Page 6 of Prognosis Baby Daddy

Katya followed Lucia down the stairs from where she’d entered the kitchen earlier. It led to a magnificent terrace with one-hundred-and-eighty-degree uninterrupted views of the Mediterranean below and the majestic craggy coastline in both directions.

There was a round outdoor table with a striking ceramic top. It had been hand-painted with a typical Mediterranean lemon-grove scene. A bowl of the bright yellow fruit sat in the middle of the table and Katya could smell their magnificent tartness.

Ben joined them, glasses clinking. He placed them on the table and poured them each a generous measure. Katya placed a hand over her glass. Ben raised his eyebrows.

‘Wine gives me a headache,’ she said, saying the first thing that popped in to her head.

Ben gave her a disbelieving look. Since when? ‘This from a girl who could drink vodka for Russia.’

‘Benedetto,’ his mother scolded, ‘don’t be rude. Run up and get some water.’

‘Yes, Benedetto,’ Katya teased, unable to resist. ‘Run along.’

Too late Katya realised that Lucia might disapprove of her informality. What if she thought that Ben should be addressed as befitting a man of his stature? But the Contessa clapped her hands gleefully and her eyes twinkled with delight.

Katya breathed a sigh of relief.

Calling him by his title would be plain weird, given the things they had been through. The times they had stood side by side, their hands inside some stranger’s body, locked in a battle for their life. Or the time they had sought solace in each other’s bodies. Some relationships transcended titles and if their work relationship hadn’t cut it then their intimate joining certainly had.

Ben chuckled and left to do his mother’s bidding. He returned quickly with a bottle of sparkling water and poured some into Katya’s glass. He sat in the chair beside her and she was instantly conscious of his potent male heat.

‘To bossy Russian nurses,’ Ben said, raising his glass.

‘Benedetto!’ Lucia gasped.

Katya saw the twinkle in his eye and the perfect upward curve of his beautiful full lips. ‘To flashy Italian counts,’ she parried.

Lucia laughed and raised her glass. ‘Touché.’

They drank their drinks and ate bruschetta as the sun set and the lights of Positano, spread below them, gradually twinkled on one by one. Katya found herself relaxing in the pleasant company, with the stunning scenery a luxurious backdrop. Ben made her laugh and it was the most relaxed she’d been since she’d discovered her indiscretion had had consequences over a month ago.

Katya slipped easily into the banter she and Ben were known for in MedSurg circles. They entertained the Contessa with stories from their travels and Lucia seemed to enjoy Katya’s irreverent attitude towards her son.

After it was dark Lucia served up a delicious seafood pasta with a delicate creamy sauce. It was so good Katya even had a second helping. Sitting there, enjoying a balmy evening, under a canopy of stars, perched above the Med, Katya felt a real sense of family. It certainly wasn’t something she was used to and...she liked it.

Wanted the baby to be surrounded with the same sense of family.

Thinking about the baby brought her mission squarely back into focus. The evening had been a lovely distraction but she couldn’t afford to lose sight of why she was here.

Would Ben be a suitable father?

She watched him regaling his mother with a story and he was the charming playboy from MedSurg. And sitting amongst the trappings of his wealth, she knew that he could give their baby everything. But where was the Ben she’d seen that special night? The real man? The father-material man.

Did he exist or was he just a figment of her overactive imagination?

Ben laughed and her skin broke out in goose bumps. It would be so easy to be distracted. Like she had been tonight. Seduced by the warmth and promise of a real family for her baby. She could even fool herself for a fleeting second that she could be part of it also.

Stop this, Katya!

She stood abruptly, Ben and his mother looking at her enquiringly. ‘I’m sorry, it’s been a lovely night but would you mind if I went to bed, I’m very tired.’

‘Of course,’ Lucia said. ‘Come, I’ll show you to your suite.’

Katya had to brush past Ben to join Lucia and she was super-aware of his heat and his scent as their bodies made the barest of contact. She bade him a brief goodnight, with a husky voice and trembling legs.

‘Goodnight, cara,’ Ben called after her.

She could see him in her peripheral vision, leaning lazily back against the chair, his long frame stretched out as graceful as a giant slumbering cat. She remembered vividly how great his length had felt pressed against her.

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