The Pregnant Surgeon. Jennifer Taylor

      

      Joanna’s mouth traveled down his neck, scattering kisses at random, and his throat moved convulsively as he swallowed down his next words

      There was no point telling her that he wanted her feelings to last for longer than just this moment. It would only spoil what they had and he wouldn’t do that.

      Dylan pulled her down onto his lap and kissed her with every scrap of pent-up emotion he possessed. They had barely three days to make a lifetime of memories and he wasn’t going to waste a second. Maybe they would go back to normal after that, but maybe, just maybe, she would think about what had happened this weekend and wonder if she was right to be so against them having a real relationship.

      It was the dimmest ray of hope, but it was something to hold on to.

Dear Reader,

      A woman’s role in society has changed dramatically in the past thirty years. However, even in these enlightened times, surgery is one of the hardest fields in which a woman can succeed. Joanna Martin, the heroine of this book, has pursued her dream of becoming a surgeon with single-minded determination and now, on her forty-second birthday, she is on her way to achieving everything she set out to do.

      As the newly appointed head of surgery at St. Leonard’s Hospital in London, Joanna has no time for a personal life and certainly doesn’t need the distraction of falling in love with a man several years her junior. Yet, she soon discovers that it isn’t easy to shut Dylan Archer out of her life. Every day that they work together, their feelings for one another grow stronger, but is she really willing to risk her career for the sake of love?

      I hope you enjoy this book and feel, by the end of it, that Joanna has made the right decision.

      Best wishes,

      Jennifer

       www.jennifer-taylor.com

      The Pregnant Surgeon

      Jennifer Taylor

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      MILLS & BOON

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      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

       Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

      IT WAS her forty-second birthday today.

      As she got out of her car, Joanna Martin felt suddenly depressed by the thought. It was odd because birthdays had never worried her before. With each year that had passed she had gained greater professional standing and that was all that had mattered to her. Even in these enlightened times there was still a great deal of opposition to women becoming surgeons. She’d had to work twice as hard as any man to achieve her goal, and she’d had to sacrifice an awful lot along the way.

      Joanna frowned as she strode towards the hospital’s main entrance. She had never considered her decision to focus on her career as a sacrifice before and it surprised her that the thought should have crossed her mind at this stage. Her recent promotion to head of surgery at St Leonard’s Hospital in central London should have been all the proof she needed that she’d made the right decision. So maybe she’d had to forfeit any kind of a personal life but surely it had been worth it? She only had to recall the statistics to know how few women ever reached her level. Surgery was notoriously chauvinistic and very few women possessed the drive to make their way to the top.

      She had done so, though, and she should be celebrating her achievements rather than feeling depressed by the thought of what she had given up along the way. Any woman could have a home and a family if that was what she wanted but not many had the kind of fulfilling career she enjoyed.

      The thought was heartening and Joanna felt much better as she made her way along the maze of corridors to the lift. St Leonard’s was one of the city’s oldest hospitals and an absolute warren of rooms and passageways. Although there were signs posted at various strategic points, many people got lost on their way to the surgical department.

      Joanna checked her watch as she got into the lift, wondering if she should ask her secretary to phone Reception and request that someone should show Dr Archer the way when he arrived. She had a full list that morning and the last thing she needed was her new senior registrar getting lost en route. It wouldn’t be the first time it had happened although, to be fair, Dylan Archer hadn’t struck her as someone who would need help finding his way. He’d seemed far too confident for that.

      A shiver raced down Joanna’s spine and she paused before opening the door to her office, wondering why she experienced this odd tingling sensation whenever she thought about the new registrar. She’d become aware of it