Six Sexy Doctors Part 1 (Mills & Boon e-Book Collections): A Doctor, A Nurse: A Little Miracle / The Children's Doctor and the Single Mum / A Wife for ... / The Playboy Doctor's Surprise Proposal

by Carol Marinelli

  ‘Nothing.’ She shivered, unable to tell Will of her deep-down fear—that Nathan would ease his way back into her life and break her heart all over again.

  ‘Don’t you think you need to sort this out with Nathan once and for all?’

  ‘No!’

  ‘I care about you, Annie, and I’ll always be here for you,’ he reassured her, one hand stroking her back. ‘But I think you’re wrong about Nathan, and in danger of making a big mistake.’

  The only danger here was Nathan himself. ‘You don’t know him, Will,’ she protested, her voice muffled against his chest.

  ‘No, but I saw his eyes, Annie.’

  Puzzled, she drew back to look at up him. ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘They carry the same emotions as yours, only deeper—longing and loneliness and soul deep pain.’

  ‘Will…’ Disturbed, she tried to pull away, but his hold tightened.

  ‘Even if I agreed to do what you wanted, it’s not going to solve anything,’ he explained, his voice soft and patient. ‘And it couldn’t go on indefinitely. Nathan’s going to be here for a while, and starting out with a lie is going to make things worse. At some point you are going to have to lay the past to rest—for both your sakes. You’ve shut it all away and it’s eating at you, stopping you from living fully. Either you have to acknowledge you still care about Nathan and do something about it…or you have to let him go for good.’

  Overwhelmed with tiredness and inner pain, Annie slumped against him. ‘I can’t do it, Will. Not at the moment, anyway. Please, play along. Give me some space to think it all out.’

  A soft curse reached her ears. ‘All right. A day or two. But that’s all,’ he finally conceded, with obvious reluctance.

  ‘Thank you!’ Relief washed through her as she flung her arms around him.

  ‘Annie, I’m only doing this if you promise that you’ll think about what I said and sort things out with Nathan… soon.’

  She stepped back as Will released her, initial relief giving way to a new uncertainty. Her feelings were jumbled, tumultuous, disordered. She didn’t want to go back, but she was afraid to go forward. And Will’s sympathetic reaction to Nathan, his insistence that she talk to the man who once broke her heart so badly, troubled and confused her.

  ‘I’ll think about it,’ she murmured after a long pause, knowing it was as much as she could agree to for now.

  Will’s face slowly changed, his eyes widening. ‘I won’t have to kiss you, will I?’ he asked with mock horror.

  ‘Don’t be gross,’ she teased back, thankful that he once again acted like the easygoing man she knew so well.

  ‘A couple of days, Annie,’ he warned a moment later, bringing her crashing back to earth. ‘Talk to Nathan. You’ve been given a second chance. Don’t make a mess of it and end up with even more regrets.’

  He tweaked the tip of her nose before walking out of the kitchen, and she listened to his footsteps on the stairs as he headed up to his bedroom. Thinking about what lay ahead caused tension to settle like a lead weight in the pit of her stomach. Will might have grudgingly agreed to her little charade, but she hadn’t bought herself much time. She dreaded having to see Nathan again tomorrow as they worked the same shift in A and E…dreaded even more that she was not going to be able to ignore the spectre of their past indefinitely.

  ‘Stuart, the X-ray confirms the dislocation of your elbow, but there is no sign of a fracture on the initial pictures,’ Nathan explained, holding the image up so that his patient, a man in his early twenties who had fallen badly during an impromptu football game, could see the resulting injury.

  ‘So what happens now, Doc?’ Lines of anxiety and discomfort were evident on the young man’s ruddy face. ‘Will I need an operation?’

  Nathan put the X-ray image back on the light-screen on the wall before pulling up a stool and sitting beside the trolley bed to run through the next course of action with Stuart. ‘Hopefully not. We’ll give you some sedation and attempt to reduce the dislocation here. If all goes to plan we’ll set the arm, take another X-ray, and then you should be able to go home as soon as the sedation has worn off.’

  ‘That sounds good. Thanks.’

