The Consultant's Christmas Proposal

The Consultant's Christmas Proposal
Kate Hardy

Consultant Toby Barker has a secret…He has been in love with his best friend Dr. Saskia Haywood for years.Dr. Saskia Haywood also has a secret…She's struggling to come to terms with an illness that could ruin not only her ability to work in the maternity ward, but also her chances of having children.Now both secrets are out…Saskia knows of Toby's desire for a family – something she'll never be able to give him – but what she doesn't realize is that Toby will do anything for her. Starting with a Christmas proposal she'll never forget!

‘My hero. The perfect gentleman.’ There was a ghost of sadness in her smile.

And it was that sadness that wiped out his common sense. He wanted to make her smile properly again. ‘There’s one thing you could do,’ he said.

‘What?’

‘Marry me.’

‘Marry you?’ she whispered eventually. ‘But you want a family. What would you get out of marrying me?’

Did she really not know? Though he couldn’t find the right words to explain. All he could do was cup her face between his hands, tip her chin, then bend down to touch his lips to hers. A light, gentle kiss. The kiss of a friend.

Except it wasn’t enough for him. He ran his tongue along her lower lip. When her mouth parted, he took more. And more.

And then he broke the kiss.

‘Just think about it,’ he said softly, and walked away.

KATE HARDY lives on the outskirts of Norwich with her husband, two small children, two lazy spaniels—and too many books to count! She wrote her first book at age six when her parents gave her a typewriter for her birthday. She had the first of a series of sexy romances published at age 25, and swapped a job in marketing communications for freelance health journalism when her son was born so she could spend more time with him. She’s wanted to write for Mills & Boon® since she was twelve—and when she was pregnant with her daughter, her husband pointed out that writing Medical Romances™ would be the perfect way to combine her interest in health issues with her love of good stories. It really is the best of both worlds—especially as she gets to meet a new gorgeous hero every time…

Kate is always delighted to hear from readers—do drop in to her website at www.katehardy.com (http://www.katehardy.com)

The Consultant’s Christmas Proposal

Kate Hardy

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

For my big sister, Jackie, with love.

CONTENTS

Cover (#uc0ca7423-4b4e-516e-b63d-1bd824af3500)

About the Author (#u2d6c4f74-9d83-5371-ad12-e1c4acff00c0)

Title Page (#u770c49a8-d47d-50ef-92f6-a8e506d1a0e9)

Dedication (#u1f2a3e58-a381-58a9-81d9-16cdeb35b9e2)

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

EPILOGUE

Extract (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER ONE (#ub389257c-dae2-51cb-b84c-ebf688eab92f)

SASKIA groaned. ‘Oh, no. Why does my mobile phone have to ring the very second that my fajitas are about to turn up?’

‘You’re not on call, are you?’ Toby asked, pausing before he poured her a glass of wine.

‘Of course not. I wouldn’t have let you order the wine if I was.’ She scowled and fished her phone out of her handbag, then frowned as she looked at the display. ‘Lydia?’ She hadn’t expected her best friend to call tonight. Anticipation prickled down the back of her neck. Paul was in Canada on business. Was there something wrong with the children? She answered swiftly. ‘Hi, Lyd. Everything OK?’ She tried to ignore the sizzling dish placed before her by the waitress.

‘Saskia, thank God you answered. It’s Paul.’

Saskia’s smile vanished as she heard the panic in Lydia’s voice. ‘What’s happened?’

‘The hospital called from Vancouver. He’s got appendicitis. Saskia, supposing it bursts before they remove it?’

‘Of course it won’t. They’ll keep him under obs before the operation.’

‘He could end up with peritonitis. Or an abscess.’

‘True, but unlikely.’