Fiona Lowe - Letting Go With Dr Rodriguez

She breathed in—this time a long, slow, delicious breath, which not only absorbed Marco’s scent, but also the firmness of his chest, the warmth of his skin, and the loud and solid sound of his beating heart.

His fingers, which had gently held her with perfect stillness, started moving against her skin with feather-soft touches.

Heat built.

She gasped as his heart jumped to match hers, sending vibrations of unambiguous wanting—his wanting—into every cell of her body. His body called to hers, urging a response, but the call was unnecessary. Her body was already throbbing to the beat of his.

What are you doing?

With a gut-dropping shock, she realised exactly what she was doing. Oh, God . Not only weren’t his arms a place of safety and protection—they had Danger written all over them.

Dear Reader

A couple of years ago I was fortunate enough to attend a polo match. Watching those nuggety polo ponies strut their stuff was awe-inspiring. With their hogged (roached) manes and braided tails, they have amazing agility and can turn on the spot. Polo players will tell you that their game is eighty percent horse and twenty percent their own skill.

Ever since that sunny Saturday afternoon I have wanted to have a polo match in a book, but each story ended up on a different trajectory and the polo match didn’t fit. Until now. I mean how could I have a gorgeous Argentine hero and not have a polo match?

However, I didn’t realise how important this polo match would be to my characters until I wrote the book and the polo match became another character in the story.

Marco is from Argentina and living in Outback Australia. He answered the call to come to Australia to help fill the doctor shortage, and now he is there his greatest wish is to stay and carve out a life for himself and his young son, who has mild cerebral palsy.

Lucy Patterson grew up in Bulla Creek, Western Australia, the much-loved only child of the local doctor. In keeping with family tradition Lucy became a doctor, and had plans to join her father—until her mother died and her world was turned upside down.

I’ll let the book tell their story. Meanwhile, if you want to see the pictures and videos that inspired the book head to www.fionalowe.com. I love to hear from my readers, and you can find me on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

Happy Reading!

Love

Fiona xx

Always an avid reader, FIONA LOWEdecided to combine her love of romance with her interest in all things medical, so writing Medical™ Romance was an obvious choice! She lives in a seaside town in southern Australia, where she juggles writing, reading, working and raising two gorgeous sons with the support of her own real-life hero!

Recent books by the same author:

SYDNEY HARBOUR HOSPITAL:

TOM’S REDEMPTION

CAREER GIRL IN THE COUNTRY

SINGLE DAD’S TRIPLE TROUBLE

THE MOST MAGICAL GIFT OF ALL

HER BROODING ITALIAN SURGEON

MIRACLE: TWIN BABIES

These books are also available in eBook format from www.millsandboon.co.uk

www.millsandboon.co.uk

For Monica, with thanks

for giving my eldest son an amazing time in France,

and for all her help with Marco’s Spanish.

Special thanks to Alan,

who cheerfully answered my e-mail

and gave me a rundown on the intricacies of visas.

‘LUCE, wait.’

Dr Lucy Patterson heard the call and with a smile, she thrust her hand against the fast-closing elevator doors at Perth City Hospital. They bounced open.

A moment later, Daniel Edgerton, radiographer and her boyfriend, strode over the silver threshold. ‘Thanks.’ His smile for her wasn’t quite as broad as it had been in the past, but if he was as weary as she was, she totally understood.

He slapped the large ‘G’ button with the heel of his hand. ‘You finishing up for the day?’

She bit her lip, knowing he wasn’t going to be thrilled with her reply. ‘Not quite. I have to admit a late addition to the prof’s surgical list and re-site an IV.’

His sigh reverberated around the boxed space, settling over her with cloying disapproval. He worked a roster with a definite start and end time, and he didn’t always understand that her day finished when the work was finally complete. With forced brightness and a wide smile, she quickly added, ‘But then I’ll be done and yours for the night.’

Daniel opened his mouth but an ominous grinding sound drowned out his reply and the smooth descent of the elevator suddenly jerked, throwing Lucy sideways.

She gripped the support rail and righted herself. ‘Please, no, not again. I got stuck here last week for twenty minutes.’

‘It’s not a total disaster.’ Daniel reached his arm around her waist, pulling her in close and nuzzling her neck as he ran his hand up her back, his fingers reaching for her bra strap. ‘We can do a lot with twenty minutes.’

She laughed, but splayed her fingers against his chest, leaning back and putting some distance between them. ‘True, but I’m not risking my senior registrar’s application by being caught “in flagrante” in an elevator.’

His blue eyes hardened as he dropped his arms to his sides. ‘Jess didn’t have a problem with it.’

She blinked at him in surprise. Jess was her house-mate of four years and they got along well, sharing not only a house but gossip, clothes and after a tough day, a glass of wine. ‘There’s no way Jess would have sex in an elevator.’

He shrugged—the action a total disregard of her reply. ‘There’s every way and she did.’

A jab of indignation caught Lucy under the ribs and she crossed her arms. ‘If Jess had sex in an elevator she’d have told me.’

Daniel’s brows rose as his mouth flattened. ‘She doesn’t have to tell you everything, Luce, and let’s face it, just lately you’ve hardly been around.’

Lucy stifled a flicker of unease that Jess may have confided in Dan rather than her. ‘Why are you so certain she did?’

This time Daniel crossed his arms. ‘Because I was there.’

‘You were there?’ Confusion drove the words across her lips and for the briefest moment she thought Daniel meant he’d walked in on Jess and her lover when the elevator doors had opened. Suddenly, her sluggish brain decoded his body language—stiff and defiant—and a chill raced through her so hard and fast that she trembled. ‘ You had sex with Jess?’ Her voice rose and cracked. ‘Here?’

He met her shocked gaze with a combative glare. ‘Yeah.’

Her friend . Her hand flew to her mouth as nausea spun her stomach and threatened to return the chocolate muffin she’d just eaten. Stepping back, she flattened herself against the wall and tried to put as much distance between them as possible. ‘When?’

Dan sucked in his lips and finally said, ‘Last week.’

She thought back to the sex they’d had last Wednesday after she’d cooked his favourite dinner—the night she’d been the one making all the moves. At the time it had surprised her because usually Dan initiated sex, but it hadn’t taken long before he’d got on board. Her stomach pitched again. Desperately trying to keep her composure, she spoke softly but with an edge of steel. ‘ When last week?’

For the first time, he dropped his gaze. ‘It doesn’t matter.’

She gripped the support rail as her knees turned to jelly. ‘Yes, it bloody matters.’

He ran his hand over his short-cropped hair. ‘Look, Luce, there’s no point—’