The Family She's Longed For by Lucy Clark

Author:Lucy Clark
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin Medical Romances
Published: 2017-10-19T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

VIRGIL COULDN’T BELIEVE the way it felt to have her lips pressed to his once again, but no sooner had she kissed him than he put his hands on her shoulders and eased her away. ‘Not here,’ he whispered. ‘I don’t want to give the gossipers any ammunition.’

Clara’s eyes went from being glazed over with a mixture of sadness, regret and desire to widening in shock, as she realised exactly what she’d done and where they were presently situated.

‘Oh, my gosh!’ She sprang back from him and stood. ‘I’m—I’m—’ She shook her head.

Virgil stood, but kept his distance. ‘It’s OK.’ He glanced around them. ‘No one saw.’

He could feel fatigue starting to set in, and unsuccessfully smothered a yawn.

‘Perhaps you should head home and get some rest. If Rosie’s anything like my nieces, she wakes up early.’

‘That she does—and she loves coming into Daddy’s bed to cuddle him for a few minutes and then jump on him for half an hour in an effort to ensure he’s really awake.’

Clara laughed. He liked seeing her smile.

‘Listen, are you free tomorrow afternoon? I know you’ll be here until the morning shift arrives, and then you’ll need to sleep, but after that—’

Clara shook her head. ‘I’m looking after the girls tomorrow afternoon and evening. Maybelle has a shift, and Arthur’s away this weekend in Sydney at a conference.’

‘How about next weekend?’

She hesitated. ‘What did you have in mind?’

‘Perhaps a picnic in the park. You, me and Rosie.’

‘Can I bring my dog? Fuzzy-Juzzy loves the park.’

Virgil grinned, realising she couldn’t have given him a better response to his invitation. ‘I’d love to meet your dog—as, I’m sure, would Rosie.’

‘OK, well—emergencies permitting—it’s a date.’

Virgil reached for her hand, giving it a little squeeze. ‘It’s a date,’ he reiterated, more than delighted that she was accepting this new level of their relationship.

As he headed home he felt a weight lift from his shoulders. He’d told Clara about his marriage, not hiding from her his own faults in the scenario, and she’d accepted him. He could still feel the burning heat on his lips where hers had brushed his—oh, so gently and filled with compassion.

Yes, they’d both been through a lot, and he knew that whilst Clara had told him she’d been in an accident, she hadn’t talked about it further. The fact that she’d been in hospital and rehabilitation for so long could only mean the accident had been quite horrific. The patient he’d operated on earlier tonight would require future surgery, and it made him wonder exactly what Clara’s injuries had been.

She might be willing to spend time with him, to get to know his daughter, introduce him to her dog, but that didn’t mean she was willing to trust him. He had so much at stake here, and he wanted to do whatever he could to ensure they had the opportunity of a future. But with one wrong move Clara might reject him for ever.

Sure, he’d go on with his life—working,

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