glad your patient made it so far. How’s your babysitting going on? Not too tired?”

“Not at all. Paulito is adorable.”

“But you don’t look too happy? Why is that?” Chris squinted behind his glasses.

She couldn’t confide in Chris, who’d always considered Marc to be an incorrigible womanizer. “Too much pressure. That’s all.”

“I see. You’re too busy taking care of the Suarez men and not paying enough attention to yourself. Are you on call Friday night?”

She shook her head, tapping her fork on the table.

“How about dinner and a show?”

Going out with Chris sounded like an acceptable idea to uplift her gloomy mood. Maybe it was time to start living again. Rubbing shoulders with Marc unbalanced her equilibrium. Granted, she was in love with him. A desperate situation since he didn’t love her. Nausea roiled in her stomach.

If Marc wanted to avoid her, she’d make it easier for him.

On the other hand, she couldn’t let Reina snatch him from under her nose. Exasperated by the dilemma and her own indecision, she bit her lip.

“Is it so difficult to decide?” Chris asked, an ironic smile stretching his lips.

Holly rolled her eyes. He had no idea how difficult. “I’ll think about it.”

To run after Marc, or wait and risk losing him?

“Think about it seriously.” A besotted expression played over Chris’s face as he squeezed her hand.

Should she purge her hopeless love for Marc? The only cure was to find someone else. A boyfriend who could pamper her and make her forget Marc’s unforgettable kisses.

Chris seemed eager to fill the spot. The thought knotted her stomach painfully.

Chris could never replace Marc in her heart.

No man could.

“I’ll see you later,” she said as she left for the NICU, her heart heavy.

On her way to the NICU, she grabbed a candy bar and nibbled on it, the sweet taste of chocolate on her tongue a soothing balm for her rattled nerves. She’d have to confront Marc.

How? When she was stuck in the hospital and he would leave soon. She entered the scrub room appended to the NICU, scrubbed, and donned a sterile gown.

As she bent over Baby Brendon’s isolette to check him, she thought about Marc’s efficient support during the baby’s surgery. In a way, he’d saved her career today. That same career she’d flung in his face as being more important than him or Paulito. Yet Marc hadn’t resented her. In spite of her rejection, he’d been as protective and helpful toward her as he’d been toward his ailing grandmother.

Get real, Holly
. Marc didn’t need her. He could have a tribe of beautiful women at his beck and call. All young, pretty, and accomplished, ready to cherish him and provide him with a brood of babies. All approved by his omnipotent grandmother. Yet he had pushed them away during his last trip to San Juan, the same way he pushed Jenna out of his office and refused Reina.

 
I’m partial to tall, honey-blonde neonatologists with turquoise eyes. And I know only one woman who matches my very specific taste.

Like a knight in shining armor he was ready to brave his dying Abuelita to marry Holly. How could she have blindly missed that?

Holly’s gloved hands shook as she slid them inside the incubator where Baby Brendon slept. This tiny infant had helped her realize Marc truly loved her. She wanted to run and call Marc, but Brendon still needed her.
She owed him big.

Baby Brendon, I pray that you live
.

The NICU door opened. A nurse pushed in a patient in a wheelchair, Dr. Joan Barnes, in a white gown. A pole rolled behind her with an IV bag hooked to her arm. “How’s my baby?” Dr. Joan asked.

“Improving. His color is better, and his blood pressure is stable,” Holly said, measuring each word.

“Give me numbers,” her former mentor ordered.

Oh dear, Dr. Barnes was not Holly’s usual parent. The casual reassuring sentences learned in med school wouldn’t do for her. “Temperature low, 96.5, heart rate 170, BP 80 over 50,” Holly recited, then paused and glanced at Dr. Barnes. After all, Dr. Barnes was the mother of a very sick baby. Could she continue to act the tough doctor?

Holly’s heart tightened and her throat constricted, looking at the newly delivered mother.

Joan closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then she focused a professional gaze on her son. “I wish I could take him in my arms. It would ease his stress. Has Dr. Morey put any restrictions on holding him, if I’m very careful?”

Her mentor was a brilliant doctor. Holding the baby in her arms for a moment might help him tremendously. “No restrictions, as long as we don’t disturb the tubes. Let me bring you closer.”

Holly wheeled Joan next to the incubator. With extreme care, she eased the baby out of the isolette. Working around the multiple patches to avoid displacing the tubes attached to the tiny body, Holly handed him to his mother.

Tears pooled in Joan’s eyes as she pressed her infant against her heart. “You’ll be fine. I’ll help you.” She turned her head toward Holly. “I’m going to be discharged in a few days, but I’ll come to spend time here with Brendon. I want to help him get stabilized for his big surgery.”

“By all means.”

“Thank you, Dr. Collier.” Joan fixed a sharp look at her. “You seem to be doing well career-wise. Married?”

Holly suppressed a smile. Even in her pathetic condition, Dr. Barnes remained the assertive leader. “Nope.”

“Don’t wait too long, my dear. We devote the best years of our life to studying and working, and then we sweat blood and tears to live a normal life.” Joan’s lips stretched in a bitter line and she sniffed. “I’ve waited too long to have a baby. Trust me. A career is not enough to fill your life. If you find a good man, grab him when you’re still young and build a family.”

Count on Dr. Barnes to go straight to the heart of the matter.

Holly sucked in a deep breath, now sure of her decision. One more time, Dr. Barnes had proved to be the best mentor. “Yes, Dr. Barnes. I’ll immediately go and grab my good man.”

She’d fly with him to Puerto Rico and meet his wonderful meddling family.

Dr. Barnes had lowered her head to smile at her son and forgotten about the rest of the world. Holly’s pager buzzed. She was needed in OR, stat, as usual.

