The Celebrity Doctor's Proposal

“But that's the beauty of it,” Polly said cheerfully. “Sam already knows the score. He's used to being filmed all the time. There'll be very little intrusion, I can assure you.”

“The patients won't like it—”

“The patients will love it,” Sam predicted dryly, lifting a hand and shielding his eyes from the sun. “And if they don't, they don't have to take part. They always have a right to refuse to be filmed. But I can tell you now that they won't. In fact, I'm willing to bet on it….”

My heroes have always been strong characters, but a few years ago I wrote a medical duo about two Italian men, the Santini brothers, one of whom was a classic alpha male, and that experience drove me toward writing for Harlequin Presents. I don't change my style, it's still very much “me,” but the characters and the situations are perhaps a little more extreme and fantasy based!

The requirements for research for each line are obviously very different although similar in quantity. Instead of researching the latest management of various trauma and medical situations, I might be trying to find out what it's like to ride on a camel in the desert or live on an island in Brazil. I love the variety that comes from writing for my two favorite lines—and I hope you do, too!

Sarah

x x x

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

‘I
CAN
manage without you just for the summer. I want you to go off and breathe mountain air and forget all about medicine and your patients.' Anna turned off the motorway and followed the signs for the airport. She was all brisk efficiency, mentally ticking off things to be done when she got home. There were lots of them.
Too many.
Her life was manic, but she loved it that way. ‘And when you come back your lungs will be better and you'll be totally refreshed and raring to go.'

At least she hoped he would be because she couldn't keep this pace up for much longer.

David McKenna glanced across at her with a tired smile. The smile said it all. ‘We both know that that isn't true. The truth is that you should be looking for a new partner. I'm getting too old for this, Anna,' he said gruffly. ‘Your dad and I set up the practice almost thirty-five years ago. It's time for new blood.'

‘That's right.' His wife, Elizabeth, nodded agreement, a determined look in her clear blue eyes as she leaned forward from the back seat to join in the conversation. ‘It's time for us to enjoy retirement and our grandchildren.'

Anna glanced in her rear-view mirror and laughed. ‘You don't have any grandchildren.'

‘Not yet,' Elizabeth agreed placidly as she settled back in her seat and adjusted her seat-belt. ‘But it's going to happen shortly.'

Anna carefully fixed her eyes back on the road and clamped her jaw closed. Safer to do that than voice an opinion on
that
particular subject. The McKennas only had one son and he showed absolutely no inclination to settle down. He was far more interested in pursuing a glamorous career as a high-profile media doctor and dating everyone female.

And he drove her nuts. Always had done. Always would do.

Anna ground her teeth and tightened her grip on the steering-wheel. The mere thought of the man was enough to raise her blood pressure to dangerous levels. Every time she turned on the television, Sam McKenna was on the screen, giving his opinion on something medical. Dr Smooth. Dr Handsome. She doubted he even remembered what it was like to be a real doctor. He'd spent far too long in front of the cameras to remember how to diagnose anything other than an ingrowing toenail.

Reminding herself that dwelling on Sam McKenna wasn't good for her health, she turned her attention back to the present and braked neatly as a car cut in front of her. ‘You can't possibly talk about retiring, David,' she said briskly, adjusting her speed to ensure a safe following distance. ‘The patients love you and you're a brilliant doctor. And you know you enjoy it. You just need to get yourself well again.'

The practice needed him. The practice he and her
father had built from nothing.
She needed him.
She didn't want her life to change. She liked it just the way it was.

David looked at her thoughtfully. ‘It will be interesting to see how you find working with the locum I've arranged,' he said idly. ‘We both know you've been carrying the lion's share of work for months now. You might find you prefer a younger person who can share the load fairly.'

Anna shot him a quick glance, her brown eyes searching. There was something in his tone that wasn't quite right. But the look he gave her seemed completely innocent so she decided that she must have imagined it.

‘I don't want younger,' she said firmly, flicking the indicator and turning towards the airport. ‘I want
you
. With all your experience. Which reminds me—we've been so busy, you still haven't told me anything about this locum. You just arranged it all. I hope he knows something about medicine.'

But she wasn't really worried. She trusted David's judgement in everything. If David thought the locum would cope then she had no doubt that he would.

