Unlocking Her Surgeon's Heart. Fiona Lowe

I’d upset her.’

      Lily dropped into the chair, her expression stunned. ‘You’re kidding me, right?’

      No. Man, he hated general practice with its touchy-feely stuff and rules that he hadn’t known existed. He was a surgeon and a damn good one. He diagnosed problems and then he cut them out. As a result, he gave people a better quality of life. It was a far easier way of dealing with problems than the muddy waters of internal medicine where nothing was cut and dried and everything was hazy with irrational hope.

      He and his mother had learned that the hard way and after that life-changing experience he’d vowed he would always give his patients the truth. Black was black and white was white. People needed information so they could make a choice.

      The prof’s voice came out of nowhere, echoing loudly in his head. We’ve had complaints from your dealings with patients when they’re awake.

      His legs trembled and he sat down hard, nausea churning his gut. Was this the sort of thing the prof had been referring to? Propping his elbows on the desk, he ran his hands through his hair and tried to marshal his thoughts. Did Lilia actually have a point? Was his interpretation of the facts blunt and thoughtless?

      He instantly railed against the idea, refusing to believe it for a moment. We’ve had complaints. The prof’s words were irrefutable. As much as he didn’t want to acknowledge it, this was the reason he’d been sent down here to Turraburra. It seemed he really did have a problem communicating with patients. A problem he hadn’t been fully aware of until this moment. A problem that was going to stop him from qualifying as a surgeon if he didn’t do something about it.

      ‘Noah?’

      There was no trace of the previous anger in her voice and none of the sarcasm. All he could hear was concern. He raised his eyes to hers, his gaze stalling on the lushness of her lips. Pink and moist, they were slightly parted. Kissable. Oh, so very kissable. What they would taste like? Icy cool, like her usual demeanour, or sizzling hot, like she’d been a moment ago when she’d taken him to task? Or sweet and decadently rich? Perhaps sharply tart with a kick of fire?

      The tip of her tongue suddenly darted out, flicking the peak of her top lip before falling back. Heat slammed into him, rushing lust through him and down into every cell as if he were an inexperienced teen. Hell, he had more control than this. He sucked in a breath and gave thanks he was sitting down behind a desk, his lap hidden from view.

      He shifted his gaze to the safety of her nose, which, although it suited her face, wasn’t cute or sexy. This brought his traitorous body back under control. He didn’t want to be attracted to Lilia Cartwright in any shape or form. He just wanted to get this time in Turraburra over and done with and get the hell out of town. Get back to the security of the Melbourne Victoria and to the job he loved above all else.

      Her previously flinty gaze was now soft and caring. ‘Noah, is everything okay?’

      Everything’s so far from okay it’s not funny. Could he tell her the real reason the Victoria had sent a surgeon to Turraburra? Tell her that if he didn’t conquer this communication problem he wouldn’t qualify? That ten years of hard work had failed to give him what he so badly wanted?

      For the first time since he’d met her he saw genuine interest and empathy in her face and a part of him desperately wanted to reach out and confide in her. God knew, if he’d unwittingly upset a patient and been clueless about the impact of his words, he surely needed help.

       She’ll understand.

       You don’t know that. She could just as easily use it against me.

      He’d fought long and hard to get this far in the competitive field of surgery without depending on anyone and he didn’t intend to start now. That said, he’d noticed how relaxed she was with her patients compared to how he always felt with them. With Bec Sinclair, she’d explained everything he’d been doing, chatting easily to her. She connected with people in a way he’d never been able to—in a way he needed to learn.

      He had no intention of asking her for help or exposing any weakness, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t observe and learn from her. Don’t give anything away. Leaning back, he casually laced his fingers behind his head. ‘Do you have any other fat pregnant women coming in today?’

      Wariness crawled across her high cheekbones. ‘There is one more.’

      ‘Do you concede that her weight is a risk to her pregnancy?’

      ‘Yes, but—’

      ‘Good.’ He sat forward fast, the chair clunking loudly. ‘This time you run the consultation, which means you’re the one who has to tell her that her weight is a problem.’

      She blinked at him in surprise and then her intelligent eyes narrowed, scanning his face like an explosives expert looking for undetonated bombs. ‘And?’

      ‘And then I’ll critique your performance like you just critiqued mine. After all, the Victoria’s a teaching hospital so it seems only fair.’

      He couldn’t help but grin at her stunned expression.