Unwrapped By The Duke

“That remains to be seen,” her father mumbled.

Geraldine set down the invitation and grabbed her coat, heading out into the hallway with Thomas.

“So much for getting to know patients today.” Geraldine followed him down to his office, where he grabbed his own coat and wrapped a scarf around his neck.

“You are getting to know a patient by going to the hospital and attending Lord Twinsbury. By doing so you’re letting your other future patients know that you care.”

“He just had surgery, you should be the one attending to him. Not me. I’m not the surgeon.”

Which was a bitter pill to swallow.

“And I will be. I am accompanying you after all.” Thomas cocked a head to one side. “You’re not wearing a hat?”

“No, should I be?”

Thomas shrugged. “It’s cold outside.”

“I’m from Scotland. This is not cold for December. This is balmy,” she teased.

“Balmy?”

“Yes. Exactly.”

Thomas just shook his head. “Come on, then, my lady, I’m to be your escort to the tube.”

Geri fell into step beside him and they walked down the street toward Regent’s Park Underground Station.

“You know, it’s been some time since I’ve taken public transport,” he said offhandedly.

“Don’t tell me you have a driver as well.”

“Good lord, no. I find it a particular challenge to wrestle my way along the motorways on my daily commute.”

“You’re an interesting character, Mr. Ashwood,” Geri remarked. “Wrestling motorways and painting people in the nude.”

“Oh, yes, which is why you should get to know me better,” he whispered huskily.

“Hmm, that remains to be seen.”

“You still never told me what interests you beyond medicine, Dr. Collins.”

“I do like reading.”

“I do hope it’s racy novels.”

“Naturally,” she teased, completely forgetting herself.

What’re you doing?

“Actually, I love Jane Austen.”

“Most ladies do. I prefer Chaucer myself and Icelandic skalds.”

“You’re a man of many hidden depths.”

“I could say the same about you, Dr. Collins. Except the man bit.”

“I think since we’re going to be partners you can call me Geri.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Geri? No, I think I’ll call you Geraldine.”

“Why? Only my father calls me Geraldine. No one else calls me Geraldine.”

“Except me. Now. Geraldine. I like the sound of it. It’s elegant.”

“Hardly. I always hated the name.”

“You shouldn’t. It suits you.”

“So what do I call you?” she asked.

“You can call me Thomas.”

“Not Tom?” she teased.

“If you expect me to answer, no.”

“You’re so frustrating.” Geri walked ahead of him. “I don’t need an escort to the hospital.”

She was hoping that he would take the hint and head back to the practice, only he didn’t. He kept pace with her.

“Go back to the practice, Mr. Ashwood.”

“I’m hurt. What happened to using our given names?”

“You became pedantic and annoyed me,” Geri said, but a smile hovered on her lips. She was enjoying herself immensely. Which was a bad thing.

“I’ve been called many things, annoying especially, but never pedantic. That’s a new one.”

Geri couldn’t help but laugh as they headed down to the underground at Regent’s Park Station. When they were on the tube, crammed close together as they rode in silence, Thomas glanced down at her.

“Why don’t you like Geraldine? It’s a lovely name,” he asked.

A hot flush crept up her cheeks. No one had ever called her name lovely before. She’d always hated it. Men would usually call her Geri. Geraldine was an old-fashioned name.

“I thought I’d name you Geraldine after your father’s mother since that’s the only thing you’ll be getting from him.”

Of course, Geri had never met her namesake.

“It’s an old-fashioned name.” It was an excuse. She did like her name, but preferred to be called Geri. When she’d learned Geraldine was a connection to her long-absent father who had never come to rescue her, she’d wanted to cut that tie.

She’d learned the hard way that she could rescue herself.

He shrugged. “So is Thomas, but I quite like it. Geri makes you sound like a singer in an all-girl pop band.”

She laughed. “Well, I like Geri.”

“And I like Geraldine. You’ll see it my way soon enough and you’ll be begging me to say your name over and over.” His voice was deep, like thick honey. Honey, which she pictured smearing over his body and licking off.

Blast.

“Are you propositioning me?”

He grinned, a smile that was dangerous and made her feel weak in the knees. “And if I was?”