* * *

As soon as she entered the OR, Holly paused, her eyebrows arched in surprise. “Marc, you’re still here?”

The expectant mother hadn’t been wheeled in, but Marc came straight to her. “My last surgery for the day. How are you doing now?”

“I’m good. I need to talk to you.” She lowered her mask away from her face and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Anything wrong with Baby Barnes?”

“No. He’s doing well. I just left him with his mother. Dr. Barnes wants to personally take care of him. Marc, I want to tell you—”

“What? How come she’s up and around?”

For a second Holly lost track of her thoughts. “She’s not. The nurse brought her in a wheelchair to the NICU.”

“Good. Her presence may help her baby.”

“Yes. Yes, but—”

“I called Gabriella. Abuelita is improving. But I’ll be leaving tonight,” Marc said as they wheeled the patient in. Dr. Halsdale and his team of nurses and residents followed. “You should forget about any distractions now and concentrate on your studies.”

The nerve of the man. Holly glared, unable to believe he was the one advising her to ignore
distractions
. He, the supreme source of her distraction. “Damn it, will you stop interrupting? I have to tell you—”

“Well, Dr. Collier, Dr. Suarez,” the obstetrician barked while everyone stared, and Holly’s cheeks flushed. “How long are we going to have to wait for you to finish your little chat?”

“We’re ready, sir,” Marc said as he strode to the head of the gurney.

He had a lot of cheek.
She wanted to strangle him.

And she wanted to tell him she loved him.

From his place, he turned toward her and tapped his finger on his masked face. She gasped. Her mask still dangled on her neck. She muttered every curse she knew while she adjusted the forgotten mask in place and received Dr. Halsdale’s ironic glance.

“Thirty-eight-week gestation. The water sac broke, and the baby is breech,” Dr. Halsdale instructed.

Marc administered the anesthesia. He clearly didn’t have trouble focusing his attention on the monitor and the patient.

Holly took a deep breath, counted to ten and exhaled, determined to ignore him.

Dr. Halsdale proceeded with the C-section. A moment later, he handed the nurse a good size baby.

Holly sighed with relief. This delivery had been a piece of cake in spite of the C-section. Exactly what she needed in her present nervous state. It looked as if someone up there had listened to her prayer. The baby was at least seven pounds and his vitals as normal as could be. “You can take him to the regular nursery. No need for NICU,” she told the nurse and waited near the door for Marc.

When the patient was wheeled out, Holly discarded her gloves and mask, and grabbed Marc’s arm. “I’m coming with you to San Juan,” she said in one rushed breath as soon as he was within earshot.

“What?” His voice came muffled by the mask he forgot to remove.

“See you at home. I need to find a sub for tonight and tomorrow. Don’t leave without me.”

He yanked her against him and pressed his masked mouth against hers. “Damn it. Wait.” He snatched off his mask, but she laughed and scooted away, her heart light now that she’d announced her decision.

She called Chris to tell him she wouldn’t be able to go out with him and left a message on his answering machine. “Can you also assign another fellow to replace me tonight and tomorrow?”

Counting on her fingers the tasks remaining to be taken care of, she stopped by the NICU to check on Brendon. He slept more peacefully than the previous day.

Joan watched him from her wheel chair. “He’s feeling better. Isn’t he?”

“Your visit has helped him. And you’ve helped me too. Thank you, Dr. Barnes. I’m going to grab my good man with both hands and never let go.”

Joan smiled. “In that case, don’t waste any more time here. Run.”

Following her advice, Holly rushed out of the NICU, skated along the hallway, and dashed to the elevator. As it opened, she stopped dead in her tracks.

Chris came out, his arm encircling Jenna’s waist.

“Holly, I need a word with you. Jenna dear, can you give me a minute with Holly.”

“Of course, Dr. Guerlin.” Jenna arched her delicate eyebrows and tilted her head toward Holly. “Have fun in Puerto Rico, Dr. Collier. I, for one, am very happy to be on call tonight to assist Dr. Guerlin.” She winked at Chris, blew him a kiss, and sashayed down the corridor.

“What the —” Holly followed the nurse’s back with rounded eyes.

Chris exhibited a wide silly grin, then turned to Holly, his eyebrows gathering in a severe scowl. “Do you realize how good you’ve become at feeding the rumor mill at this hospital?”

“Chris, I—”

“First you let him live with you and now you’re traveling with him?”

“It’s nobody’s business but mine.” She crossed her arms on her chest and tried to relax the mutinous pinch of her lips.

“Are you in love with him, Holly?”

She couldn’t stifle a smile and nodded.

“I wish you happiness, Holly. But tell Marc if he ever hurts
you, I’ll bloody his face.”

She saw the understanding and hurt in his eyes. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, Chris.”

“Unfortunately. Only a best friend.”

“I’m so sorry, Chris.” She hugged him, not knowing what else to say.

“Don’t worry about me. While you were too busy babysitting the Suarez baby and entertaining his adopted father, I had the time to appreciate how wonderful and caring Jenna is. And so beautiful any man would be proud to have her on his arm.” His gaze flew toward the end of the hallway where the glamorous nurse swung her derriere at a cadence guaranteed to make any man drool.

“Oh well, oh well,” Holly mumbled. “I wish you the best.” Chris—and Jenna—were entitled to their happiness.

“Thank you. Jenna wants to get married, and I wouldn’t mind starting a family. I’ve been lonely long enough, hoping and waiting for someone special to love me. Now I’ve found her.”

Hoping and waiting?

Anxiety twisted her heart. She closed her eyes as her breath caught in her throat.

Marc, please. Love me. Don’t let me hope and wait forever to hear you say you love me.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“Who are all these people?”

At the San Juan International airport, two dozen men and women kissed Holly on both cheeks, bear-hugged Marc and clapped him on his shoulders.