The Surgeon and the Princess Karin Baine (websites to read books for free .TXT) 📖

Gabriel and Brigitte were the people he returned to often and kept in constant contact with when away from Nice. As a teen he’d had his own room in their house, and it was still his. Only with them did he have a complete sense of belonging. There was no family history to hold on to.

The only information he had was that his father had died when he was twelve months old and his mother had never replied to any of the letters he’d written to her as a child. If she ever got them. He’d met her briefly when he was fourteen. She had told him she’d started taking drugs soon after he was born and by the time she’d left him, she’d got deeper into the criminal world to feed her habit.

She believed she’d done the right thing by her son and to have visited him at all would have been worse than staying away. After that meeting, she had gone again and not many months later he’d learned she’d died of an overdose.

Mallory brushed past him, steaming mug in hand, as she headed for the lounge.

He was being gloomy. His life had moved on, improved, and there were all sorts of opportunities out there if he let go of the past. Letting the coffee stand, he joined Mallory, settling into a large leather armchair. ‘Tell me about flying helicopters. What work do you do?’

A tired smile stretched her mouth wide and lit up her equally tired eyes. ‘My full-time job mostly involves flying sightseeing trips up to the snow slopes or around the mountains, out to Milford Sound. Sometimes there are other trips, taking business people to cities up and down the South Island. It keeps me busy, and volunteering for Search and Rescue is an added bonus. My boss is happy for me to help out, but it has to be in my free time.’

Josue could listen to her voice all night. The Kiwi accent was sharper than European ones, but he liked its clarity, especially mixed with Mallory’s softness. Careful, Jos. It was strange to be feeling a woman’s voice, looks, attitude as warm and encompassing so easily. Could he finally be moving past the doubts that usually blocked him from believing anything was possible? Yet he was still overthinking everything. Though he was feeling more relaxed and comfortable than usual, none of that meant he could suddenly settle into a stable life and always be there for a woman he might fall in love with.

‘As an S and R volunteer I also do some of the rescue flights, though I’m only the back-up pilot when others are unable to attend.’

‘Like today.’

Her mouth dropped, and she blinked rapidly. ‘Yes. Any rescue that involves seriously injured people, or worse, upsets me, and not only when it’s someone very close to me.’

He wanted to hug away that pain, but they didn’t know each other well enough. She might misinterpret the gesture. ‘I understand, but those sentiments are why we do the job in the first place.’ Was she completely relaxed with him? Why question it, Jos? Just accept Mallory for who she appears to be. His heart softened. Not many people in his past had been so accepting of him so fast. They’d wanted to know his history in other foster homes and schools before they’d asked if he liked eating beef, if they asked anything personal.

As an adult, he still looked for that reaction, and found it hard these days to accept that it was normal curiosity that had people asking questions about his job, family, past. His fault, but another old habit hard to let go. It stopped his expectations getting away from him, and stopped him from even beginning to wonder if he could be a good father if he ever got into a permanent relationship.

The TV remote Mallory had picked up remained still in her hand. ‘There’s also the adventure of heading out on foot into the bush or up a mountain to look for people who’ve got into trouble.’ She spoke faster, higher, and the spark was back in her gaze.

‘You’re an adrenaline junkie?’

Now a grin came his way. ‘As long as I operate safely and carefully, yes.’

He usually liked quiet women, not ones who attacked the world, but here he was, enjoying Mallory’s company a lot. Was he more tired than he realised? Or was this the attraction? ‘Remind me not to have an argument with you.’ He didn’t know if the adrenaline junkie ever took over from the careful, safe woman at the controls.

Her laughter filled the room, and his chest. ‘Think I’d toss you out of the chopper?’

‘Not a chance. I’m not going for a ride with you.’ His grin came automatically, as though he was totally at ease with Mallory. At this realisation, his mouth flattened and he went to pour his coffee, trying to stifle the sudden sense there was a storm coming his way, one that would pick him up and shake out the past, open the gates to hope and something far more foreign—happiness. And stability.

His over-tired mind was playing games with him. He really knew nothing about this woman, and certainly not enough to wipe away everything that had kept him strong and safe over the years. Glancing around, his gaze landed on one of the photos that had caught at his heart earlier. Mallory sitting on the sofa she was on now, with her maman and père beside her, smiles splitting everyone’s faces and love filling their eyes. Did she know how lucky she was? Lucky they had been there for her, had kept her with them and loved her so much?

For once he didn’t feel the bitterness that rose when he saw families together like this. The air of confidence clinging to Mallory suggested that her family’s love had made her strong and kind; the reasons he was staying here tonight and not along the