  ‘No problem.’ He was satisfied that Stuart was a good candidate for the procedure, with nothing in his medical history or his current condition signifying an increased risk. Nathan turned to Gail, thankful to have an experienced nurse working with him. ‘I’ll need Midazolam, please, Gail,’ he requested, stating the dosage.

  ‘Of course.’

  As she busied herself getting the sedative ready, Nathan told Stuart what to expect. ‘The drug will be delivered intravenously,’ he explained, gesturing to the cannula already inserted in the man’s uninjured arm. ‘Once it takes effect you’ll feel drowsy, and your speech will be slurred, but you’ll be able to hear me and carry out any movements I ask you to.’

  ‘OK.’

  ‘The sedative is ready,’ Gail informed him, moving to his side.

  ‘Thank you, Gail.’ Nathan took the syringe from the nurse and double-checked it. ‘Try to relax now, Stuart, and we’ll have you back on your feet as soon as we can.’ Smoothly, he administered the sedative through the IV, and kept an eye on the monitors that recorded the patient’s vital signs. ‘While that takes effect I’ll get someone to help with the reduction.’

  Rising to his feet, he stepped out through the gap in the curtain. The first person he saw was Annie. His heart lurched and his pulse-rate rose—typical responses whenever he looked at her. It had been two days since he had found out about Will. Despite him having no chance to talk to her or be alone with her, the tension and electricity that shimmered between them continued to increase.

  ‘Annie?’ She spun round in surprise as he called her name, looking like a deer caught in the headlights as she noticed him. ‘Do you have a moment? I need some help with a dislocated elbow.’

  It was clear she was nervous as she glanced round to see if she could avoid the task, her shoulders slumping as she realised no one else was available. ‘OK,’ she agreed with a resigned sigh.

  As she walked reluctantly towards him, Nathan reflected on how working with her was both a pain and a pleasure. Seeing Annie with Will had been as difficult as he had imagined but what he hadn’t expected was to like the other man. He didn’t want to—Will had Annie, after all. Nathan wished he could find fault with the man, but he couldn’t. Aside from being a good doctor, Will had a natural way with people, and his presence brought an irreverent humour to the department, lifting the spirits of staff and patients alike and making them smile.

  After his one man pity-party the evening he had been confronted with the knowledge that Annie had another man in her life, diminishing his hopes for a reconciliation with the only woman he had ever loved, he’d woken up filled with a fresh resolve. He was damned if he was going to meekly give in and let Annie go a second time. The timing might have been wrong five years ago, when he hadn’t been free to pursue his own needs, but it was different now—he was different now—and he wasn’t taking no for an answer.

  For all their closeness and affection, something didn’t sit right about Annie and Will. He’d thought about little else since being confronted with the information they were a couple, but he couldn’t put his finger on what bothered him. Annie wasn’t acting like a woman in love. She certainly hadn’t been thinking of another man when she had kissed him with a storm of hungry, needy passion that had matched his own. Will had never been mentioned. Not until later.

  No matter how she protested, Nathan didn’t believe Annie was indifferent to him, or that she felt nothing. She was too skittish, too reactive. And all the while there was even a minute chance he wasn’t going to stand back. It didn’t help that he genuinely liked Will. The man clearly cared for Annie—but so did he. And unless he was convinced that Annie was irrevocably in love with Will, Nathan determined to persist in his efforts to lay the past to rest. If he could win Annie back in th
e process, so much the better. This time he was going to fight for what he wanted: the woman he needed.

  Guiding Annie inside the treatment bay, he felt a quiver run through her as he rested a hand at the small of her back. She stiffened, edging away, but he had recognised the instinctive response to his touch. Forcing himself to concentrate, he briefly ran through Stuart’s case.

  ‘He’s had IV Midazolam.’ As Annie checked the X-rays on the screen, Nathan reassessed Stuart’s condition and his level of sedation. ‘Everything all right, Gail?’ The nurse nodded in confirmation and smiled at him. ‘OK. Stuart, we’re going to sort out this elbow now.’

