Free The Rebel Surgeon's Proposal by MARGARET MCDONAGH Page A

love.’
    ‘She deserves her happiness,’ Francesca agreed, knowing how Gina had devoted so much of herself to care for her elderly grandparents. Her grandmother was still alive and Seb had embraced the older lady, insisting she be part of their family after their marriage.
    She shared a smile with Holly, seeing the sadness behind the other girl’s eyes, knowing from Annie how much Holly was in love with A and E doctor Gus Buchanan. It was a difficult situation because Holly’s devious, manipulative sister Julia had all but stolen Gus from under Holly’s nose, getting pregnant and trapping him into an unhappy marriage.
    ‘Do you remember your first kiss?’
    The question from one of the other nurses startled Francesca from her reverie. ‘Um, yes. Do you?’
    ‘I’ll say.’ Carolyn giggled, leaning forward to share her confidence. ‘It was foul! But most people say that, don’t they?’
    The others joined in and they all laughed over their storiesand memories of their first kisses. ‘How about you, Francesca?’ Carolyn asked.
    ‘Me?’ A flush warmed her cheeks. She seldom found herself in this sort of situation and hated to talk about herself, but memories of that first kiss were so vibrant in her mind she found herself replying. ‘It was…nice.’
    Nice? Who was she kidding? It had been perfect, wonderful. And even though they had both been so young and she had been so inexperienced, nothing had really lived up to it since. Which was ridiculous, but true all the same.
    ‘Well, go on, then!’ the girls teased.
    ‘What?’
    ‘You seem to be the only one of us who enjoyed their first kiss! Mine was wet and sloppy and revolting and I vowed never to do it again.’ Holly giggled shyly.
    ‘Mine was gross, too, but I’ve made up for it since!’ another joked. ‘Come on, Francesca.’
    ‘There’s not much to tell,’ she lied, silent for several moments as she relived that unforgettable day in her mind…
     

    It had been exam time near the end of the school year. She had been sixteen, surrounded in the school playground by the gang of girls who had tormented and teased her for as long as Francesca could remember. Luke had come outside and the girls had jostled her, pushing her forward, bumping her into Luke and daring her to kiss him. She had been mortified as they had stood back to giggle and make catcalls. Tears had stung her eyes as she had forced herself to look up at Luke—eighteen, so handsome, her hero. He had looked past her to the group of girls, had realised what was going on, and the expression in his green eyes had gentled.
    ‘Are they making you do this?’
    She’d nodded, too shy and humiliated to speak.
    ‘Well, let’s give them a show they won’t forget.’
    ‘What?’ Her eyes had widened, round and scared. ‘You don’t have to.’
    He’d smiled then, the sinful, bad-boy smile that still made her melt. ‘I know. But I want to kiss you,’ he had confided, shocking her anew.
    ‘Y-you do?’ she’d managed, scarcely able to breathe.
    ‘Very much.’
    ‘But…’
    He’d looked down at her, considering. ‘Have you been kissed before?’
    A tide of embarrassed colour had washed her cheeks as she shook her head in denial.
    ‘Do you trust me?’
    ‘Yes.’
    The affirmation was immediate. She had always trusted him, despite the things they had said about him and his beastly family. Instinctively, she had always known that Luke and his mother were good people, and for years Luke had been her silent protector, always in the background but there if she’d needed help. Her skin tingled unbearably as he raised a hand, his fingers gliding along her cheek before sliding back into the untamable fall of hair, drawing her towards him.
    ‘Just relax and follow my lead,’ he whispered. ‘I’ll look after you.’
    Drawing in a ragged breath, she nodded, eyes drifting shut at the feel of his lips as they pressed gently and firmly against hers. He was wonderful. She could hear the taunts