Kate Hardy lives in Norwich, in the east of England, with her husband, two young children, one bouncy spaniel, and too many books to count! When sheâs not busy writing romance or researching local history, she helps out at her childrenâs schools. She also loves cookingâspot the recipes sneaked into her books! (Theyâre also on her website, along with extracts and stories behind the books.) Writing for Mills & Boon has been a dream come true for Kateâsomething she wanted to do ever since she was twelve. Sheâs been writing Medical⢠Romances for nearly five years now, and also writes for Modern Heatâ¢. She says itâs the best of both worlds, because she gets to learn lots of new things when sheâs researching the background to a book: add a touch of passion, drama and danger, a new gorgeous hero every time, and itâs the perfect job!
Kate Hardy is the winner of the RNA Romance Prize 2008 for her Modern Heat⢠novel BREAKFAST AT GIOVANNIâS.
Kateâs always delighted to hear from readers, so do drop in to her website at www.katehardy.com
Recent titles by the same author:
Medical⢠Romance THE SPANISH DOCTORâS LOVE-CHILD THE DOCTORS ROYAL LOVE-CHILD (Brides of Penhally Bay) THE ITALIAN GPâS BRIDE
Modern Heat⢠HOTLY BEDDED, CONVENIENTLY WEDDED SOLD TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER! BREAKFAST AT GIOVANNIâS
Dear Reader
I love writing linked booksâprobably because I hate saying goodbye to my characters!âso I was delighted when my editor agreed to let me write a duo. Iâm very pleased to introduce the Gregory cousins, Madison and Katrina, who enjoy life and love at the London Victoria Hospital.
What drew me to their stories? Several things. Firstly, I wanted to set myself a challenge and do something a little bit differentâso the stories actually take place in more or less the same timeframe. This meant I had to keep the events of Madisonâs story very much in mind when I wrote Katrinaâs! (THE CHILDRENâS DOCTORâS SPECIAL PROPOSAL is available next month). Secondly, I was thinking about fairy tales and Prince Charming: in modern days, do you have to go and look for your prince, or will he come and find you? Add the fact that thereâs something irresistible about a Mediterranean doctor and even more so about ruined castles (I spent a week in Wales during the summer while I was planning the books and fell in love with the areaânot to mention the recipe in Katrinaâs story, which my editor begged for before Iâd even written the book!). And, finally, the books have a lot of me in them: Madison shares my love of music and Katrina, like me, has impaired hearing.
And the little country church at the very end of Katrinaâs story? Actually, thatâs real (albeit moved to suit my fictional world). I was privileged to attend a special family wedding there just as I was writing the wedding sceneâwhich is why Iâve dedicated the second story to my cousin Lee and his lovely bride Lucy, and also borrowed the weather from their dayâ¦
So with this in mind I had a lot of fun creating Madison and Katrinaâs world. I hope you enjoy reading their stories as much as I enjoyed writing them.
Iâm always delighted to hear from readers, so do come and visit me at www.katehardy.com
With love
Kate Hardy
THE GREEK DOCTORâS NEW-YEAR BABY
BY
KATE HARDY
For Annette, Grant, Amy and Lauren,
With love.
CHAPTER ONE
MADISON noticed him the moment he walked into the room.
Despite the fact that the hospitalâs charity ball was heaving with people, all wearing Venetian masksâand he was dressed the same as all the other men in a dinner jacket, dark trousers, white shirt and bow-tie, plus a plain gold eye maskâthere was something about the tall, dark-haired man that set him apart from the others. Some kind of energy that drew her eye.
Not that she was going to do anything about it. Not tonight.
As the chair of the committee for the hospitalâs fundraiser ball, Madison Gregory had work to do. Such as making sure that everything was running like clockwork behind the scenes. Being there to troubleshoot any last-minute problems. Charming people with a sweet smile and fixing any little niggles without a fuss.
But so far any problems had been minor, because everything had been planned down to the last detail. There had been a few murmurs at first in committee meetings when sheâd suggested a jazz trioâa band sheâd heard several times at her favourite clubâbut Madison had stuck to her guns. In her view, a rock band really didnât suit a masked ball, and although ballroom dancing had become popular again, thanks to TV shows, having a string quartet playing waltzes would have felt too formal. Whereas soft, easy-listening jazzâbright upbeat numbers and slow crooning ballads that people knew and could dance toâwas perfect for a ball.
Now she could even see couples mouthing the words of âFly Me to the Moonâ to each other, smiling and laughing and just having fun on the dance floor. Relief flooded through her. Sheâd got it right. This was going to work.
With this lovely, warm, relaxed atmosphere, people would be more willing to be parted from their money. Theyâd buy loads of tickets for the tombola prizes she and the rest of the committee had talked local companies into donatingâballoon rides, spa treatments and a chocolate hamper that her cousin and best friend Katrina desperately wanted to win and had bought so many tickets in lieu of being at the ball that Madison had decided, if Katrina didnât win it, sheâd buy her the very same hamper as consolation.
And maybe, just maybe, the fund for the new scanner would reach the halfway point as a result.
Eve, one of the senior nurses from the emergency department, came up to her. âMaddie, youâve been rushing around since an hour before everything started. Why donât you take a break?â
A little voice in Madisonâs head added, And go and find out who the man in the gold eye mask is. She brushed it aside and smiled at Eve. âItâs OK. Iâm fine.â
âYou paid for a ticket, too,â Eve reminded her. âWhich means youâre entitled to dance and have some fun. Just because youâre the chair of the organising committee, it doesnât mean you canât enjoy yourself.â
âI am enjoying myself.â And it was true: Madison loved being in the thick of things. Sheâd been hard put to choose between specialising in emergency medicine and her final choice, obstetrics, because she enjoyed the buzz of being too busy almost as much as she loved those magical first minutes of a new life.
And then, as the music changed and the pianist seemed to flow seamlessly into âIt Had to be Youâ, a hand touched her arm. âMay I?â a deep, unfamiliar and slightly accented voice asked.
Even before she looked up, she knew who it was going to be, and a shiver ran down her spine.
The man in the gold mask.
He was looking at her with the most sensual, smouldering gaze sheâd ever seen: dark eyes with a hint of green and gold and grey. Stunning.
Not to mention a slow, sweet smile that actually made her knees go weak.
âIâ¦â Her throat dried, and Eve gave her a shove.
âShe means yes,â Eve said sweetly. âHave fun.â
Before Madison could protest, she was dancing with the stranger.
Theo had been aware of her all evening: