The Celebrity Doctor's Proposal

‘What happens when you deal with something that doesn’t make good television? Are you going to pass them through to me? Or do you grab a textbook?’

He examined his fingernails thoughtfully. ‘You really aren’t going to make this easy, are you, Riggs?’

She bit her lip. Somehow he made her feel small, childish. ‘It’s just that this practice is busy,’ she said wearily, sweeping her dark hair away from her face and risking eye contact. ‘I need proper help. Heavy-duty help.’

Sharp blue eyes searched hers. ‘My dad hasn’t been pulling his weight, has he?’

She didn’t trust herself not to give too much away so her own eyes slid from his, away from that penetrating gaze that saw too much. ‘Your dad is a good doctor. The best.’

‘But he hasn’t got the stamina that he used to,’ Sam said softly, running a hand over the back of his neck and giving a frustrated sigh. ‘Damn. It’s hard, watching your parents grow older. You have this vision of how they are and you never want it to change. I always knew this moment would come, but that doesn’t make it any easier.’

She frowned. ‘What moment?’

His hand dropped to his side and his glance was ironic. ‘The moment when I have to decide whether to go into the family business.’

‘You mean, take your father’s place?’ She stared at him in horror. ‘You can’t possibly be serious! You don’t need me to remind you that you couldn’t wait to leave Cornwall at the earliest opportunity. Even if we go along with your dad’s plan, it’s only short term. No one suggested it was for ever. He’s coming back …’

Sam looked at her. ‘And when he does, he’ll retire and spend his days fishing.’

Anna shook her head. ‘He won’t retire.’

Sam gave a sigh and stabbed long fingers through his dark hair. ‘He has to. We both know that. And you being stubborn about it isn’t going to change that fact.’ He paced over to the reception area. ‘But while he’s working out how to break the news to you that this is all too much for him and he doesn’t want to do it any more, we’ll get the place in order. And work out a plan. Things are going to have to change around here.’

Anna felt as though she’d been doused in cold water.

She didn’t want things to change. She loved the way the practice was now. She loved working with David. They understood each other.

Was Sam right? Was David really planning to tell her that he was going to retire from the practice?

She sank onto the nearest chair, her legs suddenly wobbly. It was a moment before she realised that Sam was pressing a glass of water into her hand.

‘Drink something,’ he said roughly. ‘You’ve obviously been working too hard. You look done in. You’re pale and you’ve got black rings under your eyes. You always were too stubborn to ask for help. I’m going to get rid of the film crew for now and then come back and we can work out what’s to be done.’

Anna took a sip of water and found her voice. ‘Whatever’s to be done,’ she muttered, ‘I really, really don’t want to do it with you, McKenna.’

He was the last person in the world that she could imagine developing a good working relationship with.

He laughed and rose to his feet in a fluid movement. ‘Likewise. But seeing as that is what fate has decreed, I’d say we’re both in for an interesting summer. Looks like we’re going to be meeting at dawn. Swords or pistols?’

CHAPTER TWO

SHE hadn’t changed a bit.

Sam strode out of the reception area and paused in the foyer, trying to get his emotions back under control before he faced the camera crew. Anna Riggs always did that to him. Drove him so mad that he needed to pump iron for a week in order to burn off the frustration coursing around his body. Thanks to some nifty avoidance tactics on both their parts, they hadn’t seen each other for a couple of years, but she was still the same hard-nosed, bossy control freak she’d always been. Not at all his kind of woman. He liked his women soft and gentle. Anna Riggs was about as soft as steel. And the fact that she had a pair of legs that stopped a man in his tracks didn’t do anything to change his opinion of her.

And he’d allowed himself to be manipulated into spending the summer with her.

He smashed a fist against the wall and inhaled deeply. Damn, she was right. They were going to kill each other. What had his father been thinking of, arranging for them to work together when he knew that there was so much animosity between them? When he knew that they were just so different? It was all very well saying that they didn’t need to see much of each other, but they were running a small practice. They were the only two doctors. How could they not see each other?

