Marion Lennox - Dating The Millionaire Doctor

2010

Dear Reader,

On February 7, 2009, wildfire destroyed a vast section of Australias southeast corner. Almost two hundred lives were lost, many people lost their homes and vast tracts of farmland and natural bushland were destroyed. But in the days that followed we saw our community at its best.

I was privileged to be part of a livestock appeal, and the response left us overwhelmed by human kindness. People brought in birdseed and cuttlefish, and others staggered in under huge bags of dog food. We had people who looked as if they had no money at all coming in with animal bedding, food-anything they could think of. We had companies donating truckloads of their produce. We had vets arriving with veterinary equipment.

Volunteers loaded, unloaded, distributed. Out in the burned-out bushland volunteers scattered feed, searched for injured animals, did whatever was needed. Volunteers are working still.

In Toris story I wanted to share with you some of my pride in my community, and my awe at what people are capable of. From the ashes springs new life.

Take care of each other, but know that in times of deepest trouble were never truly alone.

And we can still look forward to love.

Marion Lennox

FIVE-MINUTE dating was five minutes too long. Hed dated nine women tonight, and the last was the least inspiring of the lot.

Jake glanced down at his fact sheet, hoping for help. Victoria. Twenty-nine. Single. There wasnt a lot here to talk about.

Im pleased to meet you, Victoria, he ventured. Thats terrific, he thought wryly. Snappy dialogue. Incisive. Excellent way to start things rolling.

My friends call me Tori, she ventured, dragging her gaze from the door. Was she thinking about escaping?

Is this your first try at speed dating?

Yes. And you?

Yes.

This wasnt exactly scintillating, he conceded. Where did he go from here?

Each of his last nine dates had been vivacious and chirpy. He hadnt needed to make an effort. Now, when effort was required, he wondered whether it was worth it.

Had Tori made an effort?

Victoria-or Tori-looked a real country mouse. She was wearing a knee-length black skirt, scuffed court shoes and a white blouse with ruffles down the front. Her chestnut-brown curls-had she cut the fringe herself?-had been pulled into a rough knot, simply tied with a white ribbon. She wore no make up and no jewellery.

Why was she here if she wasnt prepared to spend some time on her appearance? he wondered. The lines around her clear green eyes were stretched tight, making her seem a lot older than twenty-nine years. But did she care? She looked as if she wanted to be here even less than he did, which was really saying something.

The manager of Dr. Jake Hunters Australian properties had promised Jake hed enjoy it, but enjoy was so far off the mark Jake couldnt believe it. But he was here. He was stuck. He had to make conversation.

So what do you do for a living?

I care for injured wildlife.

Thatd be right. She looked like a do-gooder. Not that he had anything against do-gooders, he reminded himself hastily. It was just that she lookedthe type.

So youll have been busy in the fires?

Yes.

And here was another conversation stopper. Six months ago wildfire had ripped this little community apart, decimating the entire district. As an outsider Jake didnt know where to take it. Should he say something like, Was your house burned? Was anyone you cared about hurt?

Surely the fact that shed come to speed dating was proof that it hadnt touched her too badly. But dont go there, he told himself, and he didnt. Which left silence.

Whatwhat about you? she asked, sounding desperate, and he thought, Three minutes and fifty seconds left.

I live in the U.S. but I own properties here, in the valley and up on the ridge. Ive come back now to check on them, maybe put them on the market.

Were they damaged?

Not badly. My managers been taking care of them for me. Hes the one who talked me into coming tonight.

So speed datings not your thing?

No, he admitted, and decided to be honest. She looked the sort of woman who called a spade a spade. Rob said you were a guy short. I got dragged into this at the last minute.

You dont want to be here?

No.

Then Im wasting your time, she said, and suddenly the mouse had changed into something else entirely. Her relief was palpable. She rose and took his hand in a grip so firm it surprised him. This is the last round so we can finish this now. Goodnight, Jake.

Then, astonishingly, she smiled, a wide, white smile that had the power to turn her face from plain to something extraordinary. But he didnt have a chance to register the smile for long. Shed released his hand and was heading for the door, her sensible heels clicking briskly on the polished wooden floorboards of the Combadeen Hall.

And to his further bewilderment, the moment she rose she lookedcute? Definitely cute, he thought. Her curls bounced on her shoulders. She had curves in all the right places, the badly fitting skirt unable to conceal her tiny waist, the lovely lines of her legs and the unconscious wiggle of her hips as she stalked to the door.

He wasnt the only one watching. As she tugged the door open and walked out into the night, as the door slammed closed behind her, he realised everyone else in the hall was looking as well, as astonished as he was.

Hed just been stood up for a speed date. Hed been stood up by a smile that was truly stunning.

Should he follow?

Um, no. She was right. Speed dating was not his thing.

Nor was any other sort of dating, he acknowledged. He was in town to check on his fathers property, to sign documents to put the farmhouse on the ridge on the market and to make a decision about the resort. Then he was out of here. His job back in the States was waiting. He had no place here.

So why was he watching a country mouse stalk away from him, as if he cared?

Why had she come?

Her best friend, Barb, had lied to her. They cant have been a woman short if that guy-Jake?-could patronise her by saying he was only here to make up numbers, to do them all a favour.

Arrogant toerag.

Outside, the stars were hanging low in the sky. The air was crisp and clean, and she filled her lungs, as if the hall inside had been full of smoke.

Of course it wasnt, though maybe the smell of smoke would never completely leave her. The fire that had ripped through these mountains had changed her life-and she wasnt ready to move on, no matter what Barb said.

Please come tonight, Barb had pleaded. Were desperate to make up the numbers. Itll be fun. Come on, Tori, life can be good again. You can try.

So shed tried. Not very hard, she conceded, looking ruefully down at her serviceable skirt. Shed been living courtesy of welfare bins for too long now.

Tori-or more formally Dr. Victoria Nicholls, veterinary surgeon-had no financial need of welfare bins, but the outpouring of the Australian public had been massive. The local hall was filled with clothes donated to replace what was burned, and it was easier to grab what she needed than to waste time shopping.

She hadnt shopped since

She shook herself. Dont go there.

But maybe she had to go there. Maybe that was part of the healing. No, she hadnt shopped since the fire. She hadnt dated since the fire-or before, of course, but then shed had Toby. Or shed thought shed had Toby. There was the king of all toerags. Even the thought of him made her cringe. That she could have imagined herself in love with him