Jennifer Taylor - The Woman He's Been Waiting For

“We’re just your average, run-of-the-mill GP’s surgery, and I find it very hard to understand why Harry would offer to work here. So you tell me what’s in it for Harry?”

“The pleasure of your company?”

Grace spun around when a familiar voice cut into the conversation. She spotted Harry lounging in the doorway. It had been some time since she’d seen him, but he’d changed very little from what she could tell. As her eyes skimmed over the coal-black hair, the marine-blue eyes, the clean-cut jaw, she couldn’t stop the appreciative flutter her nerves gave, a warning that she was as susceptible as any woman to Harry Shaw’s undeniable charms.

Dear Reader CONTENTS Cover Dear Reader Title Page CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHAPTER SIXTEEN CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Copyright ,

Some books demand to be written and others require a little more time for the story to develop. The Woman He’s Been Waiting For falls into the latter category.

I first had the idea for this book three years ago and sat down to write it with great enthusiasm. However, although I loved Harry and Grace from the moment they appeared on the page, I just couldn’t make them behave the way I wanted them to. They are both such determined characters that they insisted on doing things their own way! In the end, I abandoned the book, but at the back of my mind I always knew that I would go back to it one day. I’m glad that I did because it has turned out to be one of my very favorite stories.

Both Harry and Grace have a lot of baggage left over from their past lives, and they are both afraid to confront the main issue, which is that they are deeply attracted to each other. For years they have traded insults in an attempt to disguise their feelings but when they agree to work together to help a mutual friend, they are finally forced to acknowledge how they feel about one another.

It isn’t an easy process—they have an extremely rough ride along the way! However, I felt when I reached the end of the book that they had found the happiness they both deserved.

I hope you enjoy reading their story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Love,

Jennifer

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Cover

Dear Reader Dear Reader CONTENTS Cover Dear Reader Title Page CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHAPTER SIXTEEN CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Copyright , Some books demand to be written and others require a little more time for the story to develop. The Woman He’s Been Waiting For falls into the latter category. I first had the idea for this book three years ago and sat down to write it with great enthusiasm. However, although I loved Harry and Grace from the moment they appeared on the page, I just couldn’t make them behave the way I wanted them to. They are both such determined characters that they insisted on doing things their own way! In the end, I abandoned the book, but at the back of my mind I always knew that I would go back to it one day. I’m glad that I did because it has turned out to be one of my very favorite stories. Both Harry and Grace have a lot of baggage left over from their past lives, and they are both afraid to confront the main issue, which is that they are deeply attracted to each other. For years they have traded insults in an attempt to disguise their feelings but when they agree to work together to help a mutual friend, they are finally forced to acknowledge how they feel about one another. It isn’t an easy process—they have an extremely rough ride along the way! However, I felt when I reached the end of the book that they had found the happiness they both deserved. I hope you enjoy reading their story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Love, Jennifer

Title Page The Woman He’s Been Waiting For Jennifer Taylor www.millsandboon.co.uk

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Copyright

‘WHAT do you mean Harry Shaw has offered to work here?’

Dr Grace Kennedy couldn’t conceal her astonishment as she rounded on her partner, Miles Farrington. It was the end of a particularly stressful week at Ferndale Surgery and she and Miles had been trying to come up with a solution to their latest crisis when he had dropped his bombshell. Not only had their locum upped and left on New Year’s Eve without giving them notice but yesterday their practice nurse had tripped and broken her ankle.

It would be some while before Alison was fit to return to work. In the meantime, they would have to manage without a nurse because they would never be able to find a replacement at this time of the year. There were a lot of reasons, in fact, why Grace was in no mood to play silly games.

‘The same Harry Shaw who once said that only people without ambition went into general practice? Oh, this has to be a joke, Miles, please.’

‘I don’t recall Harry saying that about general practice…’ Miles broke off when Grace glared at him. ‘Harry was probably winding you up. You know what he’s like. Anyway, he phoned me last night to say that he was in the area so I invited him round for a drink and just happened to mention the problems we were having during the course of the conversation. I was as surprised as you are when he offered his services, but you have to admit it would be the ideal solution. Oh, I know that you and Harry didn’t exactly hit it off at med school—’

‘And whose fault was that?’ Grace paced across the room then swung round and scowled at her partner. ‘Harry Shaw was a complete waste of space, in my opinion. The only thing he was interested in was seeing how many women he could sweet-talk into his bed.’

