Summer of Love Marie Ferrarella (easy books to read in english TXT) 📖

Daniel laughed. ‘I shall try my very best not to fuss, I promise you.’ He pulled up a chair and sat down, trying to ignore the fact that Emma was sitting next to him. He had to stop being so aware of her and treat her as he would any colleague, politely and civilly. If he could stick to that there wouldn’t be a problem.

‘Good.’ Jim frowned. ‘So how is everything at the surgery? Emma insists that it’s all going swimmingly but I doubt if she’d tell me even if it weren’t. The main thing is, are you coping?’

‘Yes, we are.’ Daniel leant forward, feeling heat flash along his veins when his arm brushed against Emma’s. Even though he was wearing a jacket he could feel the contact in every cell. He cleared his throat, keeping his gaze centred on the other man so that it wouldn’t wander in her direction. It would be silly to check if she had felt that same flicker of awareness run through her.

He gave Jim a complete rundown about what had been happening. He sensed that Emma wasn’t happy about him going into so much detail but he guessed that it would worry Jim more if he tried to gloss over how busy it had been. He realised he was right when he saw the frown disappear from the older man’s face after he finished.

‘Excellent. It’s good to know the practice is in such safe hands,’ Jim declared. ‘Now I can let Margaret whisk me away to the cottage to recuperate without having to worry about what’s going on here.’

‘How did you know that I was planning on taking you to the cottage?’ Margaret demanded. ‘I’ve never even mentioned it!’

‘After forty years of marriage, my dear, I can read you like an open book,’ Jim told her, winking at them.

Everyone laughed at that and then Daniel stood up. ‘I don’t want to tire you out so I won’t stay any longer. Take care of yourself, Jim, and do what your doctor orders.’

‘Oh, I shall.’ Jim raised his eyes to the heavens. ‘I don’t have a choice with this pair standing guard over me!’

Daniel was still laughing as he left ICU. He made his way along the corridor, pausing when he heard Emma calling him. He waited for her to catch him up, wondering what misdemeanour he was guilty of this time. He was already steeling himself for another tongue-lashing when she came to a halt.

‘I just wanted to say that you were right. Uncle Jim did need to hear it from you that everything was all right at the surgery.’

‘Oh … right … thank you.’

Daniel was so shocked that he couldn’t think of anything else to say. She gave him a tight little smile then turned and hurried away. He carried on walking, only realising that he must have walked straight past the lifts when he came to the end of the corridor and could go no further. He turned around and went back the way he’d come, thinking about what Emma had said.

Maybe he was reading too much into it but it was good to know that she thought he’d done something right for a change.

He groaned as he punched the button to summon the lift. How pathetic was that? A few words of praise from Emma and all of a sudden the world seemed like a much brighter place!

Emma was home well in time for evening surgery. Her aunt had returned with her but only to pack a bag. Margaret Haynes had decided to stay at a friend’s house close to the hospital to save her having to make the journey back and forth. It meant that Emma and Daniel would be on their own again that night and for many more nights to come.

Emma washed her hands and then made her way round to the surgery, determined that she wasn’t going to waste her time worrying about it. They were both adults and more than capable of sharing the house for the next few weeks. She was due back in Scotland in just over a month’s time so it wasn’t as though the situation was going to last indefinitely. Obviously, if she’d needed to take over the practice while her uncle recuperated, she would have had to arrange compassionate leave, but with Daniel here that wouldn’t be necessary. He would be able to run things until Uncle Jim was well enough to return to work.

She frowned, wondering once again why Daniel had agreed to give up so much of his time to help. Although she knew that he had got on well with her uncle while he’d been doing his GP training, she hadn’t realised the two men had kept in touch. Her aunt and uncle had never mentioned Daniel over the years and she certainly hadn’t asked about him. She had wanted to expunge the whole unhappy episode from her life rather than dwell on it. It made her feel uneasy all of a sudden to wonder if Daniel had ever asked about her.

Emma quickly dismissed the thought as she pushed open the surgery door. Daniel had demonstrated his lack of interest five years ago in the most effective way possible!

‘I’m afraid evening surgery doesn’t start until four.’

Emma glanced up when she realised someone was speaking to her. She smiled at the young woman behind the reception desk. ‘You must be Claire.’

‘That’s right. How did you know.? Oh, you must be Emma!’ The other woman blushed. ‘I’m so sorry. Ruth told me that you’d probably be coming in tonight, but I was expecting someone much older.’ She clapped her hand over her mouth, obviously wishing she hadn’t said that, and Emma laughed.

‘Thank you. I shall take that as a compliment. Believe me, some days I feel as old as Methuselah, so it’s nice to know that I don’t actually look it!’ She glanced