The Princess and the Pediatrician by Annie O'Neil

Author:Annie O'Neil
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-05-13T18:04:27+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

‘THIS TILAPIA IS AMAZING.’

Lia nodded, her mouth dancing with the myriad of flavours in yet another success from The Island Clinic restaurant. ‘Not a bad place to get takeaway, is it?’

Oliver nodded his agreement, took another bite, then asked, ‘Do you never eat in the restaurant?’

She shook her head. ‘No’.

His eyes widened. ‘Why not? Don’t you like eating with your friends?’

Well, this was awkward. She didn’t really have any.

She tried for a jokey response. ‘You know how it is...trying to fight a reputation for being a picky princess.’

‘What?’ he said with mock shock. ‘You were lying about the peas the other day?’

She quirked her head to the side, not connecting the dots.

‘The other day,’ he said, trying to jog her memory. ‘You made a comment about the peas underneath your mattresses.’

Before she could answer, he put his fork down on the gorgeous wood table situated in the private garden behind her house.

‘Lia,’ he said. ‘I will never know exactly what your childhood was like, but I do know what it’s like to grow up having everyone expect you to act a certain way.’

A welcome surge of connection sent a warmth through her. How did he always know the perfect thing to say?

‘It’s exhausting, isn’t it? Trying to behave one way to counter what you think everyone is saying about you.’

‘It’s why I moved here,’ he admitted cheerfully. ‘It’s been bliss being plain old Dr Bainbridge.’

She scrunched her nose. ‘But you’re not plain old Dr Bainbridge, are you?’

‘To my patients I am,’ he said. ‘And to my friends. There really aren’t very many people who think of me as the future Duke of Banford—except perhaps my parents and maybe some cousins.’ He sat back in his chair and gave her a decidedly wicked smile. ‘I hope you think of me as something slightly less formal than Dr Bainbridge.’

‘Only slightly?’ she teased.

‘Dramatically,’ he conceded, and then, more thoughtfully, ‘Seriously, Lia. Apart from the obvious—you, me and the baby—I don’t want you to think about me as a duke or even a doctor. I want you to think of me as the man you met at the gala.’

‘Gosh,’ she sighed. ‘All I’ve ever wanted is for people to think of me as a doctor.’

‘From what I hear round the clinic, you’ve got exactly what you wanted.’

The words weren’t meant to wound her, but they did.

He was right. Here at the clinic Dr Amelia Trelleburg, neurosurgeon, was the only side of herself she’d ever let people see. Meticulous, serious, solely focused on her work.

She’d been thrilled to be hand-picked by the clinic’s founder, Dr Nate Edwards. He’d brought in specialists from around the world and had created an egalitarian environment where no one peacocked or demanded special treatment. They were all here to pour their energies into their shared passion: healing people. And she loved it.

She’d thought that was all that would ever be needed from her—her skills. But three years in she saw that all she’d succeeded in doing was compartmentalising herself. Locking herself away during her non-working hours so that she never had to risk being rejected.

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