The Baby of Their Dreams (Contemporary Medical Romance) (14 page)

‘I know that now,’ he said. ‘You were turned on.’ But then he was the most serious he had ever been. ‘I never thought I’d do this again, Cat. I never thought I could get so lucky twice, but I have. So you’re going to marry me, Gemma’s going to be the bridesmaid and that’s settled. Now all we have to do is choose a name for our baby.’

It was the best day ever.

And made more so by Dominic going out while Cat slept at lunchtime and returning with a very big ring. He then scratched out ‘Baby Hayes’ and changed it to ‘Baby Edwards’.

‘I don’t think she’s old enough to know,’ Cat said.

‘I know.’

They still couldn’t decide on her name.

Her parents came, and then Greg and his wife and children.

A little later in the afternoon Eloisa was dressed in a little Spanish sleepsuit that had been bought a few weeks ago and had been sent along with a letter without judgment, just offering love.

And so they did live-stream with his barking-mad parents, though thankfully not the birth, and showed off their daughter to them and his sister, Kelly, as well as Cat’s ring.

‘She’s beautiful,’ Anna said.

‘I know.’ Dominic smiled. ‘I think she looks like me.’

‘I was talking about Cat!’

They were gorgeous!

And then a rather bemused Andrew popped in for a visit and did a double take when he saw Dominic sitting there by the bed and holding Cat’s hand.

‘I thought it was just a coincidence that your partner had gone into labour, Dominic. Then the rumours started flying and it would seem that they’re true.’ He just stood there bemused. ‘You two?’

‘Yep,’ Dominic said.

‘But why did you go to such lengths to hide it? You could have said at the interview.’ Andrew frowned. ‘Cat, you know it wouldn’t have affected his chance at the role.’

Cat just smiled and chose not to tell Andrew that even she hadn’t known he’d applied for the job and Dominic decided not to reveal he hadn’t known for sure then if it was even his baby.

‘I wonder,’ Dominic said, when Andrew had left, ‘what he’d have to say if he knew just what went on at the conference that the department sent you to.’

It was exhausting, being so happy.

So much so that when she’d fed her tiny baby again and put her down for a sleep Cat chose to take the midwife’s advice to rest when the baby did. She didn’t even notice that Dominic left, but awoke to the sound of the meals trolley. It rolled past her door.

‘You’re nil by mouth,’ the midwife said, when Cat buzzed her to ask where her food was.

‘Why?’ Cat asked, but the midwife had gone.

She was starving and there was absolutely no reason for her to be nil by mouth, but then the midwife came back smiling, holding the door for Dominic, who was carrying a tray along with a big bucket holding champagne.

‘Paella.’ Cat licked her lips as he removed the lid and she saw the saffron rice and gorgeous seafood.

‘Oh, and coffee...’ She picked up the cup and inhaled. ‘You remembered.’

‘Of course,’ Dominic said. ‘I might not know an awful lot about you but I remember the little I do.’

Dinner in bed, her baby sleeping by her side and Dominic pouring champagne. It was time to get to know each other a whole lot more.

From the luxurious place of love.

EPILOGUE

W
ELCOME
TO
G
ATWICK
A
IRPORT
!

They were possibly the most frazzled bride-and groom-to-be ever.

On the plane the five of them took up a full aisle.

There was Cat on one end, Dominic on the other, Eloisa in her bassinet and Rory and Marcus creating havoc between them.

Nigel and Gemma were on a delayed honeymoon and were, about now, taking a leisurely drive from Paris to Barcelona. They would be there to meet them at the airport.

‘Did you pack your pills?’ Dominic checked, when they finally got off the plane. ‘Because I’m not coming near you otherwise.’

‘Oh, yes.’ Cat nodded, very happy to have only one child.

The twins were adorable but, absolutely, Dominic agreed, they all needed Nigel.

And there he was with Gemma, smiling and waving. Cat’s friend was very happy to see the twins and relaxed after a full week away from her beloved terrors.

She was also ready for a girls’ night out before the big day, she told Cat as they walked to the car.

Cat and Gemma had a room booked for the night, her hen night, but for now Gemma was with Nigel, unsettling the twins and his routines, while Cat was in Dominic’s room, sneaking in one last feed with Eloisa.

She was gorgeous, a smiley, happy baby who had her father’s dark eyes and her mother’s thick black hair.

‘I
can
give a bottle,’ Dominic said, holding his hands out to take her.

‘I know,’ Cat said. ‘I just feel guilty,’

‘Why would you feel guilty?’ came Dominic’s sarcastic response. ‘I get the family buffet with Nigel and co. and you get to eat wherever you choose with adults and get as drunk as you please.’

‘I know, I can’t wait,’ Cat said.

‘Again she lies,’ Dominic said. ‘I assume it’s not me and the family buffet you’re feeling guilty about?’

‘No.’

