Unwrapped By The Duke. Amy Ruttan

had become bitter, even more so, and Thomas had resented that woman for making his father miserable. Of course, that hadn’t worked out well for Geraldine or Lord Collins either.

      He’d done research last night, checking on Lord Twinsbury, and that research had been Lord Twinsbury actually telling him a thing or two about what had happened.

      Although Lord Collins had been head over heels in love with Geraldine’s mother, the two had come from two different worlds and had not been suited. She had been a friend of a friend and had gate-crashed a party his father and Charles had both attended. And both of them had been enchanted by her. Apparently Geraldine’s mother was cruel, emotionless, and had crushed Charles’s heart.

      Charles had never known until recently that his short-lived marriage had produced a daughter. According to Charles, his ex-wife had left not knowing she was pregnant and hadn’t bothered to tell him she was carrying his child.

      Thomas couldn’t even begin to imagine the pain that must’ve caused Charles.

      For Charles may have been a rascal and rogue in his younger halcyon days, but he knew Charles had suffered from an unimaginable heartache. He knew that Charles was trying to do his best to bridge the gap between him and Geraldine.

      Only Geraldine was not meeting Charles halfway and he couldn’t help but wonder why.

      Thomas loved his father, but his father had always been a bit too distant, a bit bitter, and Thomas had spent most of his childhood at boarding school. He knew that his father had had a hard time looking at him because it had reminded him of his dearly departed wife. Thomas had had a lonely childhood, deprived of love.

      “Ah, ‘what tangled webs we weave,’” Thomas muttered under his breath.

      You should keep moving. Stop staring at her.

      Only he couldn’t help but stare at her.

      Unlike his father, he had never had his heart torn apart by grief, although he had experienced a disastrous infatuation in his youth. A woman who had been more interested in the title he was to inherit. The social status. She hadn’t loved him for himself.

      “Why do you need to work as a surgeon? Your family has enough money and land. Why not run your estates?”

      “Cassandra, that’s not what I want. I love medicine. I love surgery and saving lives is my passion.”

      She had never understood him. Not really, and he’d been blinded by lust. Then his father had died of undiagnosed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and Thomas had found out he had the genetic predisposition for it too. He’d decided then and there that family was not for him. Especially when he’d seen how small a comfort Cassandra would be should the worst happen. Suddenly, to her, he had been defective. A lesser being. Being alone was far better.

      Was it?

      He shook his head in disgust with himself.

      He’d only been around Geraldine Collins for a day and she was getting under his skin. He couldn’t allow her to do that.

      You can seduce her. You are after all the Dark Duke.

      Maybe if he had her once it would purge her from his system.

      What am I doing?

      He ran a hand through his hair. He was actually standing outside a patient’s room and contemplating seducing the estranged daughter of his colleague, a physician he truly admired. When had he become so jaded?

      But he knew the answer to that.

      “Lord Twinsbury seems to have stabilized,” Geraldine said, coming out of ICU and disposing of her gown and gloves. “What is your assessment, Mr. Ashwood?”

      “I think he should stay in the intensive care unit for now. The last time I thought his condition had stabilized, we prepped him to take him out of the ICU and his stats took a dive. It’s better he stay here for now. There’s no rush to move him.”

      Geraldine nodded. “Well, I’ve done all I can here. I think I’ll head back to the practice and assist my father.”

      “Yes, that’s probably for the best. Do you want me to escort you back to Harley Street?”

      She smiled at him. “I think I can find my way back there. I managed to get from Holland Park to there.”

      “Holland Park?”

      “I’m staying with my father for the time being, just until I find my own place, but I have to say that I’m enjoying his town house in Holland Park. It’s peaceful there. So different from Glasgow.”

      “Yes, Holland Park is one of my favorite places. I have a flat in Notting Hill, actually. I have a very spacious flat.”

      “You’re not far away, then,” she said.

      Thomas shrugged. “As you said, Harley Street is not far from Kensington. Twenty some odd minutes on Westway.”

      “As long as it’s not jammed.” They chuckled together over that goofy private joke. A blush tinged her cheeks and she tucked an errant strand of brown hair behind her ear, drawing his attention to her long slender neck. It was in that moment that pink tinged her creamy white skin that he knew he was in serious trouble. She was beautiful.

      He had to make his excuses and get out of there. It was best if he kept his distance from her. They were business partners and nothing more. That’s all they could be and the fact that he had to keep reminding himself of that was not a good sign.

      “Well, I have some other surgical patients to make rounds on. I’ll leave you to your work.” It was a complete lie. There was no one else to see, but the more he lingered here the harder it was to leave. He found himself enjoying her company.

      “I’ll see you later. I should head back to the practice.” She nodded and walked away from him, doing what he couldn’t do. And he watched her walk down the hall toward the elevators.

      This was bad.

      When had she gone from someone he loathed—someone he planned to put through her paces because he wanted Charles’s practice all to himself—to not being able to tear himself away from her? Escorting her to the hospital and admiring the flush of her skin, the red of her lips and wondering what it would be like to take her in his arms and kiss her?

      The moment you saw her.

      Which was true. He may have been rude to her when she was in the doctors’ lounge, but when he’d seen her sitting there, looking around, he couldn’t help but be intrigued by her. Why she was there and who she was.

      And he knew that he was in big trouble if he didn’t tread carefully.

      The problem was he wasn’t sure if he could stop himself.

      * * *

      Why did I let my father make an appointment for me?

      Geri tried to really listen to what the stylist was saying as she was wandered around Harvey Nichols, but all the dresses blurred together in a great amorphous blob of color. When she’d got back to Harley Street, she’d met some patients and then her father had announced that Jensen was taking her to Knightsbridge to buy a dress for the social gathering she didn’t want to attend.

      “As my heiress you have to attend.”

      “I’m not an heiress. I’m just a doctor from Glasgow.”

      “I’m sorry, Geraldine, but as my only child you are an heiress.”

      “Why couldn’t I be illegitimate?”

      “Believe me, your mother isn’t the only one who regrets our marriage.” Then he gasped. “I didn’t mean it like that. I didn’t mean...I’m glad you’re here, Geraldine.”

      “I know, Father. It’s okay.”

      Geri had chuckled over that. Her mother had often reminded her she’d made a mistake in marrying her father.

      “I