‘Mmm, he did have rather an effect on the ladies,’ Miles observed admiringly. He cleared his throat when he saw Grace’s expression darken. ‘But, all that aside, you have to admit that Harry was one of the brightest students in our year. It was the same during our pre-reg training when we were at Leeds together. It was Harry who was tipped for great things and he’s achieved them, too. You must have followed his progress over the years, surely?’

Grace ignored the question. She had no intention of admitting that she’d been keeping tabs on Harry. To be frank, she wasn’t sure why she’d bothered when she disliked the wretched man so much. Maybe it had been a way to prove to herself that she didn’t care about professional glory and only wanted to do her job to the very best of her ability, but she could have recited Harry’s CV from memory: the youngest consultant ever appointed to a post; Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians; member of the new government health service advisory committee…

‘Then why does he want to work here?’ Grace blanked out the rest of Harry’s glittering résumé because it really wasn’t relevant. She fixed Miles with a look that made him squirm but she refused to feel guilty. Once Miles got an idea into his head, it was difficult to make him see sense, but there was no way that she was going to agree to his latest proposal.

‘Just look at the facts, Miles. We run a very busy rural practice here. We don’t take private patients and we certainly don’t have any VIPs on our list. We’re just your average, run-of-the-mill GPs’ surgery and I find it hard to understand why Harry would offer to work here. So you tell me, what’s in it for Harry?’

‘The pleasure of your company?’

Grace spun round when a familiar voice cut into the conversation. Her mouth thinned when she spotted Harry lounging in the doorway. It had been some time since she’d seen him but he’d changed very little from what she could tell. As her eyes skimmed over the coal-black hair, the marine-blue eyes, the clean-cut jaw, she couldn’t stop the appreciative flutter her nerves gave, a warning that she was as susceptible as any woman to Harry Shaw’s undoubted charms. The difference was that she knew what he was really like and she wasn’t about to be taken in by good looks and a nice line in chat.

‘I’m flattered, Harry. Or I would be if I was fool enough to believe you.’ She treated him to a chilly smile which wavered when she saw the expression that crossed his face. Good heavens, surely Harry’s feelings hadn’t been hurt by that remark.

‘Harry, good to see you again. I was beginning to wonder if you’d got lost. I’m hopeless at giving people directions, I’m afraid.’ Miles leapt to his feet and rushed across the room to greet him.

Grace dismissed that fanciful notion when she realised what her partner had said. She looked accusingly at him as he led Harry over to the desk. ‘You never mentioned that you’d invited Harry here tonight.’

‘Didn’t I? Purely an oversight, I assure you.’ Miles fussed around, fetching a chair and taking Harry’s overcoat. He hung it on the peg behind the door then looked pleadingly at Grace. ‘I know we haven’t had time to discuss this, but you know as well as I do that we desperately need help. I’ve been onto the agency every single day this week about hiring another locum but they simply haven’t got anyone on their books willing to relocate at this time of the year. Nobody wants to spend the winter months in such a remote part of the country, apparently.’

‘So what you’re saying is that it’s Harry or nothing,’ Grace said sweetly.

‘Well, I wouldn’t put it quite like that,’ Miles blustered in embarrassment, although Harry didn’t seem the least perturbed by her bluntness.

‘Why not, if it’s true?’ He clapped Miles on the shoulder then smiled at Grace. ‘A bit of a dilemma for you, isn’t it? It’s a choice between letting me loose on your patients or going under. I’d find it very difficult to choose in your shoes, too, Gracie.’

‘Don’t call me that.’ She sat down behind her desk and glared at him. ‘You know how I hate stupid nicknames.’

‘Sorry.’

He didn’t sound sorry but short of making a fuss and thereby letting him think he’d scored a point, there was nothing she could do about it. She smiled up at him, her grey eyes colder than the January sky outside the consulting-room window. ‘Apology accepted. So shall we start from the beginning? Why have you offered to work here when you made it abundantly clear in the past what you thought about general practice?’

‘Because you and Miles need a helping hand.’

Harry sat down and crossed one long leg over the other as he waited for her next sally. Grace wasn’t fool enough to go rushing in unprepared, however. She took the time to study him instead.

He was as impeccably dressed as ever, she noted sourly, the black suit he was wearing obviously not something he’d picked up off the peg. He’d teamed it with a pale blue shirt and a jaunty red and blue silk tie that must have cost a small fortune, but, then, money had never been a problem for Harry because his family was loaded. Harry was used to having the best of everything and it showed.