face before it relaxed into a pleased smile, thank heavens, instead of outrage. “Well, how nice. If Dr. Crane can’t be here, at least a prince will understand how important my baby is to the world.”
Because a prince and a self-absorbed actress’s baby were more important to the world than most other human beings? Emotions crowded Gabby’s chest—disbelief that Cameron obviously genuinely believed that. Annoyance with that attitude. And deeply buried pain. Because every person’s baby was the most important child on earth to them.
She swallowed before she spoke. “I’m not sure when Dr. Moreno is going to get here, and we shouldn’t wait to get your mag sulfate drip started. Is your belly still hard and tight? Still feeling crampy?”
“Well, yes. But not too bad. I think we should wait for this prince-doctor.” She picked up the television remote, clicked to a movie channel, and beamed the famous megawatt smile she normally reserved for the cameras. “Oh, look, it’s one of mine! I loved this one!”
“Cameron.” Gabby worked to keep her patience. “Giving you the sulfate drip certainly isn’t going to hurt, regardless of what Dr. Moreno has to say, and timing can be critical. Up to three courses of steroids are recommended for the baby’s lung health, but have to be given at least twenty-four hours apart, and the sooner we give the first one, the sooner we can give the second one.”
“I admit I’m still nervous. I know you’re good at what you do. If you think you need to start it now, then let’s do it.” Cameron’s smile disappeared, and Gabby’s frustration with her patient evaporated when she saw the tension etched on her face. Probably her wanting to wait and watch the movie, all smiles, was some coping mechanism, telling herself everything was fine now that she was here at the clinic. Deluding oneself was all too easy to do, as Gabby knew firsthand.
She patted Cameron’s arm, then gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’ll get it started right now. And I bet the doctor will be here any moment.” As though her words had willed it, a brisk knock on the door sounded, and she turned as it opened.
To reveal the most physically beautiful man she’d ever seen.
His dark hair was cut fairly short and impeccably groomed, and his olive skin was tanned a golden brown which looked even more swarthy in contrast to his white doctor’s coat. The blue dress shirt he wore was crisply starched but left open at the collar without a tie, and it was obvious that beneath it lay a very well-built physique. But the most riveting thing about him was the startling color of his eyes, nearly the same hue as springtime in Seattle after rains had turned the landscape a vivid green.
She felt a little as though all the oxygen had been sucked from the room as those eyes met hers. Though the contact was brief, his gaze seemed to both assess her and dismiss her at the same time. Then his attention moved around the room in a careful scan of the space before finally focusing on their patient.
A smile transformed the aloof expression on his handsome face. “Buenos días.” He stepped to the bed, reached for their patient’s hand and, to Gabby’s astonishment, lifted it to his lips. Since when did doctors kiss their patients, even if it was just on the hand? “I do not have to ask if you are the famous Cameron Fontaine. I would recognize your stunning face anywhere. I am Dr. Rafael Moreno.”
“It’s wonderful to meet you, Doctor,” Cameron practically cooed.
“I understand your very special baby is demanding some unexpectedly early attention. I’m told your little one is a girl—what a lucky child. She’ll no doubt be as beautiful as you are.” Lord. Gabby had to wonder if he’d intentionally ratcheted up the charm, or if it just oozed naturally from the man. “Let us see what she has in mind, shall we?”
“Yes. I’m so anxious to hear what you think is going on and what to do about it.”
Cameron’s expression could only be described as coy and flirtatious, and Gabby caught herself about to shake her head at the whole scene. Dr. Moreno had instantly sized the woman up, that was for sure, and Gabby was torn between admiration and disgust at how quickly and easily he’d had her eating out of his hand. While not even bothering to introduce himself to Gabby or ask who she was. The man was royal, all right. Royally rude.
“Tell me what’s been happening.” He sat and directed his attention solely to Cameron, as though Gabby wasn’t even there, and the actress told him all about her symptoms as he looked at the vital signs Gabby had recorded. He took his time speaking with her, acting more like they were at a cocktail party than in a hospital room. But of course Cameron, who was always more than happy to talk at length about herself, basked in the attention as he asked all kinds of questions about her life and career in addition to the ones related to her health.
As the minutes stretched on, Gabby fidgeted, wondering when in the world he was going to get on with what needed to be done and have her administer the meds Cameron needed. At the same time, she had to grudgingly give him credit for completely relaxing their patient.
Then that credit evaporated when he reached for gloves, obviously planning to give her an internal exam.
“Excuse me, Dr. Moreno, but did you see in the chart that I just gave her an exam about thirty minutes ago? That she was already dilated to two centimeters?” Gabby asked.
He turned to her with one eyebrow quirked. “And you are...?”
“I’m Gabriella Cain, head midwife here at The Hollywood Hills Clinic.”
“Now that I am here to care for Ms. Fontaine, I will take care of future internal exams. I’m sure you know they need to be limited in cases of early onset labor.”
What the...? Anger began to burn in Gabby’s chest. “Yes, I am aware of that, Dr. Moreno. Which is why I feel you should wait to do another. I was about to get the mag sulfate drip started, followed by the steroids, then do an ultrasound.”
“I prefer to not rely on others’ examinations and opinions, as that normally isn’t in the best interests of my patient. However, if you’ve done an internal exam, I won’t do another at the moment.” He turned away from Gabby again, and she stared at the back of his silky dark head, hardly able to believe his arrogantly dismissive attitude. His patient? She’d worked with some doctors with domineering attitudes before, but this guy got first place for jerk of the year.
“It’s good that you’re dilated to no more than two centimeters,” he said to Cameron as he looked at Gabby’s notes. “Although that is clearly an indication of pre-term labor, there are things we can do to try to make that cease, and at the same time give baby a chance to grow more.”
“So it is preterm labor. I was so hoping it wasn’t.” Cameron’s white teeth worried her lip, her eyes wide. “Do you think whatever you do to try to stop it will work?”
“It often does, so we will hope for the best.” He lifted his tall frame from the stool he’d been perched on, moving to stand beside the bed and hold Cameron’s hand between both of his, a smile on his face some people might think was charming. “And if baby says, Oh, no, Mama, I’m coming anyway, we will at least have time to give you steroids to help her little lungs function better when she arrives. So we will do that without delay. Okay?”
“All right. Whatever you think,” Cameron said, all grateful smiles. “Thank you so, so much, Doctor.”
“Please, call me Rafael.”
Whatever you think. Thank you so, so much... Gabby gritted her teeth and told herself she couldn’t feel bothered by Cameron’s immediate agreement to the same treatment she’d initially refused to agree to when Gabby had told her exactly the same thing. It was no secret doctors got more respect than midwives from many patients, and an über-handsome doctor who, by the way, happened to be a prince too? Jerk or not, it was no surprise that status-conscious Cameron was all too happy to go along with whatever he suggested.
“Bien.” He stood and turned to Gabby, and his warm expression cooled to one of professionalism. “I’d assume you have the mag sulfate and steroid ready?” Those startling