Return of Dr Maguire (Mills & Boon Medical) by Judy Campbell

Author:Judy Campbell
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Mills & Boon Series
Published: 2014-04-30T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

LACHLAN THREW BACK his head and laughed. ‘That’s a great welcome! But an omelette would be fine—anything that doesn’t come in a fast-food packet!’

‘The thing is,’ Christa explained, ‘I forgot to tell my lovely neighbour to turn on the slow cooker, and then Ahmed rang to say he’s stuck at Heathrow. The evening’s been a disaster before it’s even started!’

‘Oh, I don’t know,’ said Lachlan, his eyes twinkling at her. ‘I think we can manage without Ahmed or the full-blown meal. Tell you what—I’ll uncork this wine and you start throwing the eggs in the pan. How about that?’

And that is what she did, and after a mushroom and tomato omelette and a bit of salad, along with two glasses of very nice Sauvignon Blanc, somehow the evening didn’t seem such a disaster after all.

There wasn’t a dearth of conversation—Lachlan had plenty of questions to ask about the practice, and although they talked about improvements to the surgery, the vexed question of the development of the land never came up.

The dining table was in an alcove in the little sitting room, and a wood fire burned in the grate—it all looked cosy and warm. Christa had decorated the walls in a soft cream and the sofa and chairs were covered in modern striped upholstery. Lachlan looked around approvingly, taking in the neat pine dresser against the wall and the little desk under the window—just the right size for the room.

‘This is a lovely little place,’ he said. ‘You seem to have struck just the right note. Not too old-fashioned, and it looks bright and fresh. I’m at a complete loss to know what to do with Ardenleigh. The rooms are beautiful, but I’ve not a clue how to furnish them. I’d like a fresh start, I think.’

The wine seemed to have loosened Christa’s tongue and she found herself saying brightly, ‘Could I help at all? I rather enjoy planning the colours in rooms’

He pounced on the idea enthusiastically. ‘That would be fantastic! Let’s make a firm date for you to come and look at it all. The place is really far too big. I’m beginning to realise that, and yet, well, it’s such a beautiful house, and although there’s just me, it’s always been a dream of mine to live in it again.’

‘Your mother wanted you to have it, didn’t she? She left it to you. And as for it being too big, you’re bound to have a family eventually.’

Lachlan raised an amused eyebrow. ‘Am I? I don’t think I’m the type to marry, settle down and have children. At least, I’ve no plans in that direction. Keep your options open, I say!’

So just like Colin, then, play the field, never give yourself completely, thought Christa grimly. Love and commitment didn’t seem to be in their vocabularies.

Lachlan watched her expression and said quietly, as if in explanation, ‘Marriages that break down can have a devastating effect on a family—I know that. Never give promises you may not be able to keep.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.