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‘How did we end up here, Vi?’
Things might have worked out so differently if she’d been brave then and given them a chance, regardless of what anyone had thought. He’d been so in love with her that all she’d have had to do was give him the word and he would have gone anywhere with her, done anything for her. Now he was a man on his own, too scarred to let anyone into his life.
‘I don’t know, but sometimes I wish I could go back.’
With Violet standing here in his dining room, wearing nothing more than his shirt and a smile, this was as far from those innocent days as they could get.
‘I can’t say I’d rather be anywhere else.’
Nate leaned in to kiss her, reasoning that twice in twelve years wasn’t going to wreak too much havoc. He simply wanted to find out if her lips were as soft and sweet as he remembered.
They were.
He should have left it at one gentle peck on the lips—enough to reconnect and erase the bad feeling left with her departure. When he opened his eyes and saw her lips parted for more, felt her hands slide around his neck in submission, he couldn’t recall any reason to hold back. They both wanted this. In some ways they needed it to enable them finally to move on.
He slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to deepen the kiss he’d waited too long to repeat.
There has been no greater loss in my life than that of my mother. It changed my life beyond recognition, but thankfully I had the love and support of my husband and family to help me through it.
When I pictured my heroine, Violet, going through that grief as a teenager I knew the kind of strong but damaged woman she’d become further down the line. It will take someone like cardiologist Nate, who has always known her better than anyone else, to reach behind that tough façade and help heal her wounded heart.
The best part of writing this book was my research into the Dempsey family’s ancestral home. It was a good excuse to travel the country, taking afternoon tea in stately homes and imagining all the drama and romance going on behind closed doors.
I thoroughly recommend reading this with a cup of tea and a slice of cake—or two!
Karin xx
KARIN BAINE lives in Northern Ireland with her husband, two sons, and her out-of-control notebook collection. Her mother and her grandmother’s vast collection of books inspired her love of reading and her dream of becoming a Mills & Boon author. Now she can tell people she has a proper job! You can follow Karin on Twitter, @karinbaine1, or visit her website for the latest news—karinbaine.com.
The Doctor’s
Forbidden Fling
Karin Baine
For Tammy. From one special snowflake to another. Our field trip was epic! xx
Special thanks to my IT guru, Cherie, who dragged this technophobe kicking and screaming into the twenty-first century and managed not to throat-punch me in the process!
As always, I couldn’t have told this story without help. A big hug to my editor, Laura, to Chellie, Susan and Alison, and an extra squishy one for Amalie for her author guidance too. xx
‘The moment I picked up Karin Baine’s debut medical romance I knew I would not be disappointed with her work. Poetic and descriptive writing, engaging dialogue, thoroughly created characters and a tightly woven plot propels French Fling to Forever into the must-read, highly recommended level.’
—Contemporary Romance Reviews
‘This is a wonderfully written book and one I could not put down and had to finish. You will not be disappointed in Karin Baine’s writing.’
—Goodreads on French Fling to Forever
Contents
IN VIOLET DEMPSEY’S experience the family room in a hospital department was where good news and hope came to die. It was in one of these seemingly innocuous side rooms she’d learned of her mother’s fate and now she was waiting to hear of her father’s too. He was fighting for his life in the cardiac care unit down the corridor while she was staring at the wall waiting for that ominous knock at the door.
She knew how crucial the first few hours after a heart attack were and she’d spent them trying to organise a flight back to Northern Ireland from London. Even that relatively