The Doctor's Lost-and-Found Bride by Kate Hardy Read Free Book Online

slid her hands into his hair, opened her mouth and kissed him back.
    For pity’s sake. He knew he didn’t have the right to do that. But he still wanted to touch her. Needed to touch her.
    This was crazy, particularly as he didn’t have a clue how she felt about the situation. She was perfectly professional with him, and since their brief chat in the staff kitchen she’d stuck to first-name terms and treated him just like she treated everyone else on the ward. But whenever he caught her eye there was something unreadable in her gaze. He couldn’t even begin to work out what it was.
    Get a grip , he told himself savagely. Be professional . Because he knew it was way too late to go back. No way would Marina give him a second chance.
     
    ‘Max has been to see me,’ Rosie said.
    Marina frowned. ‘He hasn’t upset you or anything, has he?’
    ‘No. He’s good company. And he’s dropped in every day.’
    Every day? From what he’d said, she’d expected him to visit Rosie maybe once—not every day. And he hadn’t said a word to her about it.
    Rosie took her sister’s hand and squeezed it. ‘I always liked him, Marina. We all did.’
    ‘I know.’ Marina sighed heavily, guessing what Rosie was going to say next, and knowing that she had to head her sister off right now. ‘But it didn’t work out and we’ve both moved on.’
    ‘Mmm-hmm.’ Rosie paused. ‘You know, Max isn’t seeing anyone.’
    ‘That’s none of my business, Rosie.’ Trust her sister to have asked the question. Marina deliberately hadn’t.
    But now she knew.
    And it sent a weird mixture of delight and panic through her.
    Delight, because it felt as if Max had waited for her. Andpanic, because it had gone so badly wrong last time; did they really have a chance to get it right, second time round?
    If Max had wanted them to try again, he would have followed her to London years ago. He would’ve refused to sign the divorce papers. He would’ve talked to her.
    But, all the same, she couldn’t help wondering: why was Max still single? OK, so their marriage had been a disaster, but Max was a nice guy. A good doctor.
    A thoughtful lover. Marina suppressed that line of thought immediately. She really didn’t need to remember how she’d felt in Max’s arms. How his clever hands and mouth had made her blood feel, as if it were singing. How he’d taken her to the edge of pleasure.
    ‘Did you know he spent three years working for Doctors Without Borders?’ Rosie asked.
    ‘No.’ But it explained why he’d taken a while to respond to her solicitor’s letters—and it also explained why he was single. No way would Max have had any spare energy to start a new relationship, working under those kinds of pressures.
    ‘I think,’ Rosie said, ‘that it’s time you two sat down and talked. Properly.’
    Ha. That had been one of the biggest blows to their marriage. After she’d lost the baby, they’d stopped talking. ‘There isn’t anything to say.’
    ‘Isn’t there?’ Rosie arched one eyebrow.
    ‘No. Now, stop worrying.’ Marina patted her hand. ‘As I said, we’ve both moved on.’
    Rosie folded her arms. ‘Right. Which is why neither of you are dating.’
    ‘If he’s been working for Doctors Without Borders, he wouldn’t have had time to see anyone,’ Marina pointed out. ‘And I’m training to be a specialist registrar in paediatricemergency—which means I don’t have time to see anyone either.’ She gave her sister her brightest smile. ‘Right now, my career needs to come first.’
    ‘I worry about you, Marina. I want you to be happy.’
    ‘I am happy.’ Though, even as she said it, Marina realised it wasn’t strictly true. She still missed Max. Or maybe she missed the idea of him: the man she’d thought she’d married, who’d turned out to be not quite the same as the man she’d actually married. ‘Stop fussing and let me look at your chart,’ she said to put Rosie off the scent.
    Rosie groaned. ‘They hate