Caroline Anderson - Risk of a Lifetime

Dear Reader

We always think It’ll never happen to me —but sometimes, of course, it does. Because ‘it’ always has to happen to someone. And of all the things to happen an inherited disorder is probably one of the most insidious. From the moment of diagnosis in a family member the threat of potentially developing the condition, whatever it might be, hangs over those who are possibly afflicted with the defective gene—and the fallout of this emotional minefield can be devastating.

Ed is in this position, and the decision to have the genetic screening test and find out the result can only be his. But no man is an island, no matter how hard he might try to isolate himself from the love and concern of those around him. He’s doing OK, though, he thinks—and then he meets Annie and everything changes.

This is the story of a man who’s made some tough decisions, who’s never ducked out of his responsibilities or taken the easy route, and the woman who loves him enough to help him through the hardest step of all, whatever the outcome. I give them to you with my love. Take care of them. They’re very special to me.

Caroline

Praise for Caroline Anderson:

‘… an engrossing, enthralling and highly enjoyable tale that will move you to tears and keep you riveted … Moving, heartbreaking and absolutely fantastic,

with WEDDING OF THE YEAR

Caroline Anderson is at her mesmerising best!’ —www.cataromance.com on ST PIRAN’S: WEDDING OF THE YEAR

‘This lovely reunion romance is rich with emotion and humour, and all of the characters are exquisitely rendered.’

—RT Book Reviews on MOTHER OF THE BRIDE

www.millsandboon.co.uk

For my fellow MedRom authors, an incredible support group of amazingly talented women who never fail to say the right thing or tell me what I need to know. Girls, you rock!

Recent titles by Caroline Anderson:

Mills & Boon ®Medical Romance™

THE SECRET IN HIS HEART

FROM CHRISTMAS TO ETERNITY

THE FIANCÉE HE CAN’T FORGET * * The Legendary Walker Doctors † St Piran’s Hospital Mills & Boon ® Cherish™ SNOWED IN WITH THE BILLIONAIRE THE VALTIERI BABY VALTIERI’S BRIDE THE BABY SWAP MIRACLE MOTHER OF THE BRIDE These books are also available in eBook format from www.millsandboon.co.uk TEMPTED BY DR DAISY * * The Legendary Walker Doctors † St Piran’s Hospital Mills & Boon ® Cherish™ SNOWED IN WITH THE BILLIONAIRE THE VALTIERI BABY VALTIERI’S BRIDE THE BABY SWAP MIRACLE MOTHER OF THE BRIDE These books are also available in eBook format from www.millsandboon.co.uk ST PIRAN’S: THE WEDDING OF THE YEAR † * The Legendary Walker Doctors † St Piran’s Hospital Mills & Boon ® Cherish™ SNOWED IN WITH THE BILLIONAIRE THE VALTIERI BABY VALTIERI’S BRIDE THE BABY SWAP MIRACLE MOTHER OF THE BRIDE These books are also available in eBook format from www.millsandboon.co.uk THE SURGEON’S MIRACLE

* THE FIANCÉE HE CAN’T FORGET * * The Legendary Walker Doctors † St Piran’s Hospital Mills & Boon ® Cherish™ SNOWED IN WITH THE BILLIONAIRE THE VALTIERI BABY VALTIERI’S BRIDE THE BABY SWAP MIRACLE MOTHER OF THE BRIDE These books are also available in eBook format from www.millsandboon.co.uk TEMPTED BY DR DAISY * * The Legendary Walker Doctors † St Piran’s Hospital Mills & Boon ® Cherish™ SNOWED IN WITH THE BILLIONAIRE THE VALTIERI BABY VALTIERI’S BRIDE THE BABY SWAP MIRACLE MOTHER OF THE BRIDE These books are also available in eBook format from www.millsandboon.co.uk ST PIRAN’S: THE WEDDING OF THE YEAR † * The Legendary Walker Doctors † St Piran’s Hospital Mills & Boon ® Cherish™ SNOWED IN WITH THE BILLIONAIRE THE VALTIERI BABY VALTIERI’S BRIDE THE BABY SWAP MIRACLE MOTHER OF THE BRIDE These books are also available in eBook format from www.millsandboon.co.uk THE SURGEON’S MIRACLE * The Legendary Walker Doctors † * The Legendary Walker Doctors † St Piran’s Hospital Mills & Boon ® Cherish™ SNOWED IN WITH THE BILLIONAIRE THE VALTIERI BABY VALTIERI’S BRIDE THE BABY SWAP MIRACLE MOTHER OF THE BRIDE These books are also available in eBook format from www.millsandboon.co.uk St Piran’s Hospital Mills & Boon ® Cherish™ SNOWED IN WITH THE BILLIONAIRE THE VALTIERI BABY VALTIERI’S BRIDE THE BABY SWAP MIRACLE MOTHER OF THE BRIDE These books are also available in eBook format from www.millsandboon.co.uk The Legendary Walker Doctors † * The Legendary Walker Doctors † St Piran’s Hospital Mills & Boon ® Cherish™ SNOWED IN WITH THE BILLIONAIRE THE VALTIERI BABY VALTIERI’S BRIDE THE BABY SWAP MIRACLE MOTHER OF THE BRIDE These books are also available in eBook format from www.millsandboon.co.uk St Piran’s Hospital

Mills & Boon ®Cherish™

SNOWED IN WITH THE BILLIONAIRE

THE VALTIERI BABY

VALTIERI’S BRIDE

THE BABY SWAP MIRACLE

MOTHER OF THE BRIDE

These books are also available in eBook format from www.millsandboon.co.uk

Contents

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ONE

‘OH, MY...’