‘Of course he does. And you've been far too busy to bother you with the details,' David said vaguely, glancing at his watch and casting a pointed glance at his wife. ‘We don't have time for you to dither in the airport, dear.'

‘I never dither,' Elizabeth protested with dignity, and her husband smiled.

‘So why are we late?'

Anna glanced at them fondly as she pulled up outside the terminal building. Since her own parents had died, Elizabeth and David had stepped into the role. And why not? David had been at medical school with her father. They'd worked together for all those years and she'd taken over her father's role in the practice when he'd been forced to retire because of ill health. It was hardly surprising that the McKennas regarded her as a daughter.

Suddenly filled with an awful feeling that her whole life was about to change, and hating the thought, Anna switched off the engine and turned towards them. ‘I want you to be careful,' she said urgently, undoing her seat-belt and reaching across to hug David. ‘I want you to rest and take it easy. I couldn't bear it if anything—' She broke off, a lump in her throat, and David hugged her back, as understanding as ever.

‘Nothing's going to happen to me, Anna, so stop worrying,' he said gruffly, stroking her long, dark hair with an affectionate hand. ‘It was just a nasty dose of pneumonia brought on by mixing with too many ill patients! I'm recovering well and I'm intending to see my grandchildren grow up.'

Anna sniffed and then gave him a shove. ‘You're definitely getting senile. I keep telling you, you haven't
got
any grandchildren.'

‘Yet.' Over the top of her head, David winked at his wife. ‘Gather your belongings, woman. Time to get this show on the road.'

Anna pulled away from him, feeling as though
something momentous was happening. Suddenly she really, really didn't want them to go. Which was utterly ridiculous, she told herself firmly, since this whole sabbatical idea had been her brainchild.

What was the matter with her?

She wasn't the sentimental sort. She was practical and efficient and she really tried not to let emotions get in the way. David and Elizabeth needed a break and it was great that they were finally having one. She should be delighted. It was just the last few months, she decided, stepping out of the car and walking round to retrieve the luggage from the boot. She'd been working too hard. Not having enough time off.

Suddenly she envied David, taking a long break.

She tugged one of the cases from the boot, the reality of her life looming large in her brain. ‘David, you still haven't told me about this locum and I—'

‘Oh, no!' David peered into the boot and pulled a face. ‘Don't say we forgot the green case. Elizabeth, did you remember to bring the green case from the bedroom?'

‘It's here.' Anna shifted the luggage. ‘Under the blue one.'

She dragged it out and added it to the pile on the pavement.

‘Thank goodness for that. It contains all my reading matter.' David rummaged in his pocket for his glasses. ‘All right, now, have we got everything? Tickets, passports, money—'

Anna tried again. ‘About this locum—'

‘Surgery door keys? Did we give Anna the spare set?' Elizabeth fussed in her handbag and Anna realised with a mixture of frustration and affection that neither of them was taking the slightest bit of notice of her. They were already on holiday. Far away from life in a Cornish fishing village. Far away from her and the practice.

David patted his other pocket and smiled. ‘I left the spares on the kitchen table. Now, we really need to dash.' He leaned forward and kissed Anna on the cheek. ‘No need to come in with us. It was wonderful of you to bring us this far. I hate goodbyes and you have to get back to the needy.'

He waved a hand at a porter, who immediately brought a trolley and loaded the bags.

It was only after the glass doors of the terminal building had closed behind them that Anna realised that he'd left without answering her question about the locum.

She gave a sigh of exasperation and settled herself back in the car, ready for the long drive back to Cornwall. She knew nothing about the doctor David had appointed to cover his absence, except that it was a man. But perhaps it didn't matter. She didn't really need to know the details. Just that he was going to turn up.

Knowing that the summer holidays were almost upon them, Anna just hoped he liked hard work. Because he was going to get it in spades.

 

‘Do you think she's guessed?' From inside the privacy of the terminal building, David watched Anna's little car pull away. ‘She kept asking and I kept evading the question. Now she thinks I'm going senile.'

‘She was joking. If she'd guessed then we wouldn't be standing here now,' Elizabeth said calmly. ‘You know what our Anna is like when she loses her temper. We'd be lying in pieces on the pavement and the fire brigade would be on their way.'

David rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and cast her a dubious look. ‘I hope we've done the right thing. Just because you and Anna's mother always had this thing about our children marrying each other…'

‘You and Philip had the same dream,' Elizabeth reminded him firmly, ‘and don't think Susan and I didn't know it. You wanted to hand the practice over to the two of them. You still do.'

Her husband shot her an impatient look. ‘Well, of course I do. It would be perfect. The only thing that isn't perfect is that they can't stand the sight of one another. I have to admit that, much as I would like this whole plan to work, I can't see how it is going to.'

Elizabeth delved into her handbag for a mirror. ‘They're both strong characters. Neither would want an insipid partner for the journey through life. They suit each other. It's just that they're both too stubborn and blind to see it themselves and that's just because they've never been forced to spend time together.
Hopefully, by the time we return, they'll have discovered that they can't live without each other.'

David pulled a face. ‘They might kill each other first.'

‘Possibly.' Elizabeth gave a womanly smile and checked her lipstick. ‘But I don't think so. Now, that's our flight they're calling. Are you ready?'

David cast a glance through the window again but Anna's car was long gone. ‘There are going to be fireworks in Cornwall tonight,' he muttered, and his wife clipped her bag shut and gave him a little push.

‘Then it's just as well we'll be in Switzerland. Now, stop worrying. Everything is in place and we can do no more. We have to leave the rest up to fate and the chemistry that has always been there between those two. Oh…' She gave a smug smile. ‘And then there's the whole of the village, of course. I'm sure they'll be only too happy to give fate a helping hand.'

 

Anna drove home, mentally listing all the urgent jobs that had to be done.
Too many jobs, not enough time.

She just hoped the locum was a good swimmer because he was going to be thrown right in the deep end with no buoyancy aid.

The sun blazed down on the car, the sea sparkled and Anna turned up the volume on the radio. Cornwall in the summer might be a crazy place to work but it was a beautiful place and she'd never want to live anywhere else. She smiled and the smile
lasted for the time it took for her to pull up outside the surgery.

She was met by a film crew and her smile went out like a light.

For a moment she just sat in her little car and stared at the big van and the cameras and then finally she opened the door and ventured outside.

‘Are you Dr Riggs?' A man with a microphone scurried over to her and she nodded.

‘Yes. Is there a problem? What's going on here?'

‘Just hold it right there.' The man held up a hand to halt her movement and gestured to the cameraman. ‘We want to get some footage of you greeting Dr McKenna. Wait just a moment…'

Footage? Of her greeting Dr McKenna?

To the best of her knowledge, she'd just waved Dr McKenna off at the airport and there was only one other Dr McKenna that she knew of, and he wasn't…

She glanced at the film crew again and shook her head in denial.

Oh, no. No. No. David wouldn't have done that to her. He couldn't…

Ignoring the man's plea for her to stay put while they prepared to shoot, she slammed her car door and stalked across the small car park towards the group of people gathered by the entrance, a suspicion growing inside her.

‘McKenna?' She growled his name like a threat and the people moved to one side. But she had eyes only for one person.

Cool blue eyes swept over her and his mouth tilted slightly. ‘Riggs. What an unexpected pleasure.'

He was as handsome as the devil and his arrogance drove her nuts.

‘Unexpected?' She slammed her hands on her hips and glared at him. ‘This is
my
surgery, McKenna, so how can my presence here be unexpected? What
is
unexpected is the fact that
you're
standing outside it. You'd better have a damn good reason for causing a disturbance.'

He lifted a dark eyebrow in that lazy, careless way that always drove her mad. ‘Nice to see you haven't changed. I have to confess that I thought you'd leg it once my father told you that I was coming,' he drawled. ‘Never thought you'd show up to greet me. I'm flattered, Riggs. And touched. I obviously mean more to you than I thought.'

‘Greet you? I'm not greeting you, and you need to move yourself and that van…' she stabbed a finger towards the offending vehicle, her dark hair swinging over her shoulders as she turned her head ‘…from my car park before I have it towed away. I have a surgery starting in an hour and at the moment there is no room for my patients.'

‘
Our
patients,' he corrected her mildly, not moving an inch, ‘and you're going to have to learn not to swear while the cameras are here. You'd be amazed how little it takes to get complaints from viewers. They like their doctors wholesome and clean-living. No sex or swearing.'