Joanna Neil - Proposing to the Children's Doctor

‘Come here,’ Craig said, in a low, roughened tone.

He held out his arms to her, and when she would have hesitated he reached out and drew her into his embrace, holding her close and lowering his head to hers, so that his cheek lightly grazed her face.

‘You’ve been through a hellish day,’ he said. ‘There’s no shame in feeling this way. It’s bound to have an effect on you.’

His fingers threaded through the silk of her hair, gently caressing the nape of her neck, smoothing away all the tension there. It was such a warm and lovely feeling, being held this way, and she found herself wishing that this closeness might go on for ever and ever…or at least for just a little longer.

A low sigh escaped him, and he lightly tasted the sweetness of her lips.

It was barely a whisper of a touch—not even a kiss, really—but Rebecca’s eyes closed, as she savoured the delicious thrill of that moment. Heat flooded her veins, coursing through every part of her body. She was safe, she was complete, and right now there was nothing more she wanted than to be held like this, in his arms.

When Joanna Neildiscovered Mills & Boon ®, her life-long addiction to reading crystallised into an exciting new career writing Medical™ Romance. Her characters are probably the outcome of her varied lifestyle, which includes working as a clerk, typist, nurse and infant teacher. She enjoys dressmaking and cooking at her Leicestershire home. Her family includes a husband, son and daughter, an exuberant yellow Labrador and two slightly crazed cockatiels. She currently works with a team of tutors at her local education centre, to provide creative writing workshops for people interested in exploring their own writing ambitions.

Recent titles by the same author:

A CONSULTANT BEYOND COMPARE

THE DOCTOR’S LONGED-FOR FAMILY

THE CONSULTANT’S SURPRISE CHILD

EMERGENCY AT RIVERSIDE HOSPITAL

BY

JOANNA NEIL

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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CHAPTER ONE

‘THIS is all getting out of hand,’ Rebecca murmured. ‘That’s another glass that’s been smashed, and Susie already has a cut on her foot from the vase that was broken earlier.’

She knelt down to gingerly pick up the broken shards of a drinking glass, frowning as she watched a group of young men work their way through the crowded room, bumping into people and furniture as they stumbled on their way to the kitchen where the temporary bar had been set up.

She pushed the silky fall of her chestnut-coloured hair back over her shoulder so that she could concentrate better on what she was doing. Her head was throbbing, possibly something to do with the thundering sound of heavy rock music that reverberated through the ground-floor flat and made the floorboards judder in reaction.

Carefully, she dropped the jagged pieces of glass into a waste-paper basket and then stood up.

‘Who are those people, anyway?’ she asked, directing a troubled glance towards her friend, Angie. ‘Did you invite them to the party?’

Angie gave a negligent shrug. ‘Wasn’t me. I expect they’re medical students who heard about the party and decided to crash it. I wouldn’t worry too much about them. I expect they’ll sober up a bit once they get some food inside them.’

‘Hmm. Maybe.’ Rebecca’s grey eyes were troubled, but Angie wasn’t going to allow her to be concerned for long.

She angled the wine bottle she was holding out over Rebecca’s glass. ‘Have another drink, Becca…You need to chill out… This is your last night here and we mean to see you off in style.’

Rebecca gave a brief smile. Angie meant well, but the last thing Rebecca needed right now was to find herself in the middle of a surprise going-away party when she still had packing to do and last minute problems that had arisen which meant she had to go to work in the morning. As it was, all her travel plans had been thrown into disarray and she had to sort out alternative arrangements in order to transport her belongings to the old cottage up in Scotland.

What she wanted was peace and quiet so that she could wind down after her difficult day at the hospital and a clear head so that she could think for a while, and it didn’t look as though either of those scenarios was going to be available to her any time soon.

‘Perhaps we should turn the music down a little,’ she suggested, ‘before the neighbours start complaining. Did you invite any of them to join us?’

Angie made a face. ‘I thought about it, but I wasn’t sure they would be into the party scene. Next door are getting on a bit, and anyway they’ve been out all day, so I haven’t had a chance to talk to them. I wanted to invite the new tenant from upstairs, but I haven’t seen anything of him either, since he only moved in last night.’ Angie rolled her eyes. ‘Now, there’s someone I’d really, really like to have around. He’s definitely my kind of guy with those dark good looks and devil-may-care eyes that make me go hot all over, just thinking of him.’

Rebecca laughed. ‘You don’t even know the man. He could be a mass murderer for all you know.’

Angie grinned. ‘I don’t care. I’ll take my chances.’

Rebecca made a wry face. She had reservations about the new tenant. Her first impression of him hadn’t been all that great. He had arrived at the house after darkness had fallen yesterday evening, with nothing more than an overnight bag to his name, as far as she could tell. What kind of tenant had no proper luggage?

Struggling to wake up, she had come across him in the early hours of the morning as she’d left for work, putting his key into the lock of the main door of their building. At the time they had simply exchanged brief nods in greeting.

She had sent him nothing more than a hurried glance, but it had been enough for her to take in his rugged frame and the slightly crumpled appearance of his clothes, a linen shirt open at the neck and black trousers that clung to strong legs. There was a hint of dark shadow about his face, as though he had forgotten to shave.

She was used to people coming and going from the top-floor flat. The previous tenants had worked on short-term contracts and had rented the place for about six months before they’d moved on, and she guessed this man would be no different.

Not that she would be staying around to get to know him. After all, this was the last full day she would be spending in the area, and after her one final obligation to the hospital was fulfilled tomorrow, her work there would come to an end.

A bang distracted her just then, followed by a muttered oath, and she turned to see one of the medical students, who had lurched against a bookcase, catching his ribs on the wooden corner of the unit, books tumbling to the floor. She pulled in a deep breath.

‘Perhaps you should go and sit down over there,’ she suggested, indicating a chair with the flick of her head. She tried to steady the young man with her hand while she struggled to prevent the bookcase from falling over with the other.