Kate Hardy - Her Real Family Christmas

‘I do hope you’re not trying to poach our new quiz star for the maternity team, Dan,’ Rhys Morgan said, coming to stand by their table.

‘If you are,’ Katrina said, ‘then I’ll be having a word with my cousin.’

‘Cousin?’ Stephanie looked at her. ‘You have family working in the maternity ward?’

‘Maddie Petrakis,’ Katrina confirmed. ‘She’s part time at the moment. You might have met Theo, her husband.’

‘My boss,’ Daniel said. ‘Who’s not here tonight, or you lot might’ve been buying us the celebratory drinks.’

‘In your dreams, Dan—you know the last round’s always between us and Max’s lot,’ Rhys said with a grin. ‘Actually, I’m seeing Theo on Monday about a cross departmental project. Stephanie, I want to talk to you about that, too.’

‘And you can talk to her on Monday , Rhys,’ Katrina cut in. ‘You’re both off duty right now.’

‘I know. And we have a babysitter to relieve,’ Rhys added. He kissed Katrina lingeringly. ‘I get the message. I’ll shut up. Let’s go home. See you later, Stephanie.’

‘See you on Monday,’ Stephanie said with a smile, then turned to Daniel. ‘You must have a babysitter to relieve, too.’

Well, of course she’d know that. She’d treated Mia. But Daniel was intrigued by the difference between the bright, confident doctor in the PAU and this slightly diffident woman who’d drawn such huge barriers round herself. At the same time, it worried him that she intrigued him. OK, so it had been four years since Meg had died, but he wasn’t ready to think about another relationship—not when he had Mia to put first—and he was pretty sure that Stephanie had emotional baggage, too. So it would be much more sensible to keep things to strictly colleagues.

Though he could still be kind to a new colleague.

‘My parents are babysitting,’ he confirmed. ‘But I can give you a lift home, if you like.’

‘No, you’re fine, but thanks for the offer. See you later,’ she said, and beat a hasty retreat. Just as he did, he thought wryly, when anyone tried to get too close to him.

Daniel filled Stephanie’s thoughts as she walked home. If she was honest with herself then, yes, she did find him attractive. She’d already warmed to his personality, and his smile and cornflower-blue eyes could make her heart skip a beat. Now she knew for sure that he was single, there were no barriers to her acting on that attraction.

Apart from the fact that he came with complications. Daniel was a widower who’d lost his wife in incredibly tragic circumstances. OK, so it had been four years ago now, but that didn’t mean he was in any way over what had happened, even though he was able to talk about it.

And he had a daughter. Mia seemed a very sweet child, but no doubt she missed having a mum; she was the odd one out at school. Stephanie could relate to that. Mia had lost her mum at the age of two, and Stephanie hadn’t been much older than that herself when her own mum had died. Though Mia still had her dad. Stephanie had had only herself to rely on.

And, more to the point, Daniel had a close family. In cluding in-laws .

Her own in-laws had never really been able to accept her; Daniel’s in-laws would no doubt find it hard to see him dating anyone else, feeling that she was trying to take their late daughter’s place, so they’d have extra reasons not to accept her on top of the ones that Joe’s family had had.

So it would be better to stick to being just colleagues. And she’d be sensible and keep a little bit of distance between herself and Daniel Connor in future.

‘DR SCOTT. JUST the person I wanted to see.’ Rhys smiled at Stephanie. ‘I wanted a quick chat. Can you come into my office for a minute?’

‘Sure.’ This had to be the project Rhys had mentioned on Friday night after the quiz, she thought.

‘So how are you settling in?’ he asked, gesturing to her to take a seat.

‘Fine. Everyone’s been very welcoming. And I’m enjoying the work—it’s really good that we can work with the emergency department staff in the paediatric assessment unit.’

‘I’m glad. Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I’m working on another cross-departmental project to see how we can improve liaison between teams and give better patient care.’

‘Which sounds perfectly sensible to me,’ she said. ‘Having the PAU in the emergency department works well.’

‘And obviously we work closely with the maternity department.’

Where Daniel worked. Stephanie’s pulse leapt. Stupid. She forced herself to concentrate. This was work, and Daniel was purely a colleague. ‘Of course. We need to check the baby immediately after a complicated birth, and do the standard early postnatal checks, as well as following up any issues. Once the mum’s been signed off, then the baby would come to us if there’s a health problem.’

‘Exactly. I’d like you to be part of the team working with the maternity department. Apart from anything else, it means you’ll get to know a few more people a bit more quickly, too. Is that OK with you?’ Rhys asked.

‘That’s fine,’ she said with a smile. ‘Thanks for the opportunity.’

‘Good. I’ll give Theo a call, and whoever’s on his team can liaise with you.’

Stephanie was writing up her notes after a ward round when there was a knock on the open door of her office. She looked up to see Daniel.

Oh, help. Her stomach really wasn’t supposed to be filled with butterflies like this. Even if he did have the most amazing blue eyes and a smile that made the room feel as if it had just been lit up. He was her colleague— just her colleague—and she’d already told herself that enough times to know better. She knew that relationships didn’t work for her. How ridiculous was it to let herself react to him like this?

She took a deep breath and willed herself to calm down. ‘Hello, Dr Connor.’

‘Dan,’ he corrected her. ‘I can see you’re busy, but can I have a quick word? Maybe later, if you’re up to your eyes?’

‘Now’s fine. You know how it is with paperwork; it’s always going to be there. What can I do for you?’

‘I believe Rhys has talked to you about the team liaison project?’

‘Yes.’ Suddenly it all fell into place. ‘Does that mean you’re on the maternity team for the project?’

He nodded. ‘So it looks as if this one is down to you and me. Are you busy at lunchtime?’

Which was her let-out. She opened her mouth to say yes, but the wrong words came out. ‘If you call having a sandwich and going for a walk busy.’

‘How about we have a sandwich and a walk together?’ he suggested.

Oh, help. This was beginning to sound like a date. And she could feel the colour rising in her cheeks to betray her.

‘We can talk about the project and work out what we need to do.’ He wrinkled his nose. ‘I know it’s a bit of a cheek, asking you to give up your lunch break for work.’

Work. Of course it was just work. She seized the excuse gratefully. ‘No, it’s fine. Otherwise we’re going to have to fit in a meeting between patients—and one of us is bound to be needed in the middle of it.’

‘Or just before a shift starts or after it ends, and we might not be rostered on at the same time. I thought we’d both be more likely to be around at lunchtime,’ Daniel said.

‘Good idea. OK. I’ll see you at lunchtime, then.’

‘Great. I’ll call for you.’ He smiled and was gone, leaving her to her paperwork.

Odd how that smile made her feel warm inside.

Stupid, too. This was about work, and nothing but work. They were having lunch together simply because it was the easiest way to fit in a meeting. And her common sense had better come back, pronto.