Free The Doctors' Baby by Marion Lennox Page B

conversation, then.’ Jonas grinned, his wide, lazy smile reaching up and lighting his eyes. ‘Great. I can see I’ll fit right in. A woman who demands a lot from her men…’
    She blushed bright pink at that. Good grief! Get the conversation back to medicine, she told herself. That way was safest.
    â€˜I…I thought you’d be spending the night with Anna.’
    That put a damper on the conversation. Jonas’s facelooked shuttered. ‘Maybe I should be,’ he told her. ‘But I’m not wanted.’
    â€˜Is she OK?’
    â€˜Yes.’ He bit into his steak and concentrated on his food, but Em knew it was just a ruse to get his thoughts into order. ‘She is,’ he said finally. ‘She’s under control. She’s home with her kids, packing and being as normal as possible, while she waits to go into hospital tomorrow.’
    â€˜Are you happy to use Patrick?’ Em asked.
    â€˜He’s an excellent surgeon,’ Jonas told her, still absently concentrating on his steak. ‘When I met him I realised I know him a bit. He’s older than me, but we trained in the same hospital. Yeah, I’m happy for Patrick to operate and, what’s more important, so is Anna.’
    â€˜And he was reassuring?’
    â€˜The margins all look clear. The lump itself is less than a centimetre across. He wants to do a lumpectomy and node clearance, but he’s pretty confident that nothing’s spread.’
    â€˜And how does that make you feel?’ Em asked.
    â€˜Better.’ He lifted a potato, examined it—then laid it down on his plate again. ‘No,’ he told her honestly. ‘It doesn’t. It makes me feel lousy—I feel so damned out of control.’
    There was a long silence, broken only by Bernard’s inevitable snoring. They finished eating before either spoke again. Em knew that Jonas needed time to come to terms with today’s events. The last thing he needed was idle chatter.
    So she finished eating, then cleared and stacked the dishwasher while he sat and stared at the table. And stared some more. But she found she didn’t mind the silence. She and Grandpa had never needed to make small talk, and somehow, with Jonas, it felt the same.
    Like all the little stuff had already been said…
    â€˜Thank you for making dinner,’ she said at last, the kitchen cleared and the evening closing in on them. She was bone weary, and he still needed space. She touched his shoulder lightly as she passed. ‘Bernard and I are going to bed. Is there anything else you need?’
    He looked blindly up at her. ‘No.’
    â€˜It’ll be fine,’ she told him. And then she looked across at the phone. ‘Ring Anna.’
    â€˜What?’ He glanced at his watch. ‘It’s after ten o’clock.’
    â€˜You think she’ll be sleeping?’
    â€˜No, but—’
    â€˜Ring her, Jonas,’ she said softly. ‘I haven’t had so much wine that I can’t cope here. If she wants you to go, then you go.’
    â€˜I told you—I’m on call.’
    â€˜If Anna needs you, consider it a call. But ring her.’
    He looked at her strangely, his eyes blankly inscrutable. ‘I guess you’re right,’ he said at last.
    â€˜I think I am.’
    He caught her hand and held it, for a whole fraction of a second. It was a short enough time, but it was enough. Em froze at his touch, and could only draw back in relief when he let her go. If he knew what he did to her…
    But for Jonas, the sexual tension simply didn’t seem to be there. All his thoughts were on his sister. ‘Thank you,’ he told her, and gave her a weary smile. ‘You’re right, of course.’
    â€˜I have to be,’ Em said, and if her voice dragged a little at the thought, who could blame her? ‘I don’t have much choice.’
    Because, choice or not, the invincible Dr