  As Nathan flexed the elbow, Annie provided countertraction on the upper arm. Gail held Stuart’s other hand, soothing him as he groaned in response to the activity, but the sedation would alleviate any recollection of the procedure once they were finished. Gently Nathan pulled on the forearm, careful not to cause any soft tissue or other damage. After a few moments the sound of a characteristic ‘clunk’ confirmed that the reduction had been successful and that the elbow joint had settled back into its rightful position.

  ‘Well done.’

  Annie’s soft words of congratulation had him looking up. He could drown in those blue eyes. Right now a welter of conflicting emotions chased across them, and several silent moments passed between them before Annie blinked and stepped back.

  ‘It’s all in the technique,’ he murmured, seeing the faint wash of colour stain her cheeks.

  He hadn’t meant anything by the comment, but judging by her reaction Annie’s mind had wandered—and if the heat in her eyes was anything to go by she was remembering how she had teased him when they had first made love. Sated and boneless with satisfaction, she’d smiled in surprise and pleasure and joked about never imagining his intensity inside, given his outer reserve. He couldn’t stop the slow smile that curved his mouth at the memory, and her blush deepened further. Hell, no, Annie hadn’t forgotten—and she wasn’t as indifferent as she wanted him to believe.

  Remembering where they were, Nathan reluctantly broke the spell of the moment and returned his focus to his patient. ‘We’re done now, Stuart. The elbow is back in and you’ll be feeling much better soon,’ he reassured him, re-checking the pulses in the injured arm as Gail made the young man as comfortable as possible.

  ‘Would you like me to arrange for the other X-ray?’ the kindly nurse asked.

  ‘Yes, please. I want to ensure there’s no ensuing or hidden fracture. We’ll get a plaster of Paris backslab on first, though, Gail,’ he decreed, writing up the notes. ‘And keep a close eye on him for any after-effects from the sedation. Does he have family?’

  ‘Yes,’ Gail confirmed, after a quick glance at her paperwork. ‘He lives with his fiancée. She’s at work, and he didn’t want me to ring her until he knew what was happening.’

  Nathan handed her his notes for the file and put his pen back in his pocket. ‘OK. I’ll check back on him in a while, when he’s more alert. When he’s well enough I’ll write him up some medication and he can go home with supervision. Thanks, Gail.’

  ‘My pleasure.’ She gave him a motherly smile, her gaze curious as she looked from him to Annie. ‘I’ll phone Stuart’s fiancée now.’

  Leaving the cubicle and walking back to Reception with Annie, Nathan rested a hand on her arm, detaining her in a quiet corner. Her warm skin was super-soft beneath his fingertips. Again she edged away from his touch, but not before he experienced the heat of the contact searing his flesh, and felt the shiver that rippled through her. He hated the awkwardness between them, but was not about to let her coolness put him off.

  ‘Thank you, too, for your help in there.’

  ‘It’s my job,’ she pointed out with a casual shrug, crossing her arms and looking away from him.

  Nathan wasn’t deceived by her dismissive tone. ‘We still need to talk, Annie. I’m not giving up.’

  ‘Nathan, I—’ Her nervous words were cut off as someone called to them, and, while he was frustrated at yet another interruption, Annie was visibly relieved.

  ‘Two doctors—just what I need!’ The sister in charge approached, a determined gleam in her eyes. ‘We have two patients on the way in with smoke inhalation. Firefighters pulled them out of a burning workshop. No further details as yet.’

  Realising he was not going to pin Annie down now to a time and place to talk, Nathan sighed, took the sparse file the sister handed him, and set off for the ambulance bay to meet the patient assigned to him. As the vehicle drew up Annie joined him, keeping what she clearly thought was a safe distance between them. The doors opened and it became apparent that both their patients were aboard. Before moving forward to assist, Nathan stepped in front of Annie, forcing her to look at him.

  ‘Soon,’ he promised, trailing the tip of one finger down the smoothness of her cheek.

  By the time she had finished dealing with the young man who had suffered smoke inhalation—battling to find him a bed in already full wards, as he needed to be admitted for further observation—Annie was still unable to put Nathan’s dictate out of her mind. More worryingly, her skin continued to tingle from the gentle brush of his finger.

