Geri breathed a sigh of relief when her father left her alone.
She was still trying to process it all. She couldn’t quite believe she was here. It had always been a secret dream of hers to meet her father one day. Until each year had passed and those secret dreams of her father coming to rescue her from a lonely childhood had faded into nothing. At the age of eighteen she’d had his last name, known his first name was Charles, but had had no idea that he was a member of the aristocracy. And she couldn’t be bothered to find out anything about him.
She’d had no idea he was a physician in Harley Street with a home at the posh end of Holland Park.
It was all a bit overwhelming. She sat on the edge of a couch and took a deep breath.
What am I doing here? I don’t belong here.
“Excuse me, but are you lost?” It wasn’t totally a question. It was a question mixed with annoyance.
Geri stood and turned around. She was taken aback by the tall, dark, handsome surgeon standing in the doorway, his face like thunder as he glared at her, letting her know in no uncertain terms she didn’t belong there.
“Thank you for your concern, but I’m not lost.”
He cocked his head to one side. “This room is for surgeons only. I think you’re in the wrong place.”
His voice was deep and husky, which sent a shiver of anticipation through her. She always fell for dark, brooding men. Frederick had been dark and brooding and look how that turned out.
Don’t get carried away.
“I can assure you I’m not lost,” she said again. “I was accompanying my father and he asked me to wait here until he returned. Besides, this is the physicians’ lounge. Not the surgeons’ lounge.”
He snorted and moved past her into the room. “I’ll have to have a talk with them, they’ll let just about anyone in here.”
“My, we’re in a foul mood, aren’t we?” She was tired of pompous, arrogant, rude people.
He poured himself a cup of coffee and then turned to look at her. “You’re not from around here, are you?”
“Oh, and what was it that gave it away?”
He grinned. “That delightful accent you have. Somewhere in Scotland, I assume.”
He was right, of course, but she wasn’t going to let this holier-than-thou surgeon off the hook. He was presumptuous, conceited and haughty. And handsome, but never mind that. He needed to be taken down a peg or two.
“You know what they say about assumptions,” she muttered under her breath.
He crossed his arms and leaned back against the counter, his eyes twinkling. “No, what do they say? Enlighten me, miss.”
Darn.
He’d heard her. Well, two could play at this game.
“It’s ‘Doctor,’ actually,” she said, correcting him.
He cocked his eyebrows. “Is it really? Are you going to be working here, then?”
“In a manner of speaking.” She tried to be evasive and end the conversation with him, but she wasn’t that lucky. The way he’d asked if she was going to be working here made her feel nervous. Like suddenly she was a mouse and he was a cat, closing in for a kill.
He grinned, a lazy sort of grin that Geri knew all too well from the rogues she was used to dating. That smile was wolfish, almost predatory in nature, and as he set his coffee mug down and moved away from the counter towards her, Geri knew she was in deep, deep trouble.
“Well, my apologies, then. I had no idea that you were a new surgeon here.”
“Just a doctor, actually. I’m not a surgeon.” It stung to say that, but she didn’t let it show. Her mother couldn’t tolerate any show of emotion and she had learned well.
“I just naturally assumed you were a surgeon. You have an authoritative air about you.”
“And only surgeons have the right to be authoritative?”
“Yes. I mean, lives are in our hands.”
Geri rolled her eyes. Good lord, he was arrogant. “You’re unbelievable.”
“Why, thank you.” He made a bow with a flourish.
“It’s not a compliment. You’re the most conceited, prideful man I have ever had the displeasure of knowing.”
“Oh, come, now, darling. Surely not the worst?” He winked. “You’ve only known me for a few fleeting moments. Spend some more time with me and you’ll no longer feel displeasure.”
“Don’t call me darling. I’m most definitely not your darling.”
He leaned over and whispered in her ear, his hot breath fanning her neck, “Ah, but you could be.”
It took all her strength not to slap him hard across the face or let him kiss her. It had been a long time since Frederick. A long time since she’d felt any kind of desire for a man.
“Geraldine, I’m sorry I took so long,” her father said, coming into the room. She jumped back, silently thanking her father for his timing. “Ah, I see that I no longer have to seek you out, Thomas. Geraldine, I would like you to meet Mr. Thomas Ashwood. Thomas, this is my daughter, Geraldine Collins. She’ll be taking over my position in the practice when I retire.”
* * *
“Pardon?” Thomas said, sounding a bit dumbfounded. He was sure he’d heard the enchantress say the same thing the moment Charles Collins had dropped the bombshell on him. “What was that?”
“My daughter, Dr. Geraldine Collins. She’s the cardiologist who is taking over my role in the practice. She’ll be your partner.”
Oh. God.
He’d been hitting on Charles’s daughter? His competition, the bane of his existence since Charles had announced that he was retiring and leaving the practice. Thomas had thought that he was going to take over the practice in its entirety. He’d planned to hire an up-and-coming cardiologist and expand the surgical side of the practice. Take it to new heights, ones that he’d never been able to meet before.
But now he found himself with an unwanted new partner. The daughter of the great Charles Collins. He knew the type. Debutante. Spoiled, selfish and she would be all over him in a trice when she learned of his aristocratic background. Society women were out for money and blood.
It was all the same with women from the circles he moved in and he’d expected nothing different from Collins’s daughter.
Until now.
She was nothing like he’d expected. She stood up for herself. She exchanged banter with him and didn’t back down. He liked matching wits with someone. Not only was she a beauty, she was intelligent to boot. It was kind of exciting and also a bit bothersome. To her credit, Dr. Geraldine Collins didn’t look exactly thrilled at the prospect of being his partner either.
“This is Mr. Ashwood?” Geraldine asked. Thomas couldn’t help but notice the mild disgust in her voice. “This is the Mr. Ashwood who is your partner in your practice?”
Thomas bowed slightly at the waist. “One and the same, dear lady.”
Geraldine’s eyes shot daggers at him.
“Have I missed something?” Charles asked, apparently confused.
“No, nothing at all, Charles. I didn’t exactly make my presence known to your enchanting daughter when I arrived. I’m afraid I took her a bit by surprise.”
Charles Collins cocked his eyebrows. “Oh. Well, that explains