Read Online The Doctor's Rebel Knight by Melanie Milburne - Free Book Online
Authors: Melanie Milburne
Tags: Fiction
Ads: Link
presentable company.’
Fran’s lips flickered with a smile as she waved an arm towards the bathroom. ‘It’s all yours,’ she said. ‘I’ll put some coffee on.’
‘Sounds great.’
While the coffee was brewing Fran took the cake she had baked for her sister…had it only been the day before? It seemed like so much had happened in the short time since she had creamed the butter and sugar and carefully folded in the flour.
Her sister was now a mother, a young toddler’s life had been saved and a young teenager was now on her way to hospital with a leg that would mend a whole lot sooner than her heart, if she was any judge.
Jacob came out just as she was placing the pink iced coconut cake on a pretty flowery plate she had given Caro for her thirtieth birthday.
‘Mmm, that coffee smells good,’ he said. ‘And is that cake home baked?’
‘Sure is,’ Fran said, pushing a cup and plate across the island bench towards him. ‘My mother is a hospitality teacher at high school. She was pretty adamant Carolyn and I learn how to cook from a young age. I used to hate it when I was forced to do it, but now I’m glad she persisted with it. I findbaking relaxing, although it’s no fun baking for just one person.’
His eyes met hers across the bench. ‘So when you’re not skiing in New Zealand or visiting your sister, you live alone?’
Fran snagged her lip with her teeth and concentrated on stirring her coffee, which, because she didn’t take sugar or milk was rather a superfluous thing to do. She wondered if he would notice. Cops were pretty good at that sort of thing. ‘Yes,’ she said, putting down the teaspoon with a little ping on the bench. ‘I live alone.’
‘You’re right about the cooking-for-one-person thing,’ he said, raising his cup to his lips and taking a sip.
Fran cradled her cup in her hands as she looked at him. How could a man look so sexy just drinking coffee? she wondered. In fact, how could a man look so damned sexy in a police uniform that in spite of his quick clean-up was still dusty and a little crumpled?
‘Oh?’ she said, trying to keep track of the conversation while her mind was conjuring up images of him without his uniform, like the day she had seen him on the beach, tanned and glistening, those long, strong muscular legs powering through the sand…
‘Yeah,’ he said, putting his cup down to take the slice of cake she’d placed on a plate for him. ‘I’ve been on my own now for five months and three days. Don’t know the hours but that’s close enough.’
‘Is that the sound of a heart that hasn’t quite mended?’ Fran asked.
He gave her a twisted smile. ‘No, that’s the sound of a man who is relieved he doesn’t have to answer to someone day in day out. I lock people up all the time, Dr Nin. Call it hypocritical of me but I don’t like it when someone does it to me.’
‘Your…er…wife was the possessive type?’
‘Melissa and I were dating, not married. That was my choice, not hers. She wanted the whole shebang, the big society wedding, the two-point-one kids and the nine-to-five husband.’
He paused for a beat or two before he went on, ‘I’m a cop. There’s no such thing as nine-to-five criminals, or for that matter nine-to-five emergencies. Even if I took a desk job there would be times when duty would have to take priority. And in any case, I wanted to spend some time on the coast with my mother. That was the hammer that drove the last nail in the coffin of our relationship. Melissa didn’t want to share me with a dying woman and I refused to compromise.’
Fran took a sip of her coffee and wondered if his casual I’m-over-it attitude was covering deeper hurt. Men were often hard to read emotionally. Showing vulnerability was a no-no, particularly in Australian men, and particularly in cops.
‘So you live on your own here at Pelican Bay?’ she asked.
‘Yes, in a house further down the beach from here,’ he said. ‘It’s
Fran’s lips flickered with a smile as she waved an arm towards the bathroom. ‘It’s all yours,’ she said. ‘I’ll put some coffee on.’
‘Sounds great.’
While the coffee was brewing Fran took the cake she had baked for her sister…had it only been the day before? It seemed like so much had happened in the short time since she had creamed the butter and sugar and carefully folded in the flour.
Her sister was now a mother, a young toddler’s life had been saved and a young teenager was now on her way to hospital with a leg that would mend a whole lot sooner than her heart, if she was any judge.
Jacob came out just as she was placing the pink iced coconut cake on a pretty flowery plate she had given Caro for her thirtieth birthday.
‘Mmm, that coffee smells good,’ he said. ‘And is that cake home baked?’
‘Sure is,’ Fran said, pushing a cup and plate across the island bench towards him. ‘My mother is a hospitality teacher at high school. She was pretty adamant Carolyn and I learn how to cook from a young age. I used to hate it when I was forced to do it, but now I’m glad she persisted with it. I findbaking relaxing, although it’s no fun baking for just one person.’
His eyes met hers across the bench. ‘So when you’re not skiing in New Zealand or visiting your sister, you live alone?’
Fran snagged her lip with her teeth and concentrated on stirring her coffee, which, because she didn’t take sugar or milk was rather a superfluous thing to do. She wondered if he would notice. Cops were pretty good at that sort of thing. ‘Yes,’ she said, putting down the teaspoon with a little ping on the bench. ‘I live alone.’
‘You’re right about the cooking-for-one-person thing,’ he said, raising his cup to his lips and taking a sip.
Fran cradled her cup in her hands as she looked at him. How could a man look so sexy just drinking coffee? she wondered. In fact, how could a man look so damned sexy in a police uniform that in spite of his quick clean-up was still dusty and a little crumpled?
‘Oh?’ she said, trying to keep track of the conversation while her mind was conjuring up images of him without his uniform, like the day she had seen him on the beach, tanned and glistening, those long, strong muscular legs powering through the sand…
‘Yeah,’ he said, putting his cup down to take the slice of cake she’d placed on a plate for him. ‘I’ve been on my own now for five months and three days. Don’t know the hours but that’s close enough.’
‘Is that the sound of a heart that hasn’t quite mended?’ Fran asked.
He gave her a twisted smile. ‘No, that’s the sound of a man who is relieved he doesn’t have to answer to someone day in day out. I lock people up all the time, Dr Nin. Call it hypocritical of me but I don’t like it when someone does it to me.’
‘Your…er…wife was the possessive type?’
‘Melissa and I were dating, not married. That was my choice, not hers. She wanted the whole shebang, the big society wedding, the two-point-one kids and the nine-to-five husband.’
He paused for a beat or two before he went on, ‘I’m a cop. There’s no such thing as nine-to-five criminals, or for that matter nine-to-five emergencies. Even if I took a desk job there would be times when duty would have to take priority. And in any case, I wanted to spend some time on the coast with my mother. That was the hammer that drove the last nail in the coffin of our relationship. Melissa didn’t want to share me with a dying woman and I refused to compromise.’
Fran took a sip of her coffee and wondered if his casual I’m-over-it attitude was covering deeper hurt. Men were often hard to read emotionally. Showing vulnerability was a no-no, particularly in Australian men, and particularly in cops.
‘So you live on your own here at Pelican Bay?’ she asked.
‘Yes, in a house further down the beach from here,’ he said. ‘It’s
Similar Books
