Needed: Full-Time Father (Medical Romance) by Carol Marinelli

looking around, taking in the scattered bright cushions on the sofa, the jumble of crayons and picture books on the coffee-table, framed photographs adorning every available surface.
    ‘I mean that, it’s a real home.’
    ‘Of course it is.’ Madison gave a slightly nervous laugh. ‘What were you expecting?’
    ‘I don’t know,’ Guy admitted. ‘Something more…’ he gave a helpless shrug ‘…immaculate, I guess. Not that it’s untidy or anything,’ he added quickly. ‘I guess, from the way your office is, the way you are at work, I figured your home would be the same.’
    ‘This is immaculate.’ Madison smiled. ‘For me, anyway.I tidied up for two hours last night because you were coming. I’m a control freak at work, not at home. Believe me, when you’re sharing a house with a five-year-old, you soon learn to let go.’ She gave a dry smile, remembering that morning’s conversation with her daughter, and suddenly, inexplicably almost, wanted to share it with Guy, but sensibly chose not to. ‘Do you want a coffee?’ Madison asked. ‘We’ve got plenty of time.’
    ‘Do you?’
    ‘Yes,’ Madison admitted. ‘I’d rather be nervous here than there.’ He followed her into the kitchen, leaning against the bench and watching as she spooned coffee and sugar into cups, noting at first her jerky, nervous movements, but more, more than that, he noticed the bright paintings on the fridge, no doubt done by her daughter. The whiteboard above the telephone accounted for every moment of every day, and as she opened the cupboard to pull out sugar to top up the sugar bowl, he couldn’t help but see that, aside from the crisps and biscuits, the children’s cereal and all the paraphernalia that lived in a working mother’s kitchen cupboards, on one lonely shelf stood an endless row of meals for one, the same meals he’s watched her throw in the microwave at lunchtime. Something told him the same thing happened in the evenings.
    ‘How are you doing with this?’ Madison asked, when finally they were seated in the lounge, her eyes nervously darting towards the clock, knowing that in a short space of time they would have to leave, have toface what she was dreading. ‘From the way Gerard spoke of you, you were pretty close. Did you work together?’
    ‘Once formally,’ Guy replied. ‘But over the last few years I’ve called on him hundreds of times, either by phone or the internet, for advice. I’ve done a lot of AID work overseas. I’m sure that you don’t need me to tell you how generous Gerard was with his knowledge—I could always call on him. It’s a shame we didn’t get to work together again. I was really looking forward to it.’
    ‘Was that why you took the job—to work alongside Gerard?’ Madison asked. ‘I mean, if you’ve worked overseas, seen so much, a suburban hospital is hardly going to be cutting edge.’
    ‘That was part of the reason, and a new hospital opens up an interesting set of challenges, which are appealing. I guess I figured that it will look good on my résumé,’ Guy admitted. ‘Though I have to say, after years of tarpaulin and mosquito nets, the thought of a key to my own front door, constant running hot water—even a mortgage—has actually started to appeal.’
    ‘You’ve had enough of travelling?’ Madison asked.
    ‘For now.’
    ‘So, how come you settled here? Are your family in Melbourne?’
    ‘No.’ Fiddling with his coffee-cup, Guy shook his head, and even though he clearly didn’t want to talk about his reasons for settling, Madison was scared he’d look at his watch and decide that it was time to go. Takinga deep breath, despite Guy’s reluctance to prolong the conversation, Madison pushed on anyway.
    ‘So where are they?’ Madison asked. As his shoulders stiffened, she immediately regretted her insensitivity. ‘Your family?’
    ‘There’s only my mother,’ Guy responded stiffly. ‘She’s in India—again.’
    ‘Oh.’
    ‘Apparently