Summer of Love by Marie Ferrarella (easy to read books for adults list .TXT) 📕

‘Good. Then it won’t cause any problems if I’m in charge of the practice in your uncle’s absence.’

‘The only problem I have is understanding why you’ve agreed to do it. I mean, working in the middle of nowhere is hardly a step up the professional ladder, is it, Daniel?’

Daniel flinched when he heard the scorn in her voice. It didn’t make it any easier to know that he only had himself to blame for it either. He’d been so desperate to convince her that there was no future for them that he had led her to believe that all he was interested in was his career. Now he was reaping the consequences.

‘It’s all good experience,’ he said quietly. ‘Plus, I’m very fond of your aunt and uncle. I’m happy to help in any way I can.’

‘How very altruistic of you.’ She smiled but her green eyes were chilly. ‘Of course a cynic would wonder if there was an ulterior motive to your generosity. Still, I’m sure the truth will come out at some stage.’

She turned away before he could reply, not that he could think of anything to say in his defence. Emma wouldn’t believe him if he told her that he wasn’t interested in personal advancement and never had been. All of a sudden he bitterly regretted those claims he had made about going into private practice one day, but what else could he have done? Accepted what she’d been offering him, knowing that it could ruin both their lives?

Daniel’s heart was heavy as he excused himself and made his way along the corridor. There was a coffee machine at the bottom of the stairs and he fed some coins into it. It disgorged a stream of insipid-looking liquid into a plastic cup but he didn’t care how it looked or tasted even. He took it over to the window and stood there staring out across the town. Avondale was a pretty little market town in the middle of the Yorkshire Dales. During the summer months, the population virtually doubled thanks to a steady influx of tourists, but at this time of the year there were few tourists willing to brave the inclement weather. He had first come to the town to do his GP training and that was how he had met Emma. She had just completed her rotations and was enjoying a well-deserved break before she took up a junior registrar’s post in Scotland with a top surgical team.

Daniel knew that competition for surgical posts was always fierce, and that it was particularly hard for a woman to break into that field. Whilst most consultants paid lip service to the idea of equality between the sexes, far too many refused to accept a woman as part of their team. The old prejudices were still rife: what was the point of training a woman when she would only leave to have a family? That Emma had overcome such narrow-minded thinking and secured a prestigious post for herself proved how hard she must have worked. He was impressed. He was also deeply attracted to her.

Almost before he’d realised what was happening, Daniel had fallen in love with her and she with him. It had been a gloriously blissful time for them both until Emma had announced one day that she had changed her mind about going into surgery. She no longer wanted such a demanding career, she’d claimed. She wanted a private life, time for them, so she would stay in England and train as a GP instead. That way they could be together.

Daniel had realised immediately that he couldn’t allow her to sacrifice her dreams for him. Although she might truly have believed that she was happy to give up her plans to become a surgeon, he knew how much it meant to her and that it would drive a wedge between them eventually if she didn’t fulfil her goals. He had seen it happen to his own parents, watched as his mother’s resentment at forsaking her career had eaten away at their marriage, and he had sworn the same thing would never happen to him.

For Emma to succeed in her chosen field, Daniel knew that she would need to focus all her attention on her training for the next few years. Even though he could have found a job in Scotland easily enough, he realised that it wasn’t the answer. She would be working long hours and wouldn’t have time to devote to a relationship. He would be a distraction for her, a hindrance, and he couldn’t bear the thought that she might fail because of him. Although it was the hardest decision he had ever made, he decided that he had to give Emma up rather than run the risk of her ending up hating him.

He sighed as he recalled her shock when he had told her curtly that he had no intention of making a commitment at that stage in his life. He had plans for the future and they were far more important than their relationship. The contempt in her eyes as she had told him that she understood had devastated him. He had almost weakened at that point and admitted that he’d lied, but somehow he had managed to hold back. She had packed her bags and left that same night and he hadn’t seen her again until today.

The sound of footsteps made him look round and he felt pain stab his heart when he saw her coming along the corridor. She must have come straight to the hospital from the airport because her clothes were crumpled after the long flight, her red-gold hair lying in tangled waves around her shoulders, but that didn’t matter. She was still the most beautiful and most desirable woman he had ever seen. It was only when she drew closer that Daniel could see the lines of strain that tugged down the corners of her mouth.

He knew from what Jim Haynes had told