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He’s a great doctor
Will she make him a better man?
When pediatrician Lauren Peterson becomes a live-in companion to Jake Masters, a reclusive surgeon with an arm injury and attitude problem, she knows it’ll be tough going. Jake is totally disillusioned with the medical profession, so Lauren can’t tell him she’s a doctor. The deception’s easyuntil she falls for the unexpectedly kind heart beneath Jake’s unfriendly exterior. Can the truth give them both a fresh start?
SHIRLEY HAILSTOCK began her writing life as a lover of reading. She likes nothing better than to find a quiet corner where she can get lost in a book, explore new worlds and visit places she never expected to see. As an author, she can not only visit those places, but she can be the heroine of her own stories. The author of forty novels and novellas, Shirley has received numerous awards, including a National Readers’ Choice Award, a Romance Writers of America’s Emma Merritt Award and an RT Book Reviews Career Achievement Award. Shirley’s books have appeared on several bestseller lists, including the Glamour, Essence and Library Journal lists. She is a past president of Romance Writers of America.
Summer on Kendall Farm
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Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.
Healing the Doctor’s Heart
Shirley Hailstock
ISBN: 978-0-008-90093-9
HEALING THE DOCTOR’S HEART
© 2020 Shirley Hailstock
Published in Great Britain 2019
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
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Text to speech
Jake’s heart thumped.
He realized he didn’t want her to go. He’d become used to her being there. He even enjoyed their arguments. Sometimes he looked forward to them. But she had to be thinking of returning to work. And why wouldn’t she? He’d taken her suggestions and he was better for them.
“Lauren, if you can postpone going until Cal returns, I’d like that.”
Jake wanted to see Lauren, but he was driving and could only glance at her. She appeared at a loss for words. He didn’t know if she expected him to say what he had. He hadn’t intended to, but he liked talking to her. He liked her more than as a friend, but he couldn’t let it go further than that. He remembered her first day, when she walked into the apartment and had to pry him out of bed. Now here he was asking her not to leave.
I’ve always loved masquerade parties, and writing Healing the Doctor’s Heart gave me the opportunity to revisit that game. Lauren had to find a way of cracking the glass Jake had around his heart and her method proved unconventional to say the least.
New York City is also one of my favorite places to visit and I’m blessed to live so close to it. Setting the story there among the varied cultures and street figures that garner tourists’ attention was perfect. But the characters of Lauren Peterson and Jake Masters warmed my heart. They are part of my growing family of people I want to talk to time and time again. I want to know what happens to them next. Do they have children? How does Lauren handle a new baby? The book could go on and on and on, but there are other stories to write.
I’m working on another one right now and hopefully you’ll be ready to read the story of Jake’s brother soon.
Thanks for going on the adventure with Jake and Lauren, and if you’re interested in this and other books I’ve written, you can contact me through my web page or on social media.
Thanks again and as always, keep reading.
Shirley Hailstock
Contents
Note to Readers