DELLA’S PAGER SOUNDED, summoning her to theatre. Her next patient must have left the surgical ward. She silenced the device, which was clipped to the pocket of her green Melbourne Medical Centre scrubs, and took the stairs. She was just about to turn the corner into the operating suites when Australia’s hottest surgeon appeared in her path.
‘Well, fancy meeting you here, Dr Wilton,’ Harvey said, his stare travelling her body with a look that was way too indecent for the workplace.
‘Are you following me again, Dr Ward?’ she said, her breath trapped in her chest at how handsome he was and how, after almost two years of marriage, she was still crazy in love with him. ‘Because you seem to be everywhere I look—in my bed, at my work, father to my children.’ Pointedly, she glanced down at her pregnant belly, resting a hand over their growing son. ‘If I didn’t know you better, I’d guess you were my husband or something.’
They’d married in an intimate ceremony with family and friends four months before the birth of baby Lily, their daughter.
Harvey grinned, glanced along the corridor and then opened the nearest door, dragging Della into a utility room, the shelves of which were stacked with folded clean bed linens. ‘Man, I missed you,’ he said, hauling her as close as the baby bump would allow.
Della kissed him back, finally pulling back with a chuckle. ‘Since this morning?’
‘Yes,’ he said simply, his expression sincere. That playful glint came into his eyes, doubling Della’s pulse. ‘Believe it or not, being married to you is the best thing that’s ever happened to this old reformed bachelor. And the sex...’ He rolled his eyes closed and groaned. ‘Don’t even get me started on how good that is. Some might say the best of their life...?’
Della laughed, too happy with his smug confidence to pull him up on his arrogance. When it came to accepting her love, trusting in it and giving her everything in return, her husband had risen to the top of the class during the past two years.
‘I have to go,’ she said, kissing him swiftly once more. ‘I have a man who came off his motorbike yesterday about to arrive in theatre.’
Harvey gripped her waist, blocking her escape. ‘One more kiss to get me through the afternoon,’ he begged, sliding his lips up the side of her neck so she shuddered against him with desire.
As she did every day, Della tangled her fingers in his hair and kissed him properly—her lips parting, her tongue sliding against his, her body shifting restlessly as she tried to manage how much he turned her on.
‘Wow,’ Harvey said when they parted, looking a little dazed. ‘That was some kiss.’
‘I’m softening you up,’ she said, running her fingers through his hair in order to make him look presentable for his patients. ‘Do you want day care pickup or dinner?’
Harvey groaned half-heartedly. ‘Come on... I made dinner last night.’
‘Perhaps you prefer both,’ she said, playfully digging in her heels. ‘My surgery will probably run over anyway.’
‘Fine,’ he said with a mock sigh, ‘I suppose I’ll pick up my adorable daughter from nursery and make my pregnant wife a delicious, nutritious meal for when she gets home from work.’ Finally turning serious, he cupped her face and kissed her one last time. ‘Leave it to me—the best sex and the best husband you’ve ever had.’
Della laughed, loving his competitive streak as much as she loved the rest of him. ‘Don’t forget the best father to our children,’ she said, reaching for the door handle. Just before she left the glorified cupboard to sheepishly make her exit, hoping no one would see, she turned back. ‘I love you.’
She never tired of saying that to Harvey. Nor had she ever grown used to the hint of bewilderment she saw in his eyes every time she did, as if he couldn’t quite believe it was true.
‘I love you too, Della.’ He reached for her hand and squeezed her fingers. ‘See you at home.’
She opened the door and was about to duck out when he pulled her back. His lips found hers, his hands gripping her face so tight, she forgot to breathe as he kissed her. When he pulled back, he rested his forehead against hers and whispered, ‘Do you have everything that you’ve ever wanted?’
Dazed from the passion and desperation of his kiss and awash with love hormones, Della nodded, lost for words.
‘Good,’ Harvey said. ‘Because that makes two of us.’
If you enjoyed this story, check out these other great reads from JC Harroway
Secretly Dating the Baby Doc
Nurse’s Secret Royal Fling
Her Secret Valentine’s Baby
Phoebe’s Baby Bombshell
All available now!
Keep reading for an excerpt from Fake Dating the Vet by Juliette Hyland.