Charlotte Hawkes - A Surgeon For The Single Mum

From bachelor doc...

...to family man!

As a single parent and helicopter rescue doc, fiercely independent Effie Robinson has no time for romance! So when hotshot neurosurgeon Talank Basu proposes a mutually beneficial dating ruse, what could be the harm? Only, Effie’s not prepared for how protected and supported he makes her feel... Tak’s fighting their sizzling attraction just as much as she is—will they finally give in and trust in their once-in-a-lifetime chemistry?

Born and raised on the Wirral Peninsula in England, CHARLOTTE HAWKESis mum to two intrepid boys who love her to play building block games with them and who object loudly to the amount of time she spends on the computer. When she isn’t writing—or building with blocks—she is company director for a small Anglo/French construction firm. Charlotte loves to hear from readers, and you can contact her at her website: charlotte-hawkes.com.

Also by Charlotte Hawkes

The Army Doc’s Secret Wife

The Surgeon’s Baby Surprise

A Bride to Redeem Him

The Surgeon’s One-Night Baby

Christmas with Her Bodyguard

Hot Army Docs miniseries

Encounter with a Commanding Officer

Tempted by Dr Off-Limits

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

A Surgeon for the Single Mum

Charlotte Hawkes

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-08989-0

A SURGEON FOR THE SINGLE MUM

© 2019 Charlotte Hawkes

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

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www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

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To Monty & Bart.

How I enjoyed seeing my two little men

walk all the way to the stone bridge on our section of

the Canal du Midi for the very first time. xxx

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

EPILOGUE

Extract

About the Publisher

‘REALLY? THIS IS what you dragged me down here for?’ Talank Basu pressed his shoulder against the doorjamb of the hospital’s resus department and rolled his eyes at his kid sister. ‘I expected some medical emergency, not a schoolyard blind date request.’

‘Oh, relax,’ Hetti snorted, in a way that no one else talking to him would ever have dared. ‘I’m not asking you to marry the woman—just take her to the hospital ball as your plus one.’

‘No.’

‘Please, Tak? Effie’s new to the air ambulance job, and new to the area, and what’s more she’s really nice. But she has already fended off advances by at least four single doctors and two nurses that I know about, so going alone to the gala would be like painting a bullseye on her back. She could use a bit of support.’

He grinned, unable to resist his habitual teasing of her. ‘Ah, now I understand. She’s another one of your waifs and strays, is she, Hetti?’

‘Stop it.’ She swatted him good-naturedly. ‘You’re as bad as Mama . You know she wouldn’t know compassion if it walked and swamped her in a massive cuddle.’

‘Don’t disrespect her, Hetti.’ Tak frowned automatically.

But instead of backing down, his sister held her ground, narrowing her gaze. ‘Why does she always get a free pass with you, Tak? Still? We’re not kids any more, so you don’t have to protect us from who she really is. You sacrificed your entire childhood practically raising Sasha and Rafi and me, being Mama and Papa all rolled into one just to shield us from our parents’ inadequacies. Papa was off having his never-ending affairs, and Mama... Well, you know. And that was before Baby Saaj.’

Tak didn’t bother answering. It wasn’t worth the argument. Their parents weren’t worth the argument.

Over Hetti’s shoulder he could see people milling about, waiting for the next trauma victim to come in. A rare calm before the proverbial storm. The helicopter was only a few minutes out now, and Hetti had got her team together and all the equipment she thought they might need. Now it was just a matter of waiting, and soon the place would be a flurry of activity again.

‘Anyway...’ Hetti shook her head as though dislodging the argument. ‘Effie isn’t one of my “waifs and strays”, as you so indelicately put it. She was an A&E doctor with me back when I was at Allport Infirmary last year. Turns out Effie has landed herself a plum role on the air ambulance across this way, too.’

‘Air ambulance? She must be particularly good.’

‘Oh, she is.’ Hetti nodded. ‘Effie was always exceptional. Noticed things other doctors missed...knew stuff even senior consultants might not know. It was no wonder the air ambulance snapped her up. Even you might be impressed.’

‘If you’re that taken with her then why don’t you make her your plus one?’

For a moment it looked as though Hetti might want to say more, but then she sucked in a deep breath and grinned back at him in that disarming way of hers that he recognised from when she was a toddler.