“I would tell you to keep looking.” She turned her back on him, but couldn’t help but smile. It had been a long time since a man had flirted with her. When Frederick left her, no one had had anything to do with her. It had been as if she’d been a pariah.

And she’d known there had been a rumor going around that she was a cold fish in bed. Unfeeling. And that could be true. She’d never particularly liked sex. Yet when Thomas flirted with her, her pulse quickened and her body reacted to being so close to him.

He had some kind of spell over her. He was so tall, standing next to her on the tube, that longish dark hair styled so fashionably, the twinkle to his eyes and saucy smirk on his mouth. He was so confident.

She’d forgotten how much she liked the attention and she wished she had half the confidence and appeal he was oozing.

Don’t think like that.

She wasn’t going to get sucked in. She wasn’t going to let another man affect her. This was her chance at something great. Geri was going to prove that she earned this partnership, just as much as she’d inherited it.

And nothing was going to get in her way.

CHAPTER THREE

THOMAS STOOD IN the hall, watching Geraldine with Lord Twinsbury. Before they had got to the hospital Lord Twinsbury’s vitals had dropped and he’d had to remain in the ICU for the time being, but as he watched Geraldine talk with their patient, he could see color coming back into the old coot’s cheeks.

And he couldn’t help but grin. Geraldine may be a bit cold with him, but with patients she was gentle and kind. She had a good bedside manner. Even with Lord Twinsbury, who was a tyrant. Just like his own father had been. Tyrants didn’t faze her. She held her own and he had to admire her spirit. She was strong. Stronger than any woman he’d ever known.

Most women in his circles wanted to be saved or acted helpless at times.

A dressing-down would’ve outraged them, but it hadn’t bothered Geraldine one bit. In fact, she’d admitted her mistake and apologized.

It took a lot of gumption to do that. Now she was in there with Lord Twinsbury and handling him as if Lord Twinsbury was nothing more than a gentle kitten.

Which was far from the truth.

Lord Twinsbury had been as much of a reprobate as his father and Lord Collins had been. Thomas knew who the woman his father and Lord Collins had fought over was. He was staring at her daughter. He had been seven at the time, he just didn’t know all the particulars.

His father had been widowed for three years and had been looking to find love again. His father had never talked much about the woman he’d been trying to woo, had said only that Lord Collins had come out from under him and swept the woman off her feet.

And it had always been a point of contention with his father that Geraldine’s mother had chosen Lord Collins over him. His father had become bitter, even more so, and Thomas had resented that woman for making his father miserable. Of course, that hadn’t worked out well for Geraldine or Lord Collins either.

He’d done research last night, checking on Lord Twinsbury, and that research had been Lord Twinsbury actually telling him a thing or two about what had happened.

Although Lord Collins had been head over heels in love with Geraldine’s mother, the two had come from two different worlds and had not been suited. She had been a friend of a friend and had gate-crashed a party his father and Charles had both attended. And both of them had been enchanted by her. Apparently Geraldine’s mother was cruel, emotionless, and had crushed Charles’s heart.

Charles had never known until recently that his short-lived marriage had produced a daughter. According to Charles, his ex-wife had left not knowing she was pregnant and hadn’t bothered to tell him she was carrying his child.

Thomas couldn’t even begin to imagine the pain that must’ve caused Charles.

For Charles may have been a rascal and rogue in his younger halcyon days, but he knew Charles had suffered from an unimaginable heartache. He knew that Charles was trying to do his best to bridge the gap between him and Geraldine.

Only Geraldine was not meeting Charles halfway and he couldn’t help but wonder why.

Thomas loved his father, but his father had always been a bit too distant, a bit bitter, and Thomas had spent most of his childhood at boarding school. He knew that his father had had a hard time looking at him because it had reminded him of his dearly departed wife. Thomas had had a lonely childhood, deprived of love.

“Ah, ‘what tangled webs we weave,’” Thomas muttered under his breath.

You should keep moving. Stop staring at her.

Only he couldn’t help but stare at her.

Unlike his father, he had never had his heart torn apart by grief, although he had experienced a disastrous infatuation in his youth. A woman who had been more interested in the title he was to inherit. The social status. She hadn’t loved him for himself.

