The Celebrity Doctor's Proposal

‘Well, you never really know how things are going to turn out, do you?’ Heather said sagely, standing up and reaching for her bag. ‘Thanks, Anna. See you soon.’

She left the surgery and Anna stared after her. Heather had said, Everyone thinks. So did that mean that everyone in the village were already aware that Sam was here? Did that mean that the whole village already thought that this might be a permanent arrangement?

No, no, no.

She covered her face with her hands and stifled a groan. If it turned out to be a permanent arrangement then she would have to leave. There was no way she could spend every day working alongside Sam. Her blood pressure wouldn’t be able to stand it.

But he wouldn’t stay, she consoled herself, applying logic to the situation. No way. Sam had chosen a very different life for himself. The City. Bright lights. Fame and fortune. He wouldn’t last five minutes in a sleepy Cornish fishing village. In fact, she doubted he’d even last the summer. He’d already made it clear that there wasn’t enough here to keep him entertained.

Cheered by that thought, she buzzed for her next patient and steadily worked her way through her afternoon list.

When she finally emerged from her surgery, she found Glenda deep in conversation with Sam who was perched on the desk, an intent expression on his handsome face.

Glenda coloured and broke off the moment she saw Anna, and Sam slid off the desk and walked towards her.

‘So, how did your surgery go, Riggs? Nothing you needed to ask me about?’

She ignored his sarcastic tone and gave him a withering look. ‘When I need help, I’ll consult a textbook.’

‘How boring,’ he drawled, lifting a hand and tucking a strand of her long dark hair behind her ear. ‘Better watch it, the country girl is trying to escape.’

Country girl.

It was what he’d always called her when she’d been little. He’d loved to tease her for being so at home in the outdoors. Unlike him, she’d never been comfortable with bright lights and hordes of people.

Aware that his fingers were still in her hair, she jerked her head away from him with a frosty glare, handed Glenda a pile of results for filing and stalked back to her room. For a moment she just stood there, sucking in deep breaths, and then she moved over to the wash-basin and opened the taps, splashing her face with cold water to cool her burning cheeks.

‘Drowning yourself?’

She reached for the towel, dried her face and turned slowly. ‘Just answer me that one question, McKenna. Why? Why did you come here? We both know that a GP practice in Cornwall isn’t where you see your future. So why are you here? Or have they run out of women in London?’

He strolled into the room and leaned narrow hips against her desk, wickedly handsome and altogether too dangerous for words. ‘You know the answer to that. I’m here because Dad asked me to come. And because Cornwall isn’t a bad place in the summer.’

He was winding her up and she knew it. Even he couldn’t fail to like Cornwall in the summer. Especially as being here would undoubtedly allow him to indulge in his favourite sports. She knew he’d be kite-surfing and windsurfing the moment he’d unpacked his suitcase.

‘So this is a free holiday.’ She ground her teeth. ‘You could have said no. You should have said no.’

He raised a dark eyebrow. ‘Why?’

‘Because you know this isn’t going to work, that’s why.’

‘I hate to disappoint you but saying no to a sick man, especially when that sick man is my father, isn’t exactly my forte.’ He gazed at one of the photographs on her wall and Anna bit her lip, hating the intrusion into her personal space. ‘That’s nice. Bedruthan steps. Do you remember that time we were almost cut off by the tide? You always loved that beach when we were kids.’

‘Stop changing the subject. You could have pretended you couldn’t get away. You could have encouraged him to arrange a locum.’

‘He did arrange a locum. Me.’ Sam ran a hand over the back of his neck and shot her an impatient look. ‘All right, you tell me how I was supposed to say no. With Dad so ill and Mum so worried, how was I supposed to say no?’

‘You’ve said no before, lots of times.’

‘When he’s asked me to join the practice, to be part of the family firm,’ Sam agreed. ‘This is different. This is an emergency. I don’t say no to emergencies.’

‘Just to commitment.’ The words were out before she could stop them and even before she saw the narrowing of his eyes she regretted them. ‘Forget I said that. The way you run your life is none of my business.’

‘No, it isn’t.’ He folded his arms across his chest, his gaze fixed on hers. ‘But the way I run my life clearly bothers you.’

Suddenly the room felt unusually warm. ‘It doesn’t bother me. What bothers me is that you’re going to swan in here for a few weeks or until you get bored then leave us in the lurch.’

‘No, that isn’t what bothers you.’ His gaze didn’t shift. ‘What really bothers you is the fact that you haven’t planned this and we both know that you have to plan everything. You think you have your whole life sorted, don’t you, Riggs?’

‘There’s nothing wrong with planning.’ She wondered why she was defending herself to someone she didn’t even like.

‘Except that life has a way of throwing you surprises. And it’s harder to cope with surprises if you’re inflexible.’

‘I’m not inflexible. And you’re not a surprise, McKenna. You’re a nightmare.’

‘I promised my father I’d stay for the summer and that’s what I intend to do.’

‘Along with your film crew.’

He shrugged. ‘Life goes on. When I return to London in the autumn I’ll want to pick up where I left off. The film crew is part of my life.’

Anna shook her head. ‘It isn’t going to work, McKenna.’

‘It’ll work if you don’t get all high and mighty on me. Why shouldn’t it?’ He was as direct as she was, hard and uncompromising in his approach to life. ‘Because I’m the only person you can’t control, Riggs? Because I don’t fit your image of a doctor? Because I don’t do things the way you do them?’

She tilted her head, her gaze cool. ‘Because you drive me nuts.’

‘Likewise.’

Their eyes locked in combat for endless minutes and then she gave a sigh. ‘All right. Let’s look at the facts here. I need help and I don’t have time to look for a new locum. You’re here. You can stay until I find a suitable replacement. But there are rules.’

‘You amaze me.’ He folded his arms across his broad chest. ‘And there I was thinking you were such a relaxed, laid-back person. Always willing to go with the flow.’

She chose to ignore his sarcasm. ‘No filming without my permission, and the patients’ permission, and if it interferes with your workload then it stops.’

His eyes glittered dangerously. ‘Anything else?’

‘Yes, actually.’ Her tone was businesslike with just a touch of frost around the edges. ‘I’m the partner in this practice, you’re the locum. You do things my way. If you disagree, we still do things my way.’

‘What if my way’s better?’

She gritted her teeth. He was doing it on purpose, of course. Annoying her. Irritating her. Winding her up so tightly that she was ready to explode. ‘It won’t be. You don’t have any experience of primary care. And even if you did, why would you even care about changing things? We both know you won’t be hanging around long enough to make an impact.’

He studied her carefully. ‘Unfortunately, Riggs, your rules don’t work for me. If I see something that I think needs changing I’m going to say so and we’re going to talk about it. I may be the locum but I still have an opinion on how the practice is run and you’re going to listen to it. Starting with Glenda.’

Anna stared at him. ‘What about Glenda?’

‘What do you know about her home life?’