‘And you don’t agree?’
He gave a shrug. ‘I think a proportion of women are perfectly safe delivering at home providing they understand that in certain circumstances they might need a rapid transfer to hospital. In fact, for some women I think it is definitely the preferred option.’
‘Like Lily.’
He pulled a face, his expression troubled. ‘Not like Lily, actually. Tom’s right. She was always a terrible candidate for home birth, but hers is a classic example of the theory not working in practice. On paper she should definitely have been booked for a hospital delivery, but nowhere on paper does it say how severely traumatised the girl was by her first delivery.’
‘Why did she have such a bad experience? Were they negligent?’
‘Evidently she had a locum doctor who couldn’t be bothered or else wasn’t sufficiently experienced. Either way he was very heavy-handed with the forceps and made a terrible mess of her insides. When they first moved here they were refusing any medical help at all.’
‘Do you think she’ll be OK?’
‘Providing Tom doesn’t get called away to deal with anything urgent, yes.’ Oliver smiled. ‘My brother is an amazing obstetrician. He’s Mr Super-Cool. You should see him in a crisis. He delivered Ellie, the staff nurse who leant you the uniform—Ben’s wife. She had a car accident just before Christmas when she was eight months pregnant. Jack and Tom were both amazing. And Tom’s always the same. I think he thrives on crisis. While everyone around him is panicking he barely flickers an eyelid. I’ll give him a call later and see how Lily is getting on.’
He pulled up outside the cottage and switched off the engine. For a moment he sat still, staring into the darkness, and then he turned to look at her and tension throbbed between them.
‘Helen, we need to talk about what’s happening between us.’
Her heart stumbled in her chest. ‘Nothing’s happening, Oliver. It can’t be.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because five week
s ago I was marrying another man.’ But she had to admit that she was thinking less and less of David. Everything had started to blur in her mind. ‘It’s too soon—we don’t even know each other.’
‘Yes, we do,’ he said softly, sliding a hand behind her head and gently turning her face to his. ‘We do know each other, Helen.’
She closed her eyes briefly and shook her head. ‘You’ve been so kind to me. Without you I would have fallen apart.’
Oliver lifted an eyebrow. ‘You’re suggesting that that episode on the kitchen table was gratitude?’
His voice was husky and masculine and she felt a shiver of excitement pass through her body.
What did this man do to her?
She flushed. ‘I can’t believe I behaved like that.’
‘Well, you did,’ Oliver said softly, ‘and since it’s obvious that you’re not in the habit of indulging in rampant sex on the kitchen table I think that should tell you something about the strength of the attraction between us, don’t you?’
She stared at him helplessly. ‘I don’t know what I’m feeling.’ She bit her lip. It would have been so tempting to just fall into his arms and take their relationship to its natural conclusion. But she couldn’t do that. Not when everything seemed so muddled. ‘I can’t promise you anything, Oliver. I’m afraid I’ll hurt you.’
‘That’s my problem.’
‘No, it isn’t. I would never want to hurt you.’ She flushed. ‘This just isn’t the way things happen. I can’t be about to marry one man and then—’
‘And then fall for another?’ Oliver’s voice was soft as he finished her sentence. ‘Why not?’
‘Well, for a start because we haven’t met during normal circumstances. We haven’t had a normal relationship.’
There was a hint of amusement in his eyes. ‘What’s a normal relationship?’
She shrugged helplessly. ‘Well, dating, I suppose. Getting to know each other. I went out with David for six years.’
The amusement faded. ‘I don’t need six years to know that you’re the woman for me, Helen. I knew within six seconds.’
His words made her gasp and her heart almost stopped beating. ‘Oliver…’