Kate Hardy - The Spanish Doctor's Love-Child

‘How about,’ Leandro suggested, ‘we escape? Go and find some proper food.’ He looked pointedly at her barely touched glass. ‘And wine you can actually drink.’

He had a voice like melted chocolate, and eyes to match. Olive skin betraying his Mediterranean ancestry. Dark hair that was cut short, but Becky would just bet turned curly if he were in a rainstorm; it made her itch to slide her fingers into it.

And he had the sexiest mouth she’d ever, ever seen.

Leandro Herrera was a complete stranger. She knew nothing about him. She really ought to refuse. Politely, but refuse.

‘Yes. I’d love to.’

‘Good.’ He stood up again and held a hand out to her, and she let him draw her to her feet. Even though she was five foot seven in heels, he was a good six inches taller than she was. Broad-shouldered. Strong.

He could have made her feel intimidated.

Instead, he made her feel safe. And she couldn’t remember when she’d last felt like this…

Kate Hardylives in Norwich, in the east of England, with her husband, two young children, one bouncy spaniel, and too many books to count! When she’s not busy writing romance or researching local history, she helps out at her children’s schools; she’s a school governor and chair of the PTA. She also loves cooking—spot the recipes sneaked into her books! (They’re also on her website, along with extracts and stories behind the books.) Writing for Mills & Boon has been a dream come true for Kate—something she wanted to do ever since she was twelve. She’s been writing Medical™ Romances for nearly five years now, and also writes for Modern Heat. She says it’s the best of both worlds, because she gets to learn lots of new things when she’s researching the background to a book: add a touch of passion, drama and danger, a new gorgeous hero every time, and it’s the perfect job!

Kate’s always delighted to hear from readers, so do drop in to her website at www.katehardy.com

Recent titles by the same author:

In Medical™ RomanceTHE DOCTORS ROYAL LOVE-CHILD (Brides of Penhally Bay) THE ITALIAN GP’S BRIDE THE CONSULTANT’S NEW-FOUND FAMILY

In Modern HeatSOLD TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER! BREAKFAST AT GIOVANNI’S

Look out for Kate’s next Modern Heat

Hotly Bedded, Conveniently Wedded out in September 2008!

What people are saying about Kate Hardy...

‘THE ITALIAN GP’S BRIDE is a spellbinding romance that I devoured in a single sitting! Kate Hardy is a fabulously talented writer whose books never fail to make me laugh, cry and care, and THE ITALIAN GP’S BRIDE is the latest in a long line of captivating romances that have made her one of my all-time favourite writers.’

— Cataromance on THE ITALIAN GP’S BRIDE, Medical ™ Romance August 07

Look out for Kate Hardy in Modern Heat!

‘BREAKFAST AT GIOVANNI’S is simply terrific! Sexy, funny, tender, passionate and romantic, this engrossing tale features a loveable heroine and a gorgeous Italian hero who will make you swoon! Kate Hardy is a writer readers can count on in order to deliver an entertaining page-turner which they will devour in a single sitting, and BREAKFAST AT GIOVANNI’S is certainly no exception. So take the phone off the hook, put your feet up and lose yourself…’

— Cataromance on BREAKFAST AT GIOVANNI’S, July 07

BY

KATE HARDY

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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For Terri and Lee, with much love

CHAPTER ONE

‘ROD HAWES, fifty-four, had just got a strike at tenpin bowling when he started having chest pains,’ Ed, the paramedic, told Becky and David as he wheeled the trolley into Resus. ‘His wife and kids are on their way.’

Becky glanced at their patient, not liking his colour or the sheen of sweat on his skin.

‘He described the pain as being like an elephant sitting on his chest,’ Ed continued.

Classic symptoms. So she was expecting the paramedic’s next comment: ‘The pain wasn’t relieved by GTN and from the trace we think he’s had an MI. We’ve cannulated and given him oxygen, but no aspirin because he’s got a stomach ulcer.’

A complication they could really do without.

Almost before David asked, she had a syringe in her hand and bottles. ‘Usual bloods?’ she asked.

He nodded. ‘Has he had an antiemetic?’ David asked the paramedic.

‘Not yet.’

‘I’m on it,’ Becky said, swiftly sorting out the bloods. She’d administered an antiemetic through the cannula and set up the electrocardiograph leads to take a trace of the heart’s activity by the time David had finished taking the patient’s history.

Strange how everything slowed right down in the middle of an emergency. Their patient’s life was at stake, but the team had worked together for so long that they all knew exactly what to do. Everything slotted together in the right place and at the right time.

And it was a shame that today was going to be the last time they’d work together. David was flying out to Africa almost straight after his shift to do a six-month stint with Doctors Without Borders.

Becky only hoped that the new consultant would be as thorough and as genuinely nice as David, treating the patients and staff alike with respect and kindness. Human Resources hadn’t exactly been generous with their information, and even the hospital grapevine had drawn a blank. All they knew about the new consultant was that he was male.

They were about to administer thrombolytic drugs when she saw the pattern on the ECG change. ‘He’s gone into VT.’

Hardly surprising. Becky knew that most patients who’d had a heart attack developed an abnormal heart rhythm afterwards. VT, or ventricular tachycardia, was where a ventricle, one of the lower chambers of the heart, beat too fast; it could lead to ventricular fibrillation, where the heart contracted but didn’t pump blood around the body, and it was life-threatening.

‘OK. We know the drill,’ David said wryly. ‘Crash team. Mina, can you remove the clothing from Rod’s upper body, so we can position the paddles more easily?’ he asked the first-year foundation doctor.

Mina did so while David checked Rod’s intubation and Becky checked his pulse. ‘He’s in pulseless VT,’ she reported.

David sighed and put one paddle on the apex position and the other on the right of Rod’s breastbone, just below the clavicle. ‘Charging to two hundred,’ he said. ‘Stand clear.’

Everyone took their hands off the patient.

‘Shocking now.’

Becky glanced at the ECG. ‘No response. He’s still in VT.’

They waited ten seconds to see if the ECG trace changed—the protocol was that you didn’t check the pulse after a shock unless the heart rhythm changed.

‘Charging to two hundred again,’ David said, keeping the paddles on the gel pads. ‘And clear. Shocking now.’