Thoroughly unsettled by her own thoughts, Helen forced herself to concentrate on the situation.
Lily looked at him for a long moment and then gave a sniff. ‘All right…’
‘Good girl.’ Oliver straightened in a smooth movement and looked at her husband. ‘Has she got a bag packed?’
Lily shook her head. ‘No. I didn’t bother because I was so determined not to go in.’
Nick slid an arm around her shoulders. ‘It’ll be all right, babe,’ he said firmly, giving Oliver a nod. ‘If Dr Hunter trusts his brother, so should we. I’ll pack you a bag and I’ll follow you to the hospital as soon as your mother arrives.’
Tom Hunter met them in the labour ward. Dressed in green theatre scrubs, he looked broad-shouldered and handsome, a more serious version of his brother.
‘Hello, Lily.’ He smiled at his patient, his voice surprisingly gentle. ‘I gather you had a rotten time of it when you had your last child. Let’s try and do better, shall we?’ He lifted his eyebrow towards his brother. ‘Need my help, do you Oliver?’
‘Someone’s got to keep your ego intact,’ Oliver replied smoothly, winking at Lily. ‘You’d better look after my patient or you’ll have me to deal with.’
‘Very professional, I’m sure.’ Tom jerked his head towards a midwife who was hovering. ‘Emma, can you settle Lily in, please? I’ll be there in five minutes.’
Oliver turned to Lily and gave her a smile. ‘You’re going to be fine,’ he said firmly. ‘I’ll see you soon.’
Emma took them down the corridor and Tom looked at Oliver. ‘That woman should never have been promised a home delivery.’
Oliver met his gaze full on. ‘She’s seriously terrified, Tom. It was the only reason I was given access to her house. She’s only been in the area for a month. I’ve promised her that you’re the best and nothing will go wrong.’
‘No pressure, then,’ Tom drawled, taking a chart from a hovering midwife. ‘Obstetrics is nothing if not unpredictable, as you well know. Promising a fairy-tale birth might not have been the best approach.’
‘You would have rather she bolted the door from the inside and did it by herself?’ Oliver’s tone was hard. ‘Because that’s what she would have done, Tom. And she doesn’t need a fairy-tale. She just needs to feel that there’s someone she can trust. The last guy didn’t even speak to her.’
Tom winced. ‘Weird, these southerners.’ He checked the chart and handed it back to the midwife with a nod. ‘That’s fine. Call Rob and ask him to come up here, will you? I’m going to be tied up with Lily.’
Oliver let out a sigh of relief. ‘You’re going to deliver her yourself? Do you promise?’
‘I’m not a midwife,’ Tom said mildly. ‘I’m the guy who steps in when things go wrong. You’d be better with a midwife.’
Oliver shook his head. ‘You’ve got the best instincts of any doctor I’ve met. If you keep an eye on her all the way through, nothing is going to go wrong.’
Something flickered in Tom’s eyes as he looked at his brother. ‘Your faith in me is touching.’
‘You’re the best.’ Oliver gave a lopsided smile. ‘Arrogant, smug, stubborn and totally self-absorbed, but still the best when it comes to delivering babies.’
Tom laughed. ‘I can live with that.’ His gaze flickered to Helen and his eyes gleamed wickedly. ‘How’s your roof coming along, Oliver?’
‘Slowly.’
‘Of course it is.’ For some reason that Helen couldn’t fathom, Tom’s smile widened and he clapped his brother on the shoulder again. ‘All right, I’m off to give your Lily the dream delivery. You owe me a pint. I’ll meet you in the pub tomorrow night.’
‘Done.’
They left the hospital and drove back to the cottage. Oliver was strangely silent and Helen wondered if he was worrying about Lily.
Or was he thinking about that kiss?
Remembering his promise that they were going to talk about it, Helen was suddenly anxious to delay their arrival home.
She didn’t want to have the conversation. She didn’t know what she was going to say.
‘So your brother doesn’t approve of home deliveries?’ Perhaps if she kept to work, they could both forget about that kiss.
‘Of course not.’ Oliver’s smile was wry. ‘He’s an obstetrician. He thinks every birth should take place in a hospital no matter what.’