“Why do you need to work as a surgeon? Your family has enough money and land. Why not run your estates?”

“Cassandra, that’s not what I want. I love medicine. I love surgery and saving lives is my passion.”

She had never understood him. Not really, and he’d been blinded by lust. Then his father had died of undiagnosed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and Thomas had found out he had the genetic predisposition for it too. He’d decided then and there that family was not for him. Especially when he’d seen how small a comfort Cassandra would be should the worst happen. Suddenly, to her, he had been defective. A lesser being. Being alone was far better.

Was it?

He shook his head in disgust with himself.

He’d only been around Geraldine Collins for a day and she was getting under his skin. He couldn’t allow her to do that.

You can seduce her. You are after all the Dark Duke.

Maybe if he had her once it would purge her from his system.

What am I doing?

He ran a hand through his hair. He was actually standing outside a patient’s room and contemplating seducing the estranged daughter of his colleague, a physician he truly admired. When had he become so jaded?

But he knew the answer to that.

“Lord Twinsbury seems to have stabilized,” Geraldine said, coming out of ICU and disposing of her gown and gloves. “What is your assessment, Mr. Ashwood?”

“I think he should stay in the intensive care unit for now. The last time I thought his condition had stabilized, we prepped him to take him out of the ICU and his stats took a dive. It’s better he stay here for now. There’s no rush to move him.”

Geraldine nodded. “Well, I’ve done all I can here. I think I’ll head back to the practice and assist my father.”

“Yes, that’s probably for the best. Do you want me to escort you back to Harley Street?”

She smiled at him. “I think I can find my way back there. I managed to get from Holland Park to there.”

“Holland Park?”

“I’m staying with my father for the time being, just until I find my own place, but I have to say that I’m enjoying his town house in Holland Park. It’s peaceful there. So different from Glasgow.”

“Yes, Holland Park is one of my favorite places. I have a flat in Notting Hill, actually. I have a very spacious flat.”

“You’re not far away, then,” she said.

Thomas shrugged. “As you said, Harley Street is not far from Kensington. Twenty some odd minutes on Westway.”

“As long as it’s not jammed.” They chuckled together over that goofy private joke. A blush tinged her cheeks and she tucked an errant strand of brown hair behind her ear, drawing his attention to her long slender neck. It was in that moment that pink tinged her creamy white skin that he knew he was in serious trouble. She was beautiful.

He had to make his excuses and get out of there. It was best if he kept his distance from her. They were business partners and nothing more. That’s all they could be and the fact that he had to keep reminding himself of that was not a good sign.

“Well, I have some other surgical patients to make rounds on. I’ll leave you to your work.” It was a complete lie. There was no one else to see, but the more he lingered here the harder it was to leave. He found himself enjoying her company.

“I’ll see you later. I should head back to the practice.” She nodded and walked away from him, doing what he couldn’t do. And he watched her walk down the hall toward the elevators.

This was bad.

When had she gone from someone he loathed—someone he planned to put through her paces because he wanted Charles’s practice all to himself—to not being able to tear himself away from her? Escorting her to the hospital and admiring the flush of her skin, the red of her lips and wondering what it would be like to take her in his arms and kiss her?

The moment you saw her.

Which was true. He may have been rude to her when she was in the doctors’ lounge, but when he’d seen her sitting there, looking around, he couldn’t help but be intrigued by her. Why she was there and who she was.

And he knew that he was in big trouble if he didn’t tread carefully.

The problem was he wasn’t sure if he could stop himself.

* * *

Why did I let my father make an appointment for me?

Geri tried to really listen to what the stylist was saying as she was wandered around Harvey Nichols, but all the dresses blurred together in a great amorphous blob of color. When she’d got back to Harley Street, she’d met some patients and then her father had announced that Jensen was taking her to Knightsbridge to buy a dress for the social gathering she didn’t want to attend.

“As my heiress you have to attend.”

“I’m not an heiress. I’m just a doctor from Glasgow.”

“I’m sorry, Geraldine, but as my only child you are an heiress.”

“Why couldn’t I be illegitimate?”

“Believe me, your mother isn’t the only one who regrets our marriage.” Then he gasped. “I didn’t mean it like that. I didn’t mean...I’m glad you’re here, Geraldine.”