And how was he going to cope with Anna being confrontational and prickly with a camera stuck in his face all day?

He gritted his teeth and applied his brain to the problem.

The first thing was that the cameras certainly couldn’t be allowed free access, otherwise they could find themselves filming bloodshed. He’d have to stage each shoot carefully, making sure that Anna wasn’t within firing distance.

And the second thing was that he was going to work as independently as possible. Surely he could just see his patients and she could see hers? Did they really need to talk much?

And he wasn’t going to involve himself in the practice. He was going to do the job and then see what happened. And if his father decided to retire, he’d find him the best possible replacement. And it wasn’t going to be him. Hadn’t his parents always accepted that this wasn’t the practice for him? His life was in London. He’d chosen a different path. He didn’t want to work here permanently any more than Anna wanted him to.

Satisfied that, given sufficient thought, it would be possible to minimise the contact between them, he finally pushed open the glass door of the surgery and walked into the car park.

Glenda turned up, breathless and apologetic, five minutes before surgery started. She dropped her bag behind the reception desk and smoothed her hair, clearly flustered.

‘Are you OK?’ Anna frowned in concern and Glenda gave a bright smile.

‘I’m fine. Sorry I’m a bit late. I was caught up.’

Caught up with what? Anna wanted to ask, but now wasn’t the time with a busy surgery about to start and Sam strolling across the reception area as if he’d worked here all his life.

How could he be so relaxed?

‘Hi, Glenda.’ He gave the receptionist a big hug and for some reason that she couldn’t quite identify Anna felt her tension rise.

It was just her that he needled and goaded. With everyone else he was capable of being extremely civilised. Warm. People in the village had always adored Sam McKenna and now he was a major TV personality they never stopped talking about him.

Glenda’s face softened. ‘Oh—Dr McKenna. How lovely to see you.’ She pulled away and tried to straighten her hair, her movements jerky and uncoordinated. ‘I suppose you’ll be helping our Anna. Good thing, too. She needs some help around here. She’s been struggling for far too long.’

Anna’s frown deepened. Glenda knew that she and Sam didn’t see eye to eye on anything. Why would she think it was a good thing that he’d arrived? Had she known that David had appointed him as locum?

Or was it just that she wasn’t concentrating because she had something else on her mind?

She hated to admit that Sam was right about anything, but suddenly Anna decided that a conversation with the receptionist was becoming a priority.

‘Busy surgery.’ Glenda flicked on the computer and checked the appointments, seeming more flustered than usual. ‘Open those doors and let the battle commence.’

Resolving to tackle Glenda in private later, Anna turned to Sam. ‘I know that this is throwing you in at the deep end, but can you take your father’s surgery? I expect you’ll know some of the patients anyway, and if you need to know anything that isn’t in the notes you can buzz through to me. Press 4 on your phone. Or I’m just next door.’

Sam lifted an eyebrow, his expression mocking. ‘Sure you don’t want to sit in with me, just to be sure that I don’t kill anyone?’

She gritted her teeth. ‘I don’t think you’re about to kill anyone.’

‘No.’ His voice was dry. ‘You just think my clinical skills are rustier than an old garden fork.’

‘I’m just aware that it’s probably a long time since you did a consultation that wasn’t staged. The way our surgeries run at the moment, there’s not a lot of time to look in a textbook between cases. And you only get the one take.’ Anna sucked in a breath. ‘I was trying to be helpful. Next time I won’t bother.’

‘Good idea. You worry about your own patients. I’ll worry about mine.’ Without giving her time to respond, Sam strode down the corridor towards his father’s consulting room.

‘I’m going to kill him.’ For the first time since she was five years old, Anna found herself wanting to stamp her foot. With an enormous effort of will she managed to restrict herself to an inward growl of frustration. ‘Well, at least we don’t need to change the name on his door,’ she muttered, and then turned to Glenda who was watching open-mouthed. ‘Don’t look like that.’