Free The Surgeon's Convenient Fiancée (Medical Romance) by Rebecca Lang Page B

amusement in his voice, ‘that you stop calling me Dr Melburne.’
    ‘All right…Shay,’ she said.
    ‘That’s better,’ he said. ‘I’ll be there as soon as I can, after I’ve done rounds. If I’m going to be more than a few minutes late, I’ll call you.’
    ‘All right. See you then,’ she said, thinking it would be interesting to see if he was really late, if he were still ‘the twenty-four-seven man’ that this former wife had accused him of being. Deirdre tried to picture her face, the mysterious Antonia, and failed. The name sounded glamorous to her and she was curious to know what sort of woman had captivated the very attractive and sophisticated Shay Melburne.
    There was a lot to be done. She rushed around tidying the house, which was already perfectly clean but had that unlived-in air. They could have a seafood stir-fry for supper, with fresh vegetables, so she took out some frozen prawns and scallops from the freezer to thaw under cold water. Quickly she set the table in the small dining room near the kitchen, then put on the gas heater in that room. It looked like an old-fashioned cast-iron wood stove, with real flames. By candlelight it looked good at this time of the year. In the sitting room she did the same, putting on lamps. Although the house was small, somewhat humble and unpretentious, she often thought, it was nicely and tastefully furnished.
    In the bathroom she brushed her hair and put on a little make-up, contemplating her pale face and somewhat haunted eyes, which had dark shadows under them. She could not really call herself pretty, or beautiful, yet she had an interesting face, with regular features; a man she had liked a lot had once called her face ‘arresting’. Thinking of that now, she smiled at her reflection as she smeared alittle green eye shadow on her lids. ‘Vanity, thy name is woman,’ she said aloud to her reflection. ‘One of the lesser vices.’
    The beds for Fleur and Mungo were already made up in the small, single-storey-plus-basement house, which had three bedrooms. They kept some of their clothes and other personal belongings there, too. She changed into a wool skirt and a lightweight sweater.
    Mungo and Fleur came first, as she knew they would, lugging their knapsacks of homework books.
    ‘We’re eating in the dining room,’ she announced, ‘because Dr Melburne’s coming to supper. And in case you’re wondering, he’s divorced. He told me that himself today.’
    ‘Well, that’s better than if he was married,’ Mungo said, ever practical, ‘if you really like him, Dee.’
    ‘I do like him,’ she said. ‘But really we don’t know each other that well…’
    ‘Ooh, that’s nice,’ Fleur said, standing in the doorway of the dining room, looking in. ‘It’s really warm and cosy.’
    ‘Great!’ Mungo chipped in, as they both lugged their heavy bags into the living room.‘Can we watch television for a bit, Dee?’ Their favourite programme was on.
    ‘OK,’ she said, ‘but then you have to help me serve the supper, and then get on with your homework. I don’t suppose Dr Melburne will stay long, he’s a busy man.’
    ‘I really like him,’ Fleur said. ‘Are you going to marry him, Dee?’
    ‘Goodness, no!’ she said, knowing that she was protesting too much and repeating herself. ‘I’ve only known him for…well, a relatively short time.’
    ‘So long as he doesn’t take you away from us,’ Mungo said. They were both very astute, and could probably tell a lot from her flushed face. ‘Is there any juice, Dee?’
    ‘Yes, help yourself.’
    When Shay came she was in a state of nerves, especially as he was fifteen minutes later than she had expected. The food, which had been easy to cook, was ready. She had decided not to open a bottle of wine, not wanting him to think that she was making a special effort for him. She let Mungo go to the door to let him in while she lit candles in the cosy small dining room where the flamesfrom the