The Doctor's Forbidden Fling by Karin Baine Page B

that smile back on Violet’s face. There was also that niggle about not being able to perform the angioplasty making him uneasy. It was the first time he’d been unable to complete his duty of care to the full.
    â€˜You’ll come and check on him?’
    â€˜We’ll probably have to find some covert way of doing it but I won’t let you take this on alone.’ At least then he could keep an eye on the Earl’s recovery and watch for any complications arising from his refusal of conventional treatment.
    â€˜You won’t let me, huh?’
    â€˜Well, I thought on this occasion you might concede a small piece of that iron will.’
    They exchanged wry smiles over the private joke. The origin of which was rooted in that night at his house. Not long after they’d argued over Violet’s stance on selling her mother’s jewellery, they’d ended up locking tongues, and almost a lot more besides, on his dining room table.
    He began to regret his decision to wear a tie today as the air seemed to dissipate and leave him struggling to breathe. It made no difference if they were alone or in a ward full of people when it came to chemistry. Violet was staring at his lips and he could tell she was recalling the last time she’d yielded to him.
    The silence that fell between them crackled with tension and unfinished business. It didn’t matter to his libido that both members of the Dempsey family had judged him and found him wanting. He was programmed to enjoy the benefits of a physical relationship without any emotional messiness and he shouldn’t start changing the rules now. It was his pride keeping him awake at night imagining what could’ve been instead of living it.
    â€˜Dr Taylor, you’re needed in Room One.’
    Nate was reminded he was supposed to be working, not trying to figure out a way he could sleep with Violet without compromising his principles. He gave the nurse a nod of acknowledgement.
    â€˜I’d best get on and do what I’m paid for. Don’t worry, Violet, I’ll make sure your father has the best care whether it’s here or at home.’ The promises tripped off his tongue as easy as denial and insults flowed from Samuel Dempsey’s. They were both trapped in a pattern of self-destructive behaviour that could jeopardise their future if they weren’t careful. Sooner or later they were going to have to make changes in order to survive. For Nate that would entail cutting out more than whiskey and cigars.
    * * *
    True to his word Nate had sent in a crack team of physiotherapists and dieticians to speak to the Earl. Neither Violet nor the forest’s worth of advice leaflets had been enough to convince him to stay put. As usual, they’d all had to bend to his will and accept he was going home. He’d offended so many people along the way, there was a certain amount of relief mixed with Violet’s trepidation.
    Regardless of their lengthy estrangement she still felt the need to apologise to everyone he came into contact with for his abrupt manner. She should have been firmer with him, tried harder to make him modify his behaviour, but the truth was she was still intimidated by him herself. If he objected to her interference and really cut loose on her, she wasn’t sure she would turn out to be any stronger than her mother.
    She’d given up any right to tell him what to do when she’d left home at eighteen and vice versa. There was no way she would’ve accepted him swanning back into her life and trying to run it for her after all this time either. The difference was, she wasn’t putting other people’s livelihoods in jeopardy with a blinkered approach to her finances. She’d made damn sure she had no dependants for that very reason, when it had cost her so much to simply take responsibility for herself.
    It was late afternoon before they were ready to leave, much to her father’s continued