Jay sighed. ‘I’d like to believe that, Emma, I really would.’
‘Well, if you weren’t so stubborn you’d realise it was the truth. I’m not a liar, Jay, and if you think I am then you’re not the man I thought you were either.’
They lapsed into silence once more. Fury bubbled away inside Emma. How could Jay think so little of her?
* * *
Jay was genuinely shocked by her words. Was Emma telling the truth? Had he really got it so wrong and there was nothing between her and Nick after all?
But he’d seen them together and he couldn’t get that image out of his head. And even if there wasn’t anything between them, the fact still remained that Emma had left him, even though he understood why. She might not be over him as she’d said, but she didn’t want to be with him either. And now she was angry with him, which was the last thing he wanted. Even if there had been a chance of them fixing things before, he’d definitely blown it tonight. Why had he been, as she’d said, so stubborn? Stubborn and stupid. That was him.
Jay’s thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Alex, running down the corridor.
‘Where is she?’ He asked, out of breath.
‘She’s not back from surgery yet,’ Emma said. ‘We haven’t heard anything, but it’s been a while since she went down there.’
Alex nodded. The panic on his face was clear. ‘I need to find someone, see what’s going on, then.’ And as swiftly as he’d arrived, he left.
‘I have no idea how long it takes to have a Caesarean section, but it does seem to be taking a long time,’ Emma said.
‘I know what you mean.’ Jay instinctively put his arm around her. He expected her to flinch away and he was relieved when she didn’t.
‘It must be like déjà vu for him.’
Jay nodded. ‘Yes, I can’t imagine what he’s going through.’
They sat in silence for a while before Emma spoke again. ‘Obviously this is going to change everything for you. You weren’t expecting Liz to go on maternity leave so soon.’
‘I know, and we’re not nearly prepared enough. We’re supposed to be interviewing new staff tomorrow, but now I’ll have to make that decision on my own. I’ll be making all the decisions on my own for a while.’
‘If I can get the day off tomorrow, or should I say, today, would it help if I sat in with you?’
Jay felt a surge of relief. Emma might be angry with him, but she still wanted to make things better. It was one of the things he loved about her. ‘You’d do that?’
‘Of course I would. Look, Jay, we’ve got a lot of history together and with Liz. This is an extreme circumstance and I want to help you as well as her.’
Jay nodded. He was partly elated that she wanted to help him, but also aware that it wasn’t just for him. ‘It would be great if you could. Just to have someone sitting next to me would give me a bit more confidence. I’ve never interviewed anyone before.’
Emma managed a chuckle. ‘Neither have I. We are going up in the world.’
‘Yes.’
‘If Mia agrees to the job, I could always see if I can take some holiday, to give her a helping hand, while she gets used to the role.’
Jay squeezed her shoulder affectionately. ‘I’d love that, Em, and it really would be a massive help.’
‘My pleasure.’
* * *
The noise of a bed being pushed down the corridor by two porters made them look up. Alex was walking alongside it, but there was no baby. Liz smiled wearily at them and asked the porters to stop as they approached.
‘I can’t believe the two of you are still here.’
‘We couldn’t just leave,’ Emma replied. ‘Is everything okay?’
‘There were some complications with the operation, but we have a beautiful baby girl. She’s so small, though, so they’ve whisked her off to the special care unit. We hope she’s going to be okay, but only time will tell.’
