The Italian Doctor's Proposal

The Italian Doctor's Proposal
Kate Hardy

A doctor with a plan…Lucy Williams is hoping to get the new consultant post at the Cornish maternity unit where she works. But, no, the post goes to the all-male, half-Italian, drop-dead gorgeous Nic Alberici!Immediately sparks fly between them – though the two high-flying doctors are too professional to admit their attraction. But when Lucy's former fiance starts pestering her, Nic has an outrageous proposal – that they pretend to be an item!It's all part of Nic's plan to bring them together – whether Lucy likes it or not, his intentions are real.Who knows? It might just work!

“There’s one thing you could do to prove to him you’re not interested in him,” he said

“What?” Lucy asked.

“Show him you’re off-limits—you’re someone else’s girl. If he knows you’re still single, he’ll think you’re pining for him. Whereas if he sees you with someone…he’ll know you’re not. And then he’ll leave you alone.”

The volcano was about to explode at any minute, Nic thought.

Instead she nodded. “Good point.”

She was going to go ahead with it?

“What’s the plan?”

He didn’t have one! “We go back onto the ward. He overhears you make a date with the man in your life.” This was the crunch. The bit where she’d say no.

“And you think it’d work?”

Yes! Yes! his heart screamed. “It’s worth a try,” he said, as casually as he could.

Dear Reader (#ulink_837157fb-b6c6-5319-8770-911e6ae3f87c),

It’s amazing where ideas come from. This one was inspired by a fifth birthday party invitation! The theme was “superheroes” and the picture of Antonio Banderas as Zorro made the lightbulb ping in the back of my head.

Just imagine the most gorgeous masked highwayman dancing with you at a charity ball, kissing you and then leaving in a swirl of cape…. (Excuse me while my knees go weak.) And then, next time you meet him, he turns out to be the man who has got your job!

That’s the situation for Lucy Williams in The Italian Doctor’s Proposal—and you can imagine how she reacts to Nic Alberici. But when her former fiancé starts pestering her, Nic becomes a man with a plan. A plan that doesn’t go how either of them intended it…

Nic rather ran away with me in this book. One particular scene wasn’t in my original outline, but Nic had his own ideas and insisted on having his own way. So be prepared to be swept off your feet—I certainly couldn’t resist him!

With love,

Kate Hardy

The Italian Doctor’s Proposal

Kate Hardy

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

CONTENTS

COVER (#uffd42f37-c168-53a0-ab49-6f66f5f83ecf)

Dear Reader (#ube749f3b-7caa-5fde-b0de-6b7d743baeb6)

TITLE PAGE (#u47cff1d1-b947-5a62-9922-02c83bbcddbb)

PROLOGUE (#ued2ebc25-26f4-575c-bbc3-0bf373774988)

CHAPTER ONE (#uc4ec9b12-1a95-5494-9d06-1806a6a592b7)

CHAPTER TWO (#ud9e6a699-04c8-5dc9-b064-c75aefb82af8)

CHAPTER THREE (#u8a3965ef-18a2-584e-ab53-11b7ba1708d6)

CHAPTER FOUR (#uefd0528a-abbb-5e95-97ee-13db660ebebd)

CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

EPILOGUE (#litres_trial_promo)

EXTRACT (#litres_trial_promo)

COPYRIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)

PROLOGUE (#ulink_25cee306-d3a5-5ed7-931f-7d387b737b5e)

‘YOUR money or your life?’

Lucy whirled round and stared at the highwayman. She didn’t recognise the voice or the lower half of his face not hidden by the domino mask. Or the dark hazel eyes, a curious mix of brown and grey that somehow managed to be soft and piercing at the same time.

Dangerous eyes.

Your money or your life?

Without giving her a chance to answer, he smiled at her. A smile that was even more dangerous than his eyes. A smile that started a small, slow smoulder in the pit of her stomach.