  What was she going to do? She was no closer to making a decision than she had been a couple of days ago, when his reappearance in her life had first driven her to her knees in shock. Even sticking to Will like glue had failed to give her the respite she had hoped for. Nathan was everywhere, and the sight of him, the sound of his voice, his every casual touch, all combined to heighten her unwanted desire for him, driving her insane with doubt and anxiety as well as flooding her mind with unbidden memories of their four years together.

  She had thought Nathan would back off once he realised she was seeing someone else, but he had been far more tenacious than she had expected. All of which left her in an agony of indecision, living on a razor-edge of tension and emotion. She was desperate to escape Nathan’s proximity. His heated looks, whispered words and teasing touches fired her blood, leaving her restless and short of breath. She was looking forward to some respite, thankful that they both had the next couple of days off before being scheduled together for three late shifts.

  ‘One more for you, Annie,’ the receptionist told her when she handed over the notes she had just completed. ‘A firefighter hurt in the workshop incident.’

  ‘Thanks.’

  Annie took the notes and went through to the waiting area, having no trouble in locating her patient amongst the clusters of people taking their turn to be seen.

  ‘Anthony Milligan?’ she called, smiling as the good-looking man in uniform rose to his feet.

  He had soot smudges marking his cheeks and jaw, his jacket had been discarded, his fire service T-shirt was torn, and one forearm was wrapped in a makeshift bloodied bandage. Dark-haired and hazel-eyed, Annie judged him to be in his late twenties or early thirties. He could have stepped off the pages of a firefighters calendar, she decided, noting the way all female gazes followed his progress as she led him towards the treatment cubicles. She didn’t recognise him, and soon discovered he had only just joined the local crew, having recently moved to Strathlochan on promotion.

  They chatted as Annie pulled on her gloves and drew up a stool so she could move in closer to study the wound on his arm. ‘This looks nasty,’ she sympathized, once she had removed the dressing and started to examine the deep, jagged cut that ran several inches between his wrist and his elbow.

  ‘A canister exploded in the workshop and I was caught by some flying debris.’

  Collecting the items she needed, she set about cleaning the area, laughing atAnthony’s teasing comments as she worked.

  ‘Are you trying to chat me up?’ she teased.

  ‘Sorry.’ Unrepentant, his hazel eyes twinkled with amusement. ‘I might try it if I wasn’t gay.’

  After giving him some local anaesthetic, Annie sat back and looked at him thoughtfully. ‘And are you seeing anyone?’

  �
�Not at the moment. Like I said, I’ve just moved here and I don’t know anyone yet.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Mmm. There was someone a while ago, but…’ He paused, and she sensed lingering hurt inside him before he smiled again. ‘Well, things didn’t work out.’

  Annie took off her gloves and tossed them in the bin, a plan forming in her mind. ‘Maybe you’ve come to the right place, then.’

  ‘How so?’

  ‘Don’t you worry.’ She peeped out of the curtain and turned back to him with a wink. ‘I’m going to find someone to stitch that cut for you.’

  It only took her a few moments to track Will down to the staffroom, where he was snatching a rare break. Unfortunately Nathan was there, too. His presence gave her pause—it was a complication she could have done without. How was she going to alert Will without giving any hint to Nathan that her relationship with Will wasn’t genuine? One way was to keep things light and jokey, and she could resort to a code that Nathan wouldn’t understand.

  Her mind made up, she tried to ignore Nathan as she walked across to join Will, but she felt him watching her the whole time and a ripple of awareness ran along her spine.

  Nathan finished his mug of tea, his gaze on Annie as she sidled across to Will. She was up to something. He knew that mischievous expression of old, and trouble usually followed in its wake.

  ‘I’ve just met Strathlochan’s hunky new firefighter,’ she announced with a provocative smile.

  Will looked up from the medical magazine he was flicking through and raised an eyebrow in query. ‘How hunky?’

  ‘GAG hunky.’

  What the hell did GAG mean? Nathan frowned, noting the interested speculation that sparked in Will’s grey eyes as he tossed the magazine aside.

  ‘He got a nasty cut during that workshop incident earlier,’ Annie continued, her smile widening. ‘I’ve given him a local anaesthetic, and I’m just waiting for that to work before going back to stitch his arm.’