Page 61 of Strictly Business

Too late for questions, he hurried through the door.

Alice had changed into a hospital gown and she was lying on a bed and talking to a rather serious faced man, presumably a doctor. A technician at the end of the bed was busily adjusting a monitor screen.

Alice smiled when she saw Liam and she beckoned him closer.

He crossed quickly to her and took her hand in his. It felt cold. ‘How are you?’ His voice sounded rough and choked.

‘I’m feeling fine,’ she said. ‘Liam, this is Dr O’Brien. Doctor, this is Liam Conway, the baby’s father.’

‘How do you do?’ The two men shook hands.

‘So is everything okay?’ Liam dared to ask.

Dr O’Brien frowned. ‘There’s no immediate cause for alarm. Spotting is not uncommon. Alice’s symptoms are mild and there don’t seem to be any other signs of trouble, so there’s a good chance she’ll be perfectly fine. But we’re going to do an ultrasound scan so we can check the foetal development.’

‘Yes, of course. Do whatever you have to.’ Liam wished he felt as calm as Alice looked. The poor woman needed his moral support and he was falling apart inside.

She squeezed his hand. ‘Don’t worry, darling.’

He forced a grin. But the grin wavered as the technician lifted her gown aside and began to spread gel on her abdomen.

Alice looked up at him and her grey eyes seemed huge as she held his hand. She smiled, but as the doctor took up a position near the screen and the technician began to move a transducer over her he could see the slightest tremor in her chin.

Liam’s heart pounded. No one in the room spoke. The only sound was an occasional beep from the equipment and Liam decided there and then that landing a plane without any prior experience was a hell of a lot less stressful than becoming a first time father.

He struggled to think of something to say – a light-hearted comment that would distract Alice from worrying about her baby. All he could think was how much he loved her – and her baby. How precious they both were.

He looked down at her hand in his and massaged her fingers with his thumb. ‘When you’re out of here,’ he told her softly, ‘we’ll have to go straight to my place so I can show you that ring.’

‘Oh, yes,’ she said. ‘I’ll hold you to that. I can’t wait to see it.’

More beeps sounded from the machine and Liam wished the doctor would say something.

‘Actually,’ said Alice, ‘I think I can guess what colour it is.’

He gently jiggled her hand. ‘So you’re a mind reader, are you?’

‘Perhaps.’ She looked up at him with a shaky smile. ‘I’m sure it’s beautiful. If it’s as tasteful as that lovely bowl you bought me, it’ll be –’

‘Well, well, well.’ The doctor’s voice interrupted her.

Alice’s hand tightened around Liam’s. Her eyes were huge. ‘Is the baby all right?’

‘I’ll turn this screen and you can see for yourself.’

Liam swallowed as he stared at the monitor and tried to make sense of the blurred black and white images.

He glanced to Alice and she seemed as puzzled as he was. ‘I – I can only see – What are those two circles?’ Her mouth dropped open. ‘Oh, my goodness, are they w-what I think they are?’

‘What you’re seeing here, my dear, are two little heads.’ The doctor beamed at her as he pointed at the screen. ‘You have two babies. And from what I can see here, both babies appear to be perfectly healthy.’

‘Twins?’ A smile of pure delight broke over Alice’s face. She looked up. ‘Liam, what do you think of that?’

He was too stunned to respond.

‘You’re probably not surprised, are you?’ she said.

But he was. Totally.Twins. His mind seemed to have frozen and he couldn’t tell whether he thought this was good news or bad news. His first thought was for his brother Peter and, as always, he felt a swift shaft of pain.

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