‘What?’

Annie looked up at Kate, registered the slack jaw and widening eyes, and started to turn her head.

‘Don’t look!’ Kate hissed, dragging her eyes back to the notes.

‘Don’t look at what?’

‘Total hottie heading this way. Absolute classic TDH. He can’t possibly be our new SpR, we don’t get that lucky.’ Her eyes flicked up again briefly. ‘OMG, he is gorgeous! I think I’m in love.’

She fanned herself theatrically with the notes, and Annie chuckled. TDH? OMG? ‘You can’t possibly be in love—’

‘You wanna bet?’ Kate sneaked another peek and her voice shifted up an octave. ‘He’s coming in! And he’s got a stethoscope round his neck...!’

Annie rolled her eyes and snatched the notes from her, just as the door behind her swung open.

‘Hi. I heard the paeds trauma call. Want any help?’

Well, she had to look now. Apart from the fact that he was talking to them, that voice was—well, compelling went a short way towards describing it. Dark, molten chocolate, with a tiny kick of chilli that left a lingering warmth in its wake.

There was no way his body could match that voice. She turned her head, smile at the ready, and her breath hitched.

The voice didn’t do him justice.

Neither had Kate, but then she’d been virtually incoherent. She’d been right to a point, though. Tall, dark and handsome for sure—and, yes, completely and utterly gorgeous, if you were into that type, but she wasn’t. Not that she had a type any more, but if she did, it wouldn’t be a man like this.

At all.

Broad, lean, toned, reeking of testosterone overlaid with fresh air and sunshine, everything about him screamed trouble! His slate-blue bedroom eyes were fringed with black lashes a mile long, and that lazy stride ate up the floor as he advanced towards them.

Her first instinct was to run, but then common sense intervened. He was a doctor, apparently, possibly their new registrar, and he was offering to help, and that made him definitely her type. The mind-numbingly gorgeous packaging didn’t matter. What mattered was that he was here, on a day when their staffing levels were stretched to the limit, and frankly if he’d had two heads she’d welcome him with open arms. But—sheesh. Did he have to be quite so luscious?

She resisted the urge to fan herself with the notes à la Kate and found her voice from somewhere.

‘Maybe. Don’t know much about it yet. Child versus car, possible head injury, but that’s all we have as yet. ETA any second.’

She stuck out her hand to him, determined to behave like a grown-up and not a hormonal teenager, and tilted her head way back to meet his eyes. ‘I’m Annie Brooks, by the way,’ she said, proud of her voice for not coming out like a demented squeak. ‘I’m job-sharing with Andy Gallagher. And you are...?’

‘Ah. Sorry. Ed Shackleton, James Slater’s new specialist registrar,’ he confirmed, those heavily lashed eyes the colour of storm clouds meeting hers and holding them. A warm, strong hand engulfed her own as that firm, chiselled mouth tilted into a smile, and everything inside her lurched.

Her pulse spiked, and she could feel heat spreading out from her hand, all the way up her arm, settling in the region of her locked-down diaphragm like a fireball.

And she was blushing.

No. Not a blush. A flush.

Different.

Worse, the heat from the fireball was spreading upwards now, creeping up her body towards her face.

Could he see it? Please, God, no—

Breathe, Annie!

The sound of the siren penetrated the swirling fog that was her brain, and she sucked in a breath and snatched her hand back, resisting the urge to wipe it on her scrubs, as if she could wipe away her reaction to his touch.

‘Sounds like we might be in business. Are we ready?’

One look at Kate and it was clear that she was. Ready for anything their new SpR cared to throw at them—unlike her. She was blushing and flushing and generally getting in a dither. Oh, this was ridiculous...

But Kate’s sensible self was back in charge, thank goodness, and she nodded briskly. ‘We’re good to go.’

‘Right.’

The sirens screamed to a halt, leaving a shocking silence, and her brain finally snapped back to life.

‘OK, we’re on. Let’s go and find out what we’ve got.’

‘Mind if I tag along?’ he asked quietly. ‘I’m Paeds trained.’

‘Sure. Feel free. We can always use another pair of hands.’

She pushed the door out of the way, oddly desperate to escape the confines of Resus. She didn’t do this—didn’t get hot and flustered and all quivery inside.

Ever. At all. Men were firmly off her menu, now and into the hereafter. Maybe longer.

And Dr Gorgeous was definitely a man.

She took a deep breath and walked briskly out to the ambulance bay, deeply conscious of the man keeping pace by her side. The doors of the ambulance flew open, the steps flipped down and the doctor in her kicked in.

At last.

She forgot all about him, forgot everything except the sobbing child and the look of terror on the face of his mother as the paramedics who’d brought them in reeled off his stats and the treatment to date.

And as she nodded at the paramedic and smiled at the mother, she could see Ed scanning the child with his eyes, assessing him rapidly. Good. She turned her attention to the mother.

‘Hi, I’m Annie, I’m a doctor, and this is Ed. We’re going to be looking after your son. What’s his name?’

‘Cody,’ his mother said unsteadily. ‘Cody Phillips. Oh, please, help him.’

‘We will.’

The calm, confident voice came from Ed, who was leaning over the trolley as they pushed it in, looking down at the boy. Cody’s right eye was swollen shut, a blue stain under the skin of his temple and cheek, and he was sobbing, but Ed just smiled and held his hand as if it was all fine. ‘Hi, Cody, I’m Ed. It’s all right, you’re in good hands. We’ve got you, mate. We’ll soon make you feel better.’