Susan Carlisle - The Surgeon's Cinderella

From matchmaker...to perfect match?

Whitney Thomason prides herself on being able to find the perfect partner for anyone, but heart surgeon Tanner Locke is a real challenge! He wants to settle down, but he’s adamant there’ll be no falling in love...

When Whitney’s candidate falls through, it’s up to her to be the girlfriend Tanner needs for his weekend business getaway, but two days in close proximity proves torturous. They know giving in to temptation is a bad idea, but desire is more powerful than reason...

Dear Reader Contents Cover Back Cover Text Dear Reader Title Page Booklist Dedication CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN EPILOGUE Extract Copyright ,

I never know where a story idea is going to come from. This one literally came from the sky. While I was on a plane, reading the airline magazine, I noticed an advertisement for a matchmaker who specialised in helping the busy professional. A spark of an idea was born, and that became Whitney and Tanner’s story.

This was a fun one to write—especially when this couple finds out that what they want is right under their noses. The setting isn’t bad either—San Francisco and Napa Valley.

I hope you enjoy the journey that Whitney and Tanner take on their way to finding true love. Hearing from my readers is one of my greatest joys. You can contact me at SusanCarlisle.com.

Happy reading,

Susan

The Surgeon’s Cinderella

Susan Carlisle

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Books by Susan Carlisle

Mills & Boon Medical Romance

Summer Brides

White Wedding for a Southern Belle

Midwives On-Call

His Best Friend’s Baby

Heart of Mississippi

The Maverick Who Ruled Her Heart

The Doctor Who Made Her Love Again

Married for the Boss’s Baby

The Doctor’s Sleigh Bell Proposal

Visit the Author Profile page at

at millsandboon.co.ukfor more titles.

To Eric.

Everyone should have a son-in-law like you.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text From matchmaker...to perfect match? Whitney Thomason prides herself on being able to find the perfect partner for anyone, but heart surgeon Tanner Locke is a real challenge! He wants to settle down, but he’s adamant there’ll be no falling in love... When Whitney’s candidate falls through, it’s up to her to be the girlfriend Tanner needs for his weekend business getaway, but two days in close proximity proves torturous. They know giving in to temptation is a bad idea, but desire is more powerful than reason...

Dear Reader Dear Reader Contents Cover Back Cover Text Dear Reader Title Page Booklist Dedication CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN EPILOGUE Extract Copyright , I never know where a story idea is going to come from. This one literally came from the sky. While I was on a plane, reading the airline magazine, I noticed an advertisement for a matchmaker who specialised in helping the busy professional. A spark of an idea was born, and that became Whitney and Tanner’s story. This was a fun one to write—especially when this couple finds out that what they want is right under their noses. The setting isn’t bad either—San Francisco and Napa Valley. I hope you enjoy the journey that Whitney and Tanner take on their way to finding true love. Hearing from my readers is one of my greatest joys. You can contact me at SusanCarlisle.com . Happy reading, Susan

Title Page The Surgeon’s Cinderella Susan Carlisle www.millsandboon.co.uk

Booklist Books by Susan Carlisle Mills & Boon Medical Romance Summer Brides White Wedding for a Southern Belle Midwives On-Call His Best Friend’s Baby Heart of Mississippi The Maverick Who Ruled Her Heart The Doctor Who Made Her Love Again Married for the Boss’s Baby The Doctor’s Sleigh Bell Proposal Visit the Author Profile page at at millsandboon.co.uk for more titles.

Dedication To Eric. Everyone should have a son-in-law like you.

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

EPILOGUE

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

TANNER LOCKE NEEDED a matchmaker’s help.

Two days earlier Whitney Thomason’s hand had quivered slightly as she’d held the phone. He was certainly a blast from the past. Why would someone like Tanner require her help?

An hour earlier he had texted her that he needed to change their arrangements and asked her to meet him at a small airport outside San Francisco. As the owner of Professional Matchmaking, Whitney had made concessions for clients on more than one occasion, but this was the first time she’d been asked to meet one at an airport at dusk.

Tanner had said something had come up and that he couldn’t join her at her office. He would appreciate her meeting him at the airport. If she hadn’t been familiar with his status in the community she wouldn’t have considered such a plan. She wasn’t acquainted with the small airport but had agreed to do as he’d requested.

Having the Dr. Tanner Locke’s name on her client list would be good for business. Even though it was unethical to publicize his name, she could say that an eminent doctor in the city had used her services. Who knew? He might even send her referrals. Either of those would make it worth her drive to meet him.

As the “big man on campus” when they’d been at Berkeley, all the girls had had a crush on Tanner, including herself. But she hadn’t been his style. He had been into thin, blonde, preppy sorority girls while she had been the heavy, dark-haired, mousy nobody. At least she already knew his type.

In the past couple of years she’d seen Tanner’s name in the news a few times. He was an up-and-coming surgeon in the heart transplant field. So why did someone as good-looking and eligible as Tanner need her help in finding a mate?

Whitney chuckled drily. For the same reasons her other clients did. They didn’t have the time or energy to weed out the unsuitable. She handled the nitty-gritty work of finding people with similar backgrounds so they only connected with the people most appropriate for them. It was a one-and-done process.

She rolled through the gate of the airfield minutes before she was due to meet Tanner. Would he recognize her? Why should he? She’d just been one of those people who had been a filler in a couple of his classes. Plus she’d changed a great deal since then. At least on the outside. She’d lost fifty pounds. She’d long outgrown having a crush on Tanner. Heavens, she didn’t even really know him.

Pulling into a parking spot in the lot next to a red single-story, cement-block building, she turned off the engine. A gleaming white jet sat on the tarmac in front of the terminal. There were a couple of men working around it. Was Tanner going somewhere? Probably off to Hawaii for the weekend.