The Accidental Romeo by Carol Marinelli Read Free Book Online Page A

deal with patient confidentially and Sheldon’s concerned...’
    ‘I’ll come now,’ Harry said, but as he made to go so too did Marnie.
    ‘I’ll come with you,’ Marnie said, then spoke with Kelly. ‘I’m happy to deal with her and the family.’
    ‘Please.’ Kelly let out a sigh of a relief. ‘I don’t blame Emily a bit for not wanting to tell her parents. They’re not exactly the most approachable pair.’
    Emily was very young, very scared but very determined that this baby was wanted. Sheldon had already started an IV and an ultrasound machine was being wheeled in as Harry and Marnie took over. ‘Reece was going to come over at the weekend and tell my parents with me,’ Emily tearfully explained as Harry gently examined her abdomen. ‘Do we have to tell them now?’
    ‘Well, we don’t have to tell them,’ Marnie answered, ‘though I think they might start to guess what the issue is when they see you strapped to a foetal monitor or they see the sign for Maternity when I take you up.’ Harry saw the small smile on Emily’s lips as Marnie softened things with wry humour. ‘Do you not think they have an idea?’
    ‘I’m not sure,’ Emily admitted. ‘Dad did say that I was putting on weight and I was about to say something but then Mum said it was because I was spending all my time sitting down, studying.’ Emily started to cry. ‘They’re going to be so angry.’
    ‘They’re going to be concerned,’ Harry said, squirting some jelly on Emily’s abdomen.
    Marnie bit down on her lip because, as good a doctor as Harry was, until you’d been there you simply didn’t understand.
    Harry hadn’t been there.
    Marnie had.
    She took Emily’s hands. ‘We can tell your parents for you.’
    ‘You don’t understand...’
    ‘I do,’ Marnie said. ‘Sometimes news like this is better coming from someone who’s not so involved. Once they know about the baby and have calmed down, they can come in and speak with you.’
    ‘They’ll never calm down.’
    ‘Let’s just see,’ Marnie said. ‘For now you just worry about staying calm. The last thing we want is you stressing yourself and raising your blood pressure and things.’
    ‘Why am I bleeding?’
    ‘It looks as if your placenta is lying rather low,’ Harry said, running the ultrasound probe over Emily’s stomach, and Marnie watched Emily’s face as she stared unblinking at the screen and saw her baby for the first time. ‘The heartbeat is a good rate and strong,’ Harry said, pointing to the screen.
    ‘Can you tell if it’s a boy or girl?’
    ‘The one time I tried I got it wrong.’ Harry smiled. ‘I’m going to get the obstetricians down and they’ll examine you but for now I’ll let your family know what’s going on, if that’s okay with you?’ Emily gave a wary nod and then Harry asked about Reece and got a bit of history before they left to tell her parents. Marnie gave Emily’s hand a little squeeze before she left.
    George and Lucia really were a rather formidable pair—the air was thick with tension as Marnie and Harry came in and sat down.
    ‘It’s ridiculous the length of time that we’ve been kept waiting,’ George said by way of introduction.
    ‘Well, we’ve been with your daughter,’ Harry calmly responded. ‘I just wanted to have a chat before you went in.’
    ‘We’d like to see her,’ Lucia said, instead of asking what was wrong with her daughter.
    ‘I’d like to speak with you before you do.’
    ‘I really just want to see her,’ Lucia insisted. ‘If you could just let us know what cubicle she’s in.’
    They knew, Marnie realised, they simply didn’t want to hear it, and thankfully Harry wasted no time getting to the point.
    ‘Emily is pregnant,’ Harry said to the two rigid faces. ‘We estimate that she’s about twenty-four weeks, though when she sees the obstetrician she’ll have a more detailed ultrasound to confirm dates.’ They all sat in silence for a moment, Harry and Marnie