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They both looked out of the window of the ambulance to the fire engine parked beside them in the huge garage. The back passenger window was open and hanging out of it was the curly black head of a happy-looking dog. Oscar had been adopted as readily as Megan had been at the station. He wasn’t allowed inside, of course, but even Mrs McKendry had to acknowledge that he was a well-behaved animal. He sat guarding the fire engine during his family’s working hours unless it was required for active duty, when he was happy to sleep on the old coat that now had a permanent place on the floor by the locker-room door.

The smile Laura gave on seeing Oscar was imperceptible. Maybe everybody should bathe a very smelly dog when they wanted to kick-start the love affair of their lives. Who would have thought that an unwanted Labradoodle could provide such a romantic catalyst? The dog might have made its intention to worship Jason for the rest of its life obvious by now but he would always have Laura’s gratitude and affection. Except possibly when he indulged his passion for exploring rubbish bags.

Laura twisted the key on the regulator and watched the needle flick up the dial.

‘Three quarters full,’ she informed Tim. ‘Enough laughing gas to keep a whole busload of patients happy.’

‘That’s it,’ Tim said in a satisfied tone. ‘That’s what’s so different about you. You’re happy.’

‘I am,’ Laura admitted. Happy was a very pale adjective for how she felt but it would do under the circumstances. She was over the moon. Her dream had come true. Jason had got to know her well enough to find her attractive and, judging by their love-making over the last two weeks, he found her very attractive. And she felt attractive, for the first time in her life. The weight loss had very little to do with it. Neither did the new hairstyle. Laura felt wanted and appreciated for far more than what she could offer in bed, and she was loving every minute of it. She and Jason had become a tight team, and it didn’t matter that their focus was so much on Megan – not when they could find the private moments that made every shared sleeping time so memorable.

Laura wouldn’t even allow herself the niggling concern that the main reason Jason wanted her to still be there in six months’ time might be because he was coming to like the idea of keeping his daughter. She didn’t care. She loved both of them too much to let that be a problem. If Jason asked her tomorrow to marry him and be a mother to Megan, she wouldn’t hesitate in saying yes.

‘Yeah,’ Laura said softly as she caught the look Tim was giving her. Suddenly she wanted to share a little of her joy with her partner. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy before in my life.’

Tim’s smile was wistful as he caught her meaning. ‘I’m happy for you, Laura. You make a wonderful couple. What with Megan and that funny-looking dog you found, you’ve turned into an instant family.’

It did feel like magic. Wave a wand and… poof! An instant family. And it was all going so smoothly. They had developed a routine that seemed to work now and most jobs were shared at least to some degree. Megan was settled enough to sleep through the night sometimes, especially since they’d started their long evening walks. The days were getting longer and it was a pleasant way to end the day even after a busy shift. Laura got to hold Oscar’s shiny new lead because Jason wore the front pack, which allowed Megan to face forward and view her surroundings, not to mention wave her little arms and kick her legs when things got interesting. She was always tired on their return home and a quick feed and nappy change was usually enough to see her out for the count until morning.

Yes, it felt like a well-oiled family unit. Maybe they would have a problem if Mrs McKendry decided she didn’t want to help, but the older woman loved Megan as much as any of them now, and if the worst happened, Laura was quite prepared to consider taking maternity leave to carry on being a surrogate mother.

The fact that Megan was the key to it all shouldn’t be enough to cause that niggle of doubt, should it? Or the fact that everything was falling into place so perfectly? Okay, so maybe they would have to fight to keep Megan if Shelley decided to come back for her but surely they could win? They’d be a full family unit, complete with a prime example of a contented dog, against a solo mother who’d been prepared to abandon her child.

They could even have the solid base of owning their own home. Laura hadn’t yet suggested the idea of moving into her house, but it was the logical next step. Charlie had only been intending to live with her until she got settled into her new city and job. Laura had hardly spoken to her in the last couple of weeks and she suspected it had a lot to do with whatever was going on between Charlie and that scary partner she had to work with, so it seemed like she had already settled very well. Laura only hoped that her best friend was half as happy as she was in her love affair. She would never forget the thrill of that first time Jason had said he loved her… not in a million years. Even hearing the echo of his words in her head was enough to create the most delicious tingle that ran the length of her spine.

The latches on the resuscitation kit clicked into place and Laura pushed the box behind the end of the stretcher so it wouldn’t cause mischief with fast cornering. She managed to shut off any latent personal worries as her pager sounded to announce a new job. The worst – the very worst – thing that could happen would be that they would lose Megan. It would be incredibly hard, but she and Jason could always have children of their own, couldn’t they? If Jason lost full-time custody of Megan, he might be very keen to start a family of his own as soon as possible.

* * *

A couple of days might be a lifetime for some kind of insect but it was the blink of an eye for Laura Green. Especially at the moment when she had, apparently, fallen into her dream life. But, just two days after Tim had noticed how happy she was, when she answered the late-evening knock on the front door of Jason’s house in Crighton Terrace, she knew instantly that the bubble had been popped.

And she was in trouble.

If she had collated everything she knew about Jason Halliday and invented a prototype for what he would consider to be the perfect woman, the embodiment of that ideal was currently standing on his doorstep. She didn’t need to introduce herself, but that didn’t stop those perfectly painted pink lips from opening. Laura had a wild urge to slam the door shut in her face. Instead, she simply waited for the inevitable.

‘Hi, I’m Shelley.’ Laura found herself stepping back in response to the visitor’s forward movement rather than any desire to issue an invitation. ‘Is Jason home?’

The nerve of the woman! She actually brushed past Laura as though she were some kind of maid and then walked confidently up the hallway to enter the living room. Laura saw the colour leach from Jason’s face as she followed Shelley. He glanced at Laura and the pain of betrayal seemed to be directed at her. It wasn’t fair!

‘She just waltzed in, Jase. I couldn’t stop her.’

Shelley dropped a carry bag, which was large enough to appear ominous, beside the couch. Large blue eyes were regarding Jason. ‘I’m sorry to drop in without any warning,’ she said, ‘but I couldn’t bear to be away from Meggie a moment longer.’

Jason’s jaw sagged. ‘Who are you trying to kid?’ he said incredulously. ‘You dumped your baby on a doorstep and took off. Well, you can just take off again now as far as we’re concerned. We don’t want you here.’

Laura hadn’t realised she was holding her breath until she felt it seeping out now. ‘That’s right,’ she said coolly. ‘Jason is more than capable of caring for his daughter.’

‘So you do accept that she’s yours?’ Shelley smiled for the first time and Laura stared at the perfect teeth in the perfect face. ‘I’m so pleased, Jason. I wasn’t sure that you would.’

‘So that was why you decided to dump her?’ Jason hadn’t returned the smile. His face was set grimly and the hold on the baby in his arms had tightened enough to make Megan squeak softly in surprise.

‘Yes,’ Shelley said surprisingly. ‘I knew if I turned up with the baby you would have no problem in ignoring both of us. Denying fatherhood and simply sending us packing. I knew my only chance was to make sure you had the opportunity to get to know and accept your daughter.’

Only chance for what? Laura wondered, standing beside Jason, stony-faced.

‘And now? I suppose you think you can just take her away as easily as you brought her.’ Jason cleared his throat. ‘You might have bitten off a bit more than you can chew, Shelley.’

‘I have no intention of taking her away from you.’