“I know, Father. It’s okay.”

Geri had chuckled over that. Her mother had often reminded her she’d made a mistake in marrying her father.

“I should’ve chose the other man. I would’ve been far better off. Of course, I wasn’t keen on his child and told him so.”

Her mother wasn’t keen on children, period. Something Geri was painfully aware of. Still, she was her father’s only child.

There weren’t any other relatives either. There was no one but her. She was it and even though she didn’t like it, she had to do her duty and mingle with the social elite in London.

She hadn’t minded the ride to Knightsbridge. She’d been a bit tired after her long day, and had just not expected the stylist to pounce on her the moment she walked through the doors of the department store.

She’d even tried to fend her off by telling her she’d just poke around the dresses on her own, but that was a definite faux pas.

Take a deep breath. It’ll be over soon. All you have to do is pick one.

“Do you have anything in silver?” she asked. “I like silver.”

The stylist gasped. “You need color! It’s almost Christmas and this is a big event.”

“It is?”

The stylist nodded. “Your father was quite insistent about you picking out something absolutely stunning.”

“Yes, but the thing is I don’t like to stand out too much.”

Which was true.

To avoid her mother’s ire she had always remained quiet and retreated into the background. She didn’t like being the center of attention, because no good came from it. Then Frederick had spotted her in a crowd of interns and had singled her out.

It had been thrilling, but she hadn’t earned his respect. Only disdain and censure when their relationship had ended. No other surgeon had trusted her.

There was no way she wanted to stand out at the Gileses’ social event.

The stylist ignored her and was clucking away through the fabric about chiffon or some other such nonsense. Geri groaned and cursed inwardly and as she looked around the department store she caught sight of Mr. Ashwood across the floor.

He was with a young woman who was blonde, stunningly beautiful, lean and tall, but not as tall as him. She was clinging to his arm and they were laughing. A flash of jealousy coursed through her.

She shouldn’t be surprised that Thomas had a beautiful significant other. He was incredibly handsome. Dark, intense and sexy as hell.

He was a bad boy wrapped up in a respectable package.

Stop it, Geri!

He bent down and kissed the woman on the forehead. Geri looked away. She didn’t want Thomas to recognize her.

“I think I’ve found the perfect dress for you!” the stylist announced as she took Geri’s hand and pulled her toward the change rooms. “You’ll love it.”

“I’m sure I will.” And hopefully by the time she’d tried on the dress and bought it, Thomas and his girlfriend would be gone.

* * *

Her father had paid for the dress and the stylist. So all Geri had to do was wait for it to be wrapped up. It was a lovely dress, but it was also the most expensive piece of clothing she’d ever owned. Usually she bought her clothes from fashionable, chic places that didn’t cost an arm and leg.

She’d been a bridesmaid once at her friend’s wedding just after medical school and that dress hadn’t cost her what this dress was costing her father.

If the bridesmaid’s dress hadn’t been so hideous and teal, she would’ve just worn that to the social gathering.

She smiled secretly to herself. Maybe she should just return this designer gown and dig out that old teal monstrosity of lace and puffed sleeves to wear after all. Except she did really like the dress the stylist had picked out.

It was festive and Geri did so love Christmas.

When she walked out into the street she breathed in the fresh, crisp December air. It had just begun to snow softly and the Christmas lights were just starting to come on along Knightsbridge.

Jensen pulled up in her father’s black town car. He got out and opened the door, but she wasn’t quite ready to go back home to Holland Park just yet. She wanted to take a long leisurely walk and revel in Christmas.

It was her favorite time of the year, even if her mother wasn’t a big celebrator of Christmas. Geri would spend her Christmases curled up on the couch, watching Christmas specials, and those happy families and stories of hope were the family love she’d secretly craved as a child.

Now this new life she found herself in felt overwhelming and she just wanted to take a moment and be by herself, soaking in the first real Christmas snow of December.

She handed Jensen the garment bag and a bag with various other accessories and shoes that went with it. “Can you take this home, Jensen? You can tell my father I’ve bought a dress and shoes. I’m going to go to his social function, but right now I just want to take a walk.”

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