Books by Kate Hardy
Mills & Boon Medical Romance
Paddington Childrenâs Hospital
Mummy, Nurse...Duchess?
Christmas Miracles in Maternity
The Midwifeâs Pregnancy Miracle
Her Playboyâs Proposal
Capturing the Single Dadâs Heart
Mills & Boon Cherish
Holiday with the Best Man
Falling for the Secret Millionaire Her Festive Doorstep Baby
Visit the Author Profile page
at millsandboon.co.uk for more titles.
CHAPTER ONE
âI CANâT WAIT to get rid of you,â Danielle said. âYouâve made me miserable, youâve stopped me doing everything I love doing, and I do actually hate you.â
She looked up to see Alex, the new consultant on the maternity ward, standing in the open doorway of her office.
He raised an eyebrow. âPractising your break-up speech?â
Dani felt the colour flood into her face. âI hope Iâd be a little kinder than that.â Certainly kinder than Leo had been to her, last Christmas Eve, when heâd told her that their marriage was over and he was leaving her for someone else. Someone else who was expecting his babyâwhen heâd told Dani only a few months before that he wasnât ready to start a family.
She pushed the thought away. âIf you must know, I was talking to my walking cast.â
âRight.â
There wasnât even the glimmer of a smile, and she sighed inwardly. From what sheâd seen of him over the last couple of months, Alex Morgan was good with their patients, but all his social skills seemed to switch off as soon as he had to deal with his colleagues on anything other than a work basis. He hadnât been to a single team night out, always ate lunch on his own, and if he was in the staff kitchen he never joined in with the conversation.
She didnât think he was being snooty; but she didnât think he was shy, either. There was obviously a reason why he kept his distance from everyone else, but Daniâwhoâd always got on well with everyoneâhad no idea how to reach him. He was possibly the most difficult person in the department to have as the co-organiser of the wardâs Christmas party, but sheâd just have to make the best of it.
âYou wanted to see me?â he asked.
âWe need to talk about organising the wardâs Christmas meal. Are you busy at lunchtime today, or can we discuss it over a sandwich?â
âSorry. I have meetings,â he said.
Dani didnât believe a word of it, but the wardâs Christmas meal still needed to be sorted out. If she gave Alex a longer timeframe, heâd be forced to pick a day. And if he picked one of the two evenings this week when she was busy, then sheâd move her other arrangements because she really wanted to get this done and dusted. She gave him the sweetest, sweetest smile. âOK. Do you have time for a coffee after work some time in the next two weeks to discuss it?â
He masked his expression quickly, but not before Dani had seen it. Heâd obviously realised what her game plan was, and he couldnât think of a decent excuse that would work for two whole weeks.
Gotcha, she thought in satisfaction.
He took his phone out of his pocket and made a show of checking his diary, though she was pretty sure it wasnât that full.
âHow about tomorrow?â he suggested.
âThatâll be fine, as Hayleyâs training with Sam tomorrow night.â She glared at her cast. âThanks to this.â
âUh-huh.â
OK. So he wasnât going to bite. Anyone else wouldâve been polite enough to ask what sheâd done to her foot, or at least make a comment. But Alex clearly didnât want to get into conversation with her. Fair enough. She couldnât force him to make friends with her. If he wanted to keep himself to himself, that was his decision and it wasnât her place to try and change it.
âThank you. Iâll meet you outside the staffroom tomorrow after our shift,â she said.
âFine,â he said.
And still he didnât give her a single smile.
She sighed inwardly, and got on with writing up the case notes from her clinic that morning.
* * *
God, what was wrong with him? Alex wondered as he headed to his own office. Danielle Owens was nice. Sheâd been friendly right from his first day on the ward, trying to make him feel part of the team, and in response heâd been completely standoffish. Meeting her for a drink tomorrow night to discuss the teamâs Christmas meal was the only social invitation heâd accepted in the two months heâd been working at Muswell Hill Memorial Hospital, and that was solely because the head of the department had blithely informed him that his predecessor had been scheduled to organise it with Dani and he was sure that Alex would be happy to step into those shoes, too.