Surgeon Of The Heart. Sharon Kendrick

       ‘Do you want to dance some more?’

      Cat’s voice sounded heavy, drowsy. ‘No.’

      ‘A drink, then? Some more grappa?’

      ‘No.’

      ‘What, then? This. . .?’ And Nico bent his head and started to kiss her. ‘Is this what you wanted all the time, my little Cat?’

      ‘Oh, yes,’ she breathed, against his parted lips. ‘Yes. Yes.’

      Dear Reader,

      One hundred. Doesn’t matter how many times I say it, I still can’t believe that’s how many books I’ve written. It’s a fabulous feeling but more fabulous still is the news that Mills & Boon are issuing every single one of my backlist as digital titles. Wow. I can’t wait to share all my stories with you - which are as vivid to me now as when I wrote them.

      There’s BOUGHT FOR HER HUSBAND, with its outrageously macho Greek hero and A SCANDAL, A SECRET AND A BABY featuring a very sexy Tuscan. THE SHEIKH’S HEIR proved so popular with readers that it spent two weeks on the USA Today charts and…well, I could go on, but I’ll leave you to discover them for yourselves.

      I remember the first line of my very first book: “So you’ve come to Australia looking for a husband?” Actually, the heroine had gone to Australia to escape men, but guess what? She found a husband all the same! The man who inspired that book rang me up recently and when I told him I was beginning my 100th story and couldn’t decide what to write, he said, “Why don’t you go back to where it all started?”

      So I did. And that’s how A ROYAL VOW OF CONVENIENCE was born. It opens in beautiful Queensland and moves to England and New York. It’s about a runaway princess and the enigmatic billionaire who is infuriated by her, yet who winds up rescuing her. But then, she goes and rescues him… Wouldn’t you know it?

      I’ll end by saying how very grateful I am to have a career I love, and to thank each and every one of you who has supported me along the way. You really are very dear readers.

      Love,

      Sharon xxx

      Mills & Boon are proud to present a thrilling digital collection of all Sharon Kendrick’s novels and novellas for us to celebrate the publication of her amazing and awesome 100th book! Sharon is known worldwide for her likeable, spirited heroines and her gorgeous, utterly masculine heroes.

      SHARON KENDRICK once won a national writing competition, describing her ideal date: being flown to an exotic island by a gorgeous and powerful man. Little did she realise that she’d just wandered into her dream job! Today she writes for Mills & Boon, featuring her often stubborn but always to-die-for heroes and the women who bring them to their knees. She believes that the best books are those you never want to end. Just like life…

      Surgeon of the Heart

      Sharon Kendrick

      writing as Sharon Wirdnam

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      Contents

       Cover

       Dear Reader

       About the Author

       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

       Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

      ‘CAT! Hey, Cat! Over here!’

      Catriona, who had been trying very hard to slip out of the marbled foyer of the hotel unnoticed, turned reluctantly to face the speaker, a beefily built fellow nurse called Beth, who had scarcely left her side since the conference had begun. As she turned, the heavy red-gold hair swung in a deliciously shimmering bell, causing more than one appreciative Italian eye to linger on her slender figure.

      ‘There you are, Cat!’ said Beth, her voice sounding distinctly accusing. ‘I thought you were going to meet us down here for a drink. You’ve been ages! What on earth have you been doing?’

      ‘Sorry,’ said Catriona automatically, slightly surprised herself by her unusual lack of punctuality. ‘But the view from my room is so—so glorious that I sat for ages just gazing out—I must have got a bit carried away.’

      Appreciation of Roman landscapes obviously came very low down on Beth’s list of priorities, for her aggrieved expression remained unchanged. ‘Well, it’s too late for a drink now. Guess what?’ It was a question that clearly required no answer, for she babbled on eagerly. ‘Glenn and David have said they’ll join us for dinner. Isn’t that great?’

      ‘Oh——’ Catriona had been about to say ‘oh, dear’, but she amended it hastily. The two red-blooded registrars from Cardiff had been in hot pursuit for the three days since she’d been in Rome. Frankly, she was sick of the sight of them. They just couldn’t seem to get the message that she was simply not interested. After all, they were doctors, weren’t they? And didn’t every doctor know that there was one reason, and one reason alone, why any girl should enter the nursing profession, and that was to carry off the ultimate prize—a doctor husband?

      ‘And we’ve found the most fantastic restaurant,’ rattled on Beth excitedly, flashing her eyes at Glenn, not noticing that his attention was totally taken up with the green-eyed girl with the shiny red-gold hair who stood before him. ‘It isn’t far from here, Cat—and you’ll never guess what.’

      ‘What?’ asked Cat, wondering how she instinctively knew what was about to follow.