Emily Forbes – A Doctor By Day... (страница 1)
TEMPTED & TAMED
Meeting the hottest guys in town changes the lives of sisters Scarlett and Ruby Anderson for ever!
When sensible Scarlett is tempted by sinfully sexy Jake—a doctor by day and a
And rebellious Ruby finally finds a reason to stick around as deliciously hot racing car driver Noah becomes the only man to tame her!
Be tempted and tamed by these red-hot heroes in Emily Forbes’s delectable duet:
A Doctor by Day…
Emily Forbes
I’d like to introduce you to the Anderson sisters—Scarlett, Ruby and Rose—and their search for a happily-ever-after. Scarlett doesn’t think she needs one, Ruby doesn’t think she deserves one, and Rose looks as if she might not get one. But all that is about to change…
In A DOCTOR BY DAY… Scarlett—the rational, clever, eldest sister—is swept off her feet by Jake, a sexy younger man with an unconventional part-time job who upends her orderly world and steals her heart. And in TAMED BY THE RENEGADE Ruby, the rebellious middle sister, falls in love for the first time when gorgeous Noah gets under her defences and teaches her how to love and accept—not only him, but also herself.
These two Anderson sisters might not have a lot in common, but I discovered they both have a thing for good-looking bare-chested men and, as usual, I had fun creating the heroes for my heroines. Jake and Noah are strong and loyal, smart and sexy, with slight non-conformist streaks—perfect for Scarlett and Ruby, even if they take some convincing.
I hope you enjoy these first two stories. I haven’t decided if I’ll give Rose her own story yet—she’s putting up a good case for it in my imagination, but I’m tempted to let you decide. If you’d like to read about Rose I’d love to hear from you. Drop me a line at emilyforbes@internode.on.net
Until then, happy reading
For romance readers everywhere, this book is written as a thank-you to anyone who has ever read one of my stories.
I started writing this story just after I won the Australian Romantic Book of the Year award for SYDNEY HARBOUR HOSPITAL: BELLA’S WISHLIST.
I was thrilled and honoured to win a RuBY, which is a reader-voted award, and I definitely couldn’t have done it without your support.
I hope you enjoy this book too, and in particular Jake. He is my gift to you!
Love, Emily
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
EPILOGUE
‘LET ME GET this straight. Richard proposed and you turned him down?’
Scarlett turned and leant in close to her friend’s ear, taking care to avoid the spiky tips of Mel’s short pixie haircut. ‘Shh,’ she whispered. ‘I don’t want everyone to know and I’m sure Richard doesn’t either.’
Mel’s voice hadn’t been overly loud but this wasn’t a conversation Scarlett wanted the rest of the girls in their party to hear. She worked with most of them and she didn’t want to be the subject of rampant hospital gossip and she certainly didn’t want to be the one to start a tale.
She flicked a glance over their group but most of the girls seemed to be more focused on getting inside the club than listening to her and Mel. Candice, the bride-to-be, was at the front of the line, the long white veil she wore making it obvious she was the hen on the hen’s night. The veil was longer than her dress and Scarlett thought she looked ridiculous but what would she know, hen’s nights were not really her thing.
Neither was fashion, she thought as she wriggled her toes, trying to encourage some circulation into her extremities. Her feet were killing her. She’d borrowed a pair of platform stilettos to team with her simple black dress. The shoes and her make-up were the only concessions she’d made to dressing up for the night out but the strappy sandals were proving to be a big mistake.
Scarlett’s taste in clothing tended towards timeless classics, she wasn’t a trend follower. It was a waste of good money, in her opinion, and her feet were now reminding her of her momentary lapse of reason. She couldn’t wait to get inside and sit down. The short walk from the restaurant in Leigh Street to the Hindley Street club was about her limit in five-inch heels.
She couldn’t believe she was keen to get into the club. Spending an evening at a male revue, especially one called The Coop, wasn’t something she had ever done before and she could only imagine what the experience would be like—although if the guy on the door was any example she wasn’t going to need to rely on her imagination.
Candice’s name was on the door, allowing them to bypass the queue and giving them free entry. Apparently Candice knew someone who worked here and Scarlett wondered where on earth you’d meet someone who worked in a strip club, but as the cute young shirtless guy on the door ushered them inside she decided she didn’t care, all she wanted was to sit down.
‘I want to hear all about it once we’re inside,’ Mel said, as another buffed and shirtless male greeted them and led them to their table. The club was dimly lit and it took Scarlett’s eyes some time to adjust to the lighting. A T-shaped stage jutted out into the centre of the club, the catwalk stretching into the tables that were clustered around the stage. A mirrored bar lined the far wall and a dance floor hugged the back wall and was already packed with young women dancing and singing. The noise level was high and almost unpleasant, but Scarlett hoped that might work in her favour. Perhaps the noise would make any sort of conversation impossible.
She followed the girls to their table, which was front and centre at the end of the catwalk, and sank into a chair. Jugs of bright green cocktails were delivered, promptly poured into glasses and passed around, and Mel waited only until everyone had a drink before she continued her interrogation.
‘So Richard was lying in his hospital bed, recovering from heart surgery, working up the nerve to propose, and then you knocked him back?’ she asked, as she sipped her drink. It seemed Scarlett wasn’t going to get out of this.
‘It wasn’t like that,’ Scarlett protested. Surely Mel couldn’t believe she’d be that heartless.
‘Don’t tell me he was down on one knee beside his bed?’
‘No.’ Scarlett shook her head. ‘He was out of hospital.’
‘Well, that makes all the difference,’ Mel teased. ‘How did he take it when you said no?’
Scarlett could tell Mel was enjoying her discomfort but she had made her decision for what she knew were perfectly valid reasons and she wasn’t going to marry the guy just because he’d had a mid-life revelation.
‘He was okay. What other choice did he have really? It was my decision. He can’t change my mind. I think marriage is overrated and it’s not for me.’
‘Don’t let Candice hear you.’
‘She already knows. Richard showed her the ring he bought me, he wanted her opinion.’
‘He bought you a ring!?’
Scarlett nodded.
‘What was it like?’ Mel’s curiosity took another turn.
‘Gorgeous,’ she admitted. And it had been. A squarecut solitaire, over one carat in size, set in platinum. It was in a traditional setting and was exactly right for her, classic and expensive. ‘Almost gorgeous enough that I wanted to accept his proposal.’