Playing for Love (Summer Beach Vets 1) - Escape Down Under Read Online Free PDF Page A

Something about this man just put her on edge in general. “Are you suggesting that I was over-reacting?” she demanded.
    He straightened. Sara found herself craning her neck to look up at him. She was no petite flower herself, but this man towered over her. She realised that the blue scrubs he was wearing featured a deep V neckline, which showed a tantalising glimpse of bronzed, muscular chest. Sara flushed again and tore her eyes away.
    “I wasn’t implying anything. I was simply stating a fact.” His tone was impatient.
    Sara felt her cheeks redden even more. Biting her lip, she stepped back from the table and watched silently as he cleaned the wound and injected a local anaesthetic, then put a few stitches in. Finally he bandaged the paw securely and gave the Beagle a shot of antibiotics to prevent any infections.
    He stepped back and looked up at her again. Sara felt a shiver of awareness run through her as those deep blue eyes flicked over her. She was suddenly very conscious of the way she must look—her legs covered with sand, her clothes wet and clinging to her body, her hair in a tangled mess around her face. She wished she had chosen something less revealing to wear that morning than her old cut-offs. They probably did nothing to flatter her full hips and thighs.
    What are you thinking? Sara chided herself. As if you care whether he finds you attractive. You’re not interested in him!
    “We can keep him overnight while we try to trace his owners. I’m hoping he might have a microchip.” His blue eyes were unreadable as he continued to look at her.
    “Uh… yes.” Sara licked her lips. “That’s a good idea.”
    “Would you like to be contacted about him? You don’t have to remain involved. We can take care of him from now on. But since you found him…”
    “Yes, thank you. I’d like that.” Sara ventured a shy smile.
    He didn’t return it, but she thought the deep blue eyes softened slightly. Before he could say anything else, however, the door burst open and a vet assistant stood there, her face taut with worry.
    “Sorry, Craig, but I think you need to come and see the puppy…”
    He nodded quickly and turned back to Sara. “I’m sorry—”
    “No, no… that’s fine…” Sara was already backing out the door. “I… I’ll call later to see how the Beagle is doing.”
    She made her way back to the waiting room, which seemed to have swelled with even more pets and their owners. Sara hovered by the receptionist’s counter until the queue of people had dispersed, then went up and asked about payment for the Beagle’s treatment.
    The girl behind the reception raised her eyebrows. “The owner will probably take care of that.”
    “I’m happy to pay a deposit first,” insisted Sara. “Just in case it takes a while to find him or something.” She patted her pockets. She realised that she had just shoved her driver’s licence and one of her credit cards into her shorts pockets when she left the house. How stupid—what had she been thinking? “I haven’t got any cash on me though.”
    “No worries. We take EFTPOS.”
    “Sorry… what?” Sara looked down and saw the familiar credit card terminal. “Oh, direct debit. Yeah, I’ve got my card.” She swiped it through, keyed in her PIN number, and paid the amount.
    Waving a goodbye to the girl behind the reception counter, Sara let herself out of the bungalow and back onto the street. It was nearly noon now and the sun was beating down relentlessly. Sara walked slowly back to Ellie’s place, her head spinning with thoughts and emotions.
    Craig, she thought. His name is Craig . Dr Craig Murray . It suited him, she decided with a smile, remembering the way he had looked after the Beagle. Strong and yet gentle, decisive but patient. Then she stopped her thoughts, horrified. What was she doing? She was behaving like some star-struck teenager! Annoyed with herself, Sara quickened her pace and almost jogged the rest of the way back to