he deserved that coolness. It was all his fault. ‘I guess I lost my head a bit. It was the excitement of seeing the baby on the screen and hearing the positive news.’
‘We both got carried away,’ Ella agreed. ‘It won’t happen again.’ She gestured to the prints. ‘I assume you’d like one of these?’
‘I would.’ It shocked him how very much he wanted the picture. Their baby. ‘Thank you,’ he said when she handed one to him.
‘It’s the least I could do.’
‘I owe you—’ he began.
‘It’s fine. A print of a scan isn’t going to bankrupt me.’
That wasn’t what he’d meant at all. ‘Ella...’ He sighed, seeing the determined set of her jaw. ‘OK. I’ll see you later. And thank you for the photograph.’ He wasn’t ready to share the news with anyone yet, but having the picture made everything so much more real. He tucked it into his wallet and left the room.
And he’d really have to get his head together.
He’d had no right to kiss her. The reason her fingers had tightened round his was purely because she was emotional about the baby. Seeing the little life they’d created, the strength of the baby’s beating heart. That was all.
She wasn’t in love with him.
And he wasn’t in love with her, he told himself firmly. The attraction he felt towards her was because of the baby, rooted in responsibility rather than passion. He needed to be fair to her and leave her free to find someone else. Someone who hadn’t put their heart in permafrost and would be able to give her the love she deserved.
But he’d meet every single one of his responsibilities towards the baby, and he needed to find a good working relationship with Ella, so their child never felt unwanted or a burden. They definitely needed to talk. Later—he really needed to gather his thoughts first.
Annabelle beckoned Ella into her office as she walked past. ‘So how did it go?’
Ella beamed and took the scan picture from her purse. ‘Look at this! I know, I know, it’s too soon to see anything more than a bean-shaped blob.’
‘It’s gorgeous,’ Annabelle said, looking slightly wistful.
Ella bit her lip. ‘Oh, Annabelle, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to open up old wounds.’ But she’d so wanted to share the picture with someone who’d understand how excited she was.
‘You haven’t upset me in the slightest.’ Annabelle hugged her. ‘I’m thrilled for you. Really, truly and honestly.’
‘Thank you.’ Ella tucked the picture back into her purse.
‘So what’s the situation between you and Oliver?’ Annabelle asked.
‘Complicated,’ Ella admitted. Even though Annabelle was her best friend, Ella wasn’t going to tell her about that kiss today. Oliver had apologised for it and said he’d got carried away in the heat of the moment and it was a mistake, so it’d be pointless for her to wish that it had meant anything more.
‘Are you a couple, or not?’
‘Not,’ Ella said.
‘Do you want to be?’ Annabelle asked.
That was the crunch question. And the worst part was that Ella couldn’t really answer it. ‘I don’t know. I like him, Annabelle—I like him a lot—but I don’t want to lose my independence. I worked so hard to qualify as a midwife, and I hate the way Oliver just expects me to cut back on my shifts and do whatever he says. He obviously hasn’t even thought about what it’s going to do to my career.’
‘I think,’ Annabelle said, ‘you need to talk to him.’
‘You’re right. I know,’ Ella agreed.
‘But, before that,’ Annabelle said gently, ‘you need to work out what you really want.’
And that was going to be the really hard part. Because right at that moment Ella wanted everything—and she knew that was way too much to ask.
That evening, when she got home, Ella video-called her parents.
‘Is everything all right, darling?’ Roisin O’Brien asked. ‘You always call us on a Thursday, and today’s only Tuesday.’
‘I know. Mam, I have some news.’
Roisin beamed and asked hopefully, ‘You’re coming back to Ireland and going to work in the hospital in Limerick?’
Ella smiled. ‘Mam, you know I love it here at Teddy’s. No, it’s not to do with work. Is Da there? Because I need to talk to you both together.’
‘Is everything all right?’ Roisin asked again.
‘Yes.’ And no, but she wasn’t going to say that.
‘Joe! Joe, our Ella’s on the computer to talk to us,’ Roisin called.
Joe appeared on Ella’s screen, next to his wife. ‘And how’s my beautiful girl, then?’
Ella felt the tears well up. ‘Oh, Da.’
Joe looked horrified. ‘Ella? Whatever’s the matter? I’ll hop on the plane and be right over. You just say th—’
‘No, Da, it’s fine,’ she cut in. She swallowed hard. ‘Mam, Da—there isn’t an easy way to say this, so I’ll do what you always say and tell it to you straight. You’re going to be grandparents.’
There was a stunned silence for a moment, and then Roisin said, ‘But, Ella, the doctors in London said...’ Her voice trailed off, and Ella knew what her mother didn’t want to voice. The doctors in London had said Ella would never be able to have a child of her own.
‘They got it wrong.’ Ella picked up the scan photo and held it so her parents could see it. ‘I had the scan today—I’m seven and a half weeks. You can’t see a lot, just a bean shape, but the sonographer said everything looked fine and the baby’s heart was beating just right.’
‘We’re going to be grandparents.’ Joe and Roisin hugged each other.
‘You’re not angry with me?’ Ella asked. ‘Because—well, this wasn’t supposed to happen?’
‘So the baby wasn’t planned. It doesn’t mean he or she won’t be loved to bits,’ Roisin said. ‘Lots of babies aren’t planned. It’s grand news, Ella. What about the baby’s da? When do we get to meet him?’
Ella hadn’t even considered that. ‘I’m not sure,’ she said carefully. ‘It’s complicated.’
‘Do I need to come and talk to the lad and remind him of his responsibilities?’ Joe asked, folding his arms.
‘No, Da, and that’s not why I called. I just wanted you both to know about the baby. It’s early days and a lot of things could still go wrong—but I love you so much and I couldn’t keep the news to myself any longer. Please don’t say anything to anyone else in the family, not yet—not till I’m twelve weeks, OK?’
‘All right. And we love you, too, Ella,’ Roisin said. ‘If you want us to move over to England to help you with the baby, you just say the word. Or if you want to come home, you’ve always got a home with us and so has the baby.’
‘Oh, Mam.’ Ella swallowed back the tears.
‘So what does the young man in question have to say for himself?’ Joe asked.
‘He was at the scan with me today. He’s very responsible,’ Ella said,