She
was
looking forward to her night out, she really was. She’d managed to breastfeed for only six weeks and now, at three months old, Eloisa happily took her bottle and Dominic often got up to feed her at night.

It was just...

‘It’s just...’ Cat said. ‘It’s not just one night that I’m leaving her but two.’

‘Cat.’ Dominic was firm. ‘If we hadn’t got our problems sorted then about now, I might be having Eloisa to stay at my house for the night. And when you went back to work, there would have been no nanny, it would have been me.’

‘I know.’

‘And,’ Dominic added, ‘if you’re worried about leaving her with my parents tomorrow, don’t be. They are a bit odd but they will look after her as if she’s made of glass.’

‘I know all that.’

Cat loved his parents. She and Dominic had taken Eloisa to Spain when she was six weeks old and had stayed at the villa. Anna had been brilliant when Cat had been upset that her milk had dried up. She had been far more understanding about Cat’s tears than her own mum would have been. Now they were back again just a few weeks later. Cat was looking forward to the next couple of weeks. After their wedding night they would stay at the villa again and she would get to know his parents better.

‘I’d have brought her here without you,’ Dominic pointed out. ‘Not just yet, of course, but I always wanted her to be close to my parents. So just thank God we grew up and spoke to each other and that you’re not crying your eyes out, driving back from Gatwick Airport, having just waved her goodbye.’

‘Okay.’

‘So go and enjoy your night out.’ He smiled. ‘And I’ll see you tomorrow.’

She had the best night with her friend and her family. They went to the restaurant Dominic had first taken her to, and though she would tell him she’d had the paella he’d know she was lying.

‘This chicken,’ Gemma said, ‘is amazing.’

‘There’s a lot of salt,’ Cat’s mum replied, and reached for a glass of water.

They laughed a lot, drank a bit much and danced into the small hours.

Well, Cat’s mum and dad went off to bed but the two best friends had a brilliant time.

And then it was back to the hotel and she stayed up late into the night, chatting with Gemma.

‘It was bliss,’ Gemma said about their honeymoon. ‘It was so nice to be able to talk to each other without being interrupted and to go for a walk without having to sort out hundreds of shoes.’ She turned and looked over at Cat, who lay on her side in bed, listening to Gemma. ‘I’ve got something to tell you.’

Cat both smiled and frowned. ‘Well, I hope you’re not pregnant, given the amount of champagne consumed tonight.’

‘No, and I know both Nigel and I said never again when I had the twins, but we are going to try for another,’ Gemma said.

‘Yes!’ Cat grinned. ‘I knew you would.’

But that wasn’t all.

‘Remember when you joked about Nigel moving to France? Well, as it turns out, he wants to move there for a while and teach English.’

Cat’s jaw gaped. ‘And?’

‘I want to take some time off with the next baby. Some real time off. I’ve loved working but before I know it the twins will be at school and I want some mummy time with them... So home might be France for a while.’

‘It sounds brilliant,’ Cat said, though she held on to news of her own until she could run it by Dominic.

‘It does.’ Gemma sighed. ‘Though it’s a terrible shame I did German at school! You know, a few months ago, as much as I said I’d give it every consideration, I’d still have freaked. We probably can’t afford it, but...’

‘You can’t afford not to?’

Gemma nodded. ‘Things were a bit tense between Nigel and I for a while,’ she admitted. ‘Nothing terrible but I was tired of working and felt I was missing out on the twins. But then his head injury happened and I thought I was going to lose him and, believe me, that changed an awful lot of things.’

Cat lay there remembering being with Dominic on the beach and his words—
‘What seemed like the most terrible disaster at the time turned out to be a blessing.’

There were so many blessings to be had.

‘Spa day tomorrow.’ Gemma broke the silence. ‘I do love late weddings. There’s ages to get ready and none of that hanging around between the service and party.’ She looked at her friend. ‘How come you chose sunset instead of sunrise, if that’s when you two knew it was serious?’

‘We just thought it would be easier to get everyone there in the evening,’ Cat said. ‘Greg isn’t arriving till tomorrow.’

Gemma frowned but Cat changed the subject.

Just as Gemma hadn’t told her till now about tense times with Nigel, she too didn’t tell Gemma everything.

As she drifted off to sleep Cat thought about what sunrise had meant for Dominic and Heather, how she was quite sure that it had been that morning at Collserola that Heather had handed him over to Cat.

And sunrise was, for Cat, one of those times when you lay in bed with your baby feeding, and sometimes shed a tear for the one that you never got to feed.

Sunsets belonged to them, sitting outside in the garden, as Cat liked to now she had finally done it up. Sunsets were the time when she thought about Dominic driving home from work and the night to come, which was always precious.

Their wedding day dawned and Cat and Gemma awoke to breakfast in bed and then shared a spa day, getting massaged and oiled. Cat’s hair was done and make-up applied and then late afternoon Gemma headed off to get Eloisa.

