Dr Devereux's Proposal. Margaret McDonagh

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      ‘We were going to send out a search party!’ Chloe teased when Lauren let herself in, took off Foxy’s lead and walked into the living room.

      Her friend was cuddled up in Oliver’s lap on the sofa in front of a roaring log fire. It didn’t take a genius to know from their rumpled clothes and tousled hair what they had been doing with their extra time alone. Lauren was delighted for Chloe but it was ironic that her friend—who had suffered an abusive past at the hands of her brutal father, and who had remained a virgin until Oliver had come into her life—had enjoyed a more varied and extensive sex life in three months than Lauren had in ten years. She didn’t begrudge Chloe her happiness and pleasure for a moment, but she wouldn’t half mind being as lucky.

      An image of a certain scrumptious French doctor filled her mind. Oh, yes! Now, there was a man with va-va-voom, one who would surely know how to make a woman feel special. Unable to stop smiling, Lauren sank into an armchair. Her heart was still pounding.

      ‘Sorry you were concerned. I got held up. Dr Devereux had just arrived when I took the shopping up to the Manor House. I stayed for a chat.’

      ‘Some chat,’ Chloe commented with a meaningful grin that had Oliver laughing and Lauren’s cheeks warming. ‘Come on, tell us what happened.’

      Nothing…and yet everything. But Lauren didn’t know how to explain that. ‘We talked about the surgery, Penhally and the flood. Gabriel’s coming here for lunch tomorrow. I told him about your football match, Oliver, and he’s keen to play.’

      ‘Great! Thanks, Lauren. Nick has suggested that Gabriel shadow me next week, so it will be good to meet him in advance.’

      ‘But what’s he like?’ Chloe persisted.

      Lauren leaned back and sighed, unable to keep her smile from broadening. ‘Absolutely divine.’

      No way was she going to last out Gabriel’s time here without being a very bad girl.

      Hopefully.

      CHAPTER THREE

      ‘THANKS again for coming in early this morning, Gabriel. I think we’ve covered everything,’ Nick Tremayne decided, leading the way back to his consulting room after a tour of the revamped surgery. He returned to his chair and rubbed his hands together. ‘Do you have any other questions?’

      ‘Is the expansion work nearly complete?’ Gabriel had been impressed with the improvements that had taken place since his previous weekend visit in July.

      ‘It won’t be long now. Hopefully no more than a week. My daughter Lucy originally worked on the plans for the changes and devised a way to use the dead space we had here to make more room. We’ve rearranged the layout, adding extra facilities as well as increasing consulting-room availability upstairs and down,’ Nick explained. ‘There are a few minor jobs to finish, mostly outside, but we’ve been very lucky…the builders have worked around us so that patient disruption has been kept to a minimum.’

      ‘The new X-ray and plaster rooms on the ground floor must make life much easier.’

      ‘Indeed,’ Nick agreed. ‘It means we can handle the less serious breaks and injuries here now, rather than having to send everyone on the half-hour journey to the hospital in St Piran. It benefits the hospital, the patients and ourselves. As does having the new physiotherapy room for Lauren,’ he added. ‘Our workload is increasing all the time—and not just during the tourist season—so your presence here is even more welcome.’

      ‘Thank you.’

      Nick shuffled some papers on his desk. ‘I’ve arranged for you to spend a few days working with Oliver Fawkner. You can take your own consultations, of course—we’ve assigned you one of the new rooms next to Lauren’s—but Oliver will help you learn your way around the district. Is that all right with you?’

      ‘But, yes, I appreciate it. I have already met Oliver, Chloe and Lauren—we had lunch together yesterday.’

      ‘Good, good. I’m sure you’ll get on well.’ Nick nodded with approval, then handed over a sheet of paper. ‘Here is this week’s roster. We take turns doing out-of-hours cover so no one is unduly burdened, but we won’t expect you to do your own evening and weekend calls until you are settled in. Again, as Oliver is temporarily living so close to the Manor House, you can share duties with him for a week or two before we add you to the list to do calls alone.’

      ‘That sounds fine. Maybe I could also make some visits out with other staff?’ Gabriel suggested, following up on the idea Lauren had given him.

      Nick glanced up, an eyebrow raised in question. ‘What did you have in mind?’

      ‘I would be interested in learning how the various disciplines interact here. And it would give me a chance to meet some of the regular patients. Maybe if I spent a morning with the nurses, and also go out on a few home visits with Chloe and Lauren during my first couple of weeks?’

      ‘An excellent idea,’ his new boss agreed. His smile of approval stripped some of the characteristic sternness from his face. ‘The more familiarisation you can gain, the better. I’ll leave you to arrange the details with the staff concerned. You can sort things out to fit your own schedules. I’ll mention it when we all meet and—’ The phone buzzed and Nick frowned, momentarily distracted. ‘Excuse me,’ he murmured. ‘Yes? Of course, Hazel. We’ll be there directly.’

      Gabriel visualised Hazel, the practice manager, whom he had met a short while ago during his wander around with Nick. The older woman had been polite while giving him the once-over but appeared to be reserving her judgement about him. He could understand that. Hopefully he would pass muster with her, and the rest of the staff, in time. He was thinking of all he had been told about his new colleagues when Nick set down the phone and reclaimed his attention.

      ‘Pretty much everyone on duty is here now. Come on up to the staffroom, Gabriel, and I’ll introduce you,’ he invited, rising to his feet.

      Glad that their chat had gone well, and looking forward to starting work, Gabriel followed Nick towards the stairs. Although reserved and serious, the senior partner had been welcoming, their discussion informative. Even so, Gabriel was thankful to have had the chance to meet Oliver and Chloe in more informal and relaxed circumstances at Lauren’s cottage the previous day. He had thoroughly enjoyed himself. They had lingered over a delicious lunch and talked long into the afternoon. It had been dark by the time he had walked the short distance back to the Manor House feeling content and more comfortable about his new job.

      With dark hair and green eyes, Chloe was kind and gentle, as dedicated to her role as a midwife as Lauren was to hers as a physiotherapist. As for Oliver, dark-eyed and with overlong dark hair, Gabriel had liked him from the first, forming an instant friendship with the handsome, charismatic doctor. Oliver was only three years younger than himself and they had quickly established that they shared many interests in common besides their careers, especially a love of sport. Gabriel did not share Oliver’s and Chloe’s love of motorbikes, however. It hadn’t needed Lauren to tell him that Oliver and Chloe were a couple…that they were madly in love was obvious to anyone who saw them together.

      And then there was Lauren herself.

      She had been a complete surprise to him and he had not been able to stop thinking about her since finding her in his kitchen on Saturday afternoon. He’d СКАЧАТЬ