The Surgeon's Family Wish by Abigail Gordon Page B

longer?’
    She was calming down.
    â€˜Yes, if you’re prepared to trust me.’
    â€˜ You said that,’ he reminded her in the same downbeat tone of voice, and departed.
    * * *
    Driving back to the hospital, Aaron was furious with himself. He’d just made a big song and dance about finding Annabel wearing the old evening dress that had belonged to Eloise.
    She’d not been wearing it out of nosiness or insensitivity, but to please his child, and he’d read her the Riot Act. Anyone would have thought he’d caught her stealing the family heirlooms, such as they were, when instead she’d merely allowed Lucy to cajole her into something she hadn’t wanted to do.
    She’d given up her afternoon to do him a favour and he’d behaved as if she’d desecrated the memory of his dead wife, when instead she’d been looking after the living in the form of his daughter.
    His annoyance had come from a source that Annabel was not aware of. He wanted his relationship with her to be separate in every way from the life he’d had with Eloise. If he’d wanted a clone of her he might have looked in the direction of Lucy’s teacher, but he didn’t.
    He wanted the cool loner, with the hazel eyes, dark brown hair and slender coltish body, who once again was doing him a favour. All he’d done for her had been to act like a man who was still bound by the chains of the past.
    His mouth twisted as he thought that after his outburst Annabel probably thought that he had no intention of ever replacing Eloise. And he’d put himself in a position where she wasn’t likely to believe him if he told her the truth.

CHAPTER SIX
    W HEN he’d gone Annabel didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Yet knew she could do neither. Lucy was standing on one leg, waving her fairy wand limply and asking, ‘Why was Daddy angry, Annabel? I play with the dress all the time.’
    That may be true, Annabel thought wryly, but I don’t. I overstepped the mark and now am back to where I was before Aaron entrusted me with his daughter. And if nothing else has come out of those embarrassing moments up in the bedroom, one thing is clear. Aaron hasn’t let go of Eloise. I must have been insane to ever think he might turn in my direction.
    But Lucy was waiting for an answer.
    â€˜He wasn’t angry with you , Lucy,’ she said with gentle reassurance. ‘I think he was just a bit surprised when he saw me in your mother’s dress.’
    It was putting it mildly, but she didn’t want Lucy to be upset by the incident, especially as it had been her idea.
    For the rest of the afternoon they reverted to the original plan of doctors and patients, and when Annabel heard Aaron’s car pull up outside some time later she was, as he’d prophesied, covered in bandages. She left Lucy playing in her room and went downstairs to meet Aaron.
    â€˜How’s it gone, then?’ he asked, as if their earlier confrontation had never been.
    â€˜Fine,’ she said coolly, relieving herself of the bandagesalmost as quickly as she’d discarded the dress. She wanted to be off, back at the flat where she could think.
    â€˜I was unreasonable earlier,’ he said flatly when she was ready to go. ‘You took me by surprise.’
    â€˜Yes, I’m sure I did, and I’m sorry. You did me a favour, though, in spite of flying off the handle.’
    He knew what was coming.
    â€˜You’ve made it very clear that, no matter what your mother or anyone else thinks, you’re not ready to remarry. I doubt that you ever will be.’
    And as she made to leave she thought that if she stayed away from the child, which might be the sensible thing to do, there would be no doing the same with the father.
    There was no way she could avoid Aaron. Not at Barnaby’s anyway. But she could tell him that she’d had second thoughts about Christmas. He would get the message