Neurosurgeon...and Mum! Read Online Free PDF Page A

came here. This job seemed like the perfect opportunity—somewhere to make a new start.’
    His admission made her expression soften slightly. ‘It’s a good place,’ she said. ‘I used to spend my summers here.’
    ‘Holiday home?’ he guessed.
    ‘Sort of.’ She grimaced. ‘My parents were always away on lecturing tours, so it meant either being stuck in London with a nanny, or spending the holidays here with Joe and Cassie.’ She smiled, clearly remembering something happy. ‘I loved it here. The house was always full of laughter, and I didn’t have to be quiet in case I disturbed anyone. I had Cassie and Joe and Beth and the boys, I could share their dog—and, best of all, I knew I was here because they wanted me here, not because they were paid to look after me.’
    Amy’s childhood sounded very similar to Eloise’s, with ambitious parents who didn’t pay her enough attention. So had she been damaged the same way as Eloise, Tom wondered, making her desperate to save the world to gain her parents’approval? ‘That’s why I became a GP rather than working in a hospital—the hours are more regular, and in the days before the practice started using the after-hours service Eloise and I could usually muddle through school holidays between us and not need to use too much child care.’
    ‘Eloise being Perdy’s mother, I take it?’
    Tom felt the muscle tensing in his jaw. ‘Yes.’ Now he’d opened up this far, no doubt Amy would ask questions. If he told her the rest, she’d start pitying him. And he’d had enough pity to last a lifetime.
    To his surprise, Amy uncurled from her chair. ‘I think,’ she said, ‘we need to agree a truce. And some boundaries.’
    ‘A truce.’ That wasn’t half of what he was tempted to do with this woman. But he had a feeling that both of them were too mixed up to cope with any kind of relationship right now—not to mention the fact that Amy might be involved with someone.
    ‘I won’t ask you about whatever’s messed up your past,’ she said, ‘if you don’t ask me about mine.’
    ‘Agreed.’ He paused. ‘And Perdy?’
    She curled up again and wrapped her arms round her legs, resting her chin on her knees. ‘I’ll try not to be so abrupt.’
    ‘Thank you.’ He couldn’t ask any more than that. ‘So do you know how long you’re staying?’
    She shrugged. ‘My plans are flexible. You?’
    ‘Until a week or so after your uncle and aunt get back from Australia.’
    ‘And you’ve settled in OK?’
    He knew she was being polite rather than really wanting to know. ‘Fine.’ He had, at least; he wasn’t so sure about his daughter. Not that he could discuss that with Amy. She’d made her views on children pretty clear. ‘I like it here. Though the village grapevine is pretty effective,’ he said ruefully.
    ‘Grapevine?’
    ‘When I saw Mrs Poole on a house call this afternoon, she knew you were back. Though I didn’t feed her any gossip. I told her you were dog-sitting.’
    The corners of Amy’s mouth quirked. ‘Tomorrow, you can expect to hear that you’re having a hot affair with the wild child from London. So if you have someone in your life who’s going to be bothered by that—except your daughter, who already knows we’re not involved—you’d better warn her now.’
    ‘There’s nobody.’ Tom hadn’t intended to say that much.But the picture she’d just put in his head…Oh, lord, he could just imagine it. A hot affair with Amy Rivers. Her mouth softening under his. Her hands in his hair. Finding out how warm and soft her skin was.
    He just hoped none of that showed in his expression, or she’d run a mile. ‘So were you really a wild child?’ he asked.
    She gave a short, humourless laugh. ‘Far from it. But since when did truth get in the way of a good story?’
    ‘I’m sorry if sharing the house with me is going to make life difficult for you.’
    ‘It won’t.’ She shrugged. ‘If anyone says anything to you, just