She was all smiles, blowing bubbles, happy to see her mother, and together Cat and Gemma dressed her in her little outfit and Cat’s dad knocked on the hotel room door and July was about to become beautiful again.

Oh, there were sad days in it but there were very happy ones too.

They drove the short distance to Collserola.

‘How far is it?’ Gemma asked, once they were out of the car and walking up the hillside, with Cat’s dad puffing behind.

‘Nearly there,’ Cat said, and then she saw her tribe all waiting and she saw Dominic’s smile when he noticed how they were dressed.

The bride and the bridesmaid both wore white.

Two broderie anglaise dresses. Cat’s one had spent three days at the dry cleaner’s having grass stains removed, and two being expertly repaired, but she refused to wear anything else for this very special wedding.

And, no, Gemma did not outshine the bride. No one could for her smile was so wide as they stood at sunset at Collserola Park, with their families beside them.

Gemma held Eloisa, who was dressed in white broderie anglaise too, and at three months of age was going to spend her second night away from Mummy.

She was going to get to know her rather eccentric grandparents on her father’s side, of course.

Her rigid maternal grandparents were flying back to England at the crack of dawn.

Still, they were here tonight and that was all that mattered for now.

Or rather she and Dominic were all that mattered right now.

He put a ring on her finger and Cat’s eyes filled with tears as he told her how much he loved her.

And then she put a ring on his finger, a finger that had worn one before, and Cat’s eyes filled up again.

‘I love you,’ she said.

‘I know you do.’

Their vows were said as the sun went down and life together carried on.

They had a party at his parents’ villa.

Greg’s children swam in the pool and Nigel took the twins inside for a sleep.

Cat dived into the paella and looked up to see Anna holding her granddaughter and smiling down. Kelly asked her something and Anna stood and handed little Eloisa over to her husband, who took the baby with a smile.

It reminded her of that precious time with Thomas when he had never been put down and had been surrounded only by love.

‘She’ll be fine,’ Anna said, bringing out a tray of desserts and placing them on the table.

‘I know she will.’

They had their priorities right, Cat thought, glancing at her own parents, who were both checking their phones.

She thought about the letter James and Anna had sent her, inviting her, with or without Dominic, into their home. Cat understood better now why Dominic would have fought, legally if he’d had to, to have his parents in his daughter’s life.

It hadn’t come to that, though.

They partied into the night and then it was time to head back to the conference hotel for Dominic and Cat, though to the luxury suite this time.

‘She’s sound asleep,’ Dominic said as they crept in to whisper goodnight to their daughter.

‘How lucky are we?’ Cat said, remembering how it might have been.

Dropping the baby off.

Picking her up.

Doing this apart, instead of together.

‘Come on,’ he said. ‘I guess we have to go and do what newlyweds do now.’

‘I suppose.’ Cat sighed.

They couldn’t wait!

They left the people they loved and were driven to the hotel.

They walked through the foyer. ‘Do you want a quick drink at the bar?’ Dominic nudged.

‘No.’

The elevator door opened and together they stepped in and this time there was no hugging the wall and wondering where the night might lead.

It was straight to his arms and a blistering kiss and it would be straight to bed, except Cat had something on her mind.

‘I’ve been thinking,’ Cat said as they stepped into the suite and Dominic poured champagne.

‘Have you?’

‘How’s my job?’

‘Do we have to talk about work tonight?’

‘Please.’

‘It’s busy,’ Dominic said. ‘Are you still thinking about job-sharing with me?’

Cat shook her head. It was something they’d both considered but Cat had other plans.

She loved him.

No question.

‘I was thinking of selling my house,’ Cat said, which made sense, given they spent most of their time at his. ‘I’m going to make a nice profit. Enough to maybe take a year off work.’

‘What are you going to do?’ Dominic asked. ‘Renovate mine?’

‘No.’ Cat laughed at the hope in his voice and she closed her eyes at his kiss and his hands that were, more tenderly this time, removing her dress. ‘I think I want to learn Spanish.’

Dominic stopped in mid-kiss.

‘Er...why?’

‘I’d like to be able to speak with the locals,’ Cat said. ‘You said you wanted to spend some time here.’

‘I did.’

‘Then do,’ Cat said. ‘You’ve already upended my life, so why not a little bit more?’

‘When did you decide this?’

‘I started thinking about it last time we were here. I can see how much you love it and I think it would be amazing to live here for a while, and then...’ She thought of life here with him and smiled when she thought of her best friend just a leisurely drive to Paris away, and she gave a small shrug. ‘Who knows?’

She loved him and love deserved careful consideration at times.

He had made her so happy, had given her back her dreams, and she wanted to make all his come true too.

She had been far too cynical about men, about love, about hope.

‘You’re sure?’ he checked.

She was now.

Absolutely, Cat was sure of this love.

* * * * *