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       For Max, my gorgeous little grandson. The best Christmas present I’ve ever had.

      CHAPTER ONE

      ‘AND this is my godson, Tom Bradbury. Tom has very kindly been helping out until you arrived. Tom, this is Hannah Morris, my new colleague. I’m sure you must be almost as delighted to see her as I am!’

      ‘Nice to meet you, Dr Bradbury.’ Hannah pinned a polite smile to her lips when the younger man laughed. She wasn’t going to be drawn into asking why he should be so pleased to see her because she wasn’t interested. She’d had her fair share of tall, dark, handsome men and intended to steer well clear of anyone who fitted that description in the future.

      ‘It’s good to meet you too, Hannah. But, please, forget the title and call me Tom.’ He held out his hand, leaving her with no option other than to take it.

      Hannah felt a quiver of awareness run through her when their palms touched and tensed. She didn’t want to feel anything for this man, yet there was no denying the surge of electricity that was racing along her veins. It was a relief when he released her and turned to Simon Harper, the senior partner in the practice.

      ‘We don’t stand on ceremony around here, do we, Simon?’

      ‘Certainly not.’ Simon smiled at her. ‘Most of our patients call us by our first names, so I hope that won’t bother you, my dear. The days when the local GP was considered only second to God in the pecking order are long gone, I’m pleased to say.’

      ‘Of course not.’ Hannah summoned another smile although she had to admit that the idea of being on such familiar terms with her patients would take some getting used to. She had always preferred to maintain a professional distance and hadn’t encouraged that kind of familiarity, but if that was the way things were done at Bride’s Bay Surgery then she would have to get used to it.

      ‘I’d stop right there if I were you, Simon. You don’t want to scare her off!’

      Hannah stiffened when Tom Bradbury laughed again. He really did have the most attractive laugh, she thought, the richly mellow tones making goose-bumps break out all over her body. She cleared her throat, refusing to dwell on the reason why it’d had such a strange effect on her. ‘There’s no danger of that. Although, admittedly, I’m more used to my patients calling me Dr Morris, I’m sure I shall adapt.’

      ‘That’s the spirit.’ Simon gave her an approving smile. ‘I knew I was right to pick you for this post, Hannah. You’re going to fit in perfectly around here.’

      Hannah murmured something although she couldn’t deny that Simon’s unwitting choice of words had touched a nerve. She had always tried to be perfect in everything she did. Right from the time she had been a child, lining up her dolls in perfectly straight rows, she’d had a compulsion to make her life as flawless as possible. She knew what it stemmed from, of course. When she was seven her father had been involved in a serious road accident. She could still remember the horror of wondering if he would survive. The only way she’d been able to cope was by making everything else in her life as perfect as possible. To her mind, if everything was in its proper order then things would turn out right.

      Thankfully, her father had recovered; however, the need for order had remained with her as she’d grown up. When she’d met Andrew, and discovered that he had felt the same, it had seemed as though they had been meant to be together. They could each strive for perfection, knowing the other would understand. It was only in this last year that she had realised what a terrible mistake she had made.

      ‘Hannah?’

      Someone touched her on the arm and she jumped, feeling the colour rush to her cheeks when she found Tom Bradbury staring down at her. At over six feet in height he was a lot taller than her and she was suddenly struck by the difference in their stature. He looked so big and solid as he stood there with a frown drawing his black brows together that she had