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Ny Doc Under The Northern Lights
Amy Ruttan
Escaping the big city…For love under Icelandic skiesWhen surgeon Betty Jacinth’s heart is broken once again, she takes a job in Iceland for a change of scenery. She expects cold weather—but not the frosty welcome she receives from gorgeous but brooding Dr Axel Sturlusson! Now father to his orphaned niece, Axel gradually thaws and a flame is ignited… But when Betty’s ex begs her to return can she make the right choice for love?
Escaping the big city...
For love under Icelandic skies
When surgeon Betty Jacinth’s heart is broken once again, she takes a job in Iceland for a change of scenery. She expects cold weather—but not the frosty welcome she receives from gorgeous but brooding Dr. Axel Sturlusson! Now father to his orphaned niece, Axel gradually thaws, and a flame ignites—but when Betty’s ex begs her to return, can she make the right choice for love?
Born and raised just outside Toronto, Ontario, AMY RUTTAN fled the big city to settle down with the country boy of her dreams. After the birth of her second child Amy was lucky enough to realise her lifelong dream of becoming a romance author. When she’s not furiously typing away at her computer she’s mum to three wonderful children, who use her as a personal taxi and chef.
Also by Amy Ruttan (#ud29d104d-adbc-5d73-b618-86b83107e51a)
Perfect Rivals…Tempting Nashville’s Celebrity DocUnwrapped by the DukeAlejandro’s Sexy SecretHis Pregnant Royal BrideConvenient Marriage, Surprise TwinsNavy Doc on Her Christmas ListThe Surgeon King’s Secret BabyA Mummy for His DaughterA Date with Dr Moustakas
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk).
NY Doc Under the Northern Lights
Amy Ruttan
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-07538-1
NY DOC UNDER THE NORTHERN LIGHTS
© 2018 Amy Ruttan
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
This book is dedicated to the people
who helped get me to my 20th.
My husband, my kids, my parents.
I couldn’t do this without your faith in me.
Contents
Cover (#u985ffdbe-a78b-5d8b-9d14-2f331b0a0694)
Back Cover Text (#uf367fbd6-6a34-5d7b-83a3-2f0911271650)
About the Author (#ub12530a5-6bc0-5347-87d4-d5480a1bdb81)
Booklist (#u57bcde49-2ea3-58d0-981e-bbb901328440)
Title Page (#ubcf6173c-cfa3-5a75-89b9-7d3818a309e1)
Copyright (#u1b43cfc0-3762-5b2c-a710-d86c1061a7e3)
Dedication (#u011d5887-2b2b-5948-8ac1-10eaea80ec1c)
CHAPTER ONE (#uc62df386-f3aa-58e4-a53d-8db7a755c4c0)
CHAPTER TWO (#uace4aef8-a597-5380-af1e-004374d2b52f)
CHAPTER THREE (#u6211d67f-fc0f-5ca9-9227-edb00e9daa82)
CHAPTER FOUR (#ufb7e0e10-e463-55ed-b0b2-a3f3240aff42)
CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
EPILOGUE (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ONE (#ud29d104d-adbc-5d73-b618-86b83107e51a)
WHERE IS HE?
Dr. Betty Jacinth’s eyes burned. She’d forgotten to take out her contact lenses on the plane when she took the red-eye from Newark to Keflavik Airport, so she was squinting as she pulled her bag through the baggage claim, looking in vain for Dr. Sturlusson, who was supposed to be picking her up.
Dr. Sturlusson was an older physician and friend of her late father, whom he’d met when he’d traveled to Iceland to do a series of lectures before Betty was born. The two had stayed in touch, first through letters, then email, and Betty had only seen her father’s friend for the first time on a video call three months ago. When her father died Dr. Sturlusson had sent Betty a card, expressing his condolences and offering her the chance to work for three months in Reykjavik, whenever she wanted.
As her father had done before her.
She had put it off for a long time, but now she was glad to go.
Her ex, Thomas, had married the woman he had cheated on Betty with, and so Betty was definitely overdue for a change of scenery.
Out of sight and out of mind!
She should have left ages ago, but she didn’t want Thomas and his newfound bliss to drive her away from her work. The problem was, if she didn’t go, then he would always have a hold on her.
Thomas had been her Attending when she was a resident. He’d been there for her when her father died. He’d taught her everything she knew. And she’d thought he’d loved her.
Then she’d found out he’d been seeing someone else. She’d broken it off but Thomas had still been her boss, still overseeing all her surgeries. She’d been stuck in a destructive cycle, her heart broken, her father gone and just paralyzed by self-doubt.
Thomas had used her.
She was a fool.
Yet, as she searched the airport, not understanding a word over the PA system, she wondered if she was an idiot for dropping her work in New York at one of the most prestigious hospitals on the eastern seaboard, to come to Reykjavik.
No. This is good. Then you won’t have to face Thomas right after his marriage to Susan.
She glanced at the big windows and saw a vast, flat nothing and that nothing was covered with white. What had she gotten herself into? She wasn’t even sure what day it was. Was it Tuesday, yeah it must be Tuesday.
She could always turn around and go back to Manhattan. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. No, there was no way she could head back. There was no one to go back to. Her father was gone and he’d been her only family. There was nothing left for her there except her job.
A job under Thomas’s thumb.
She bit back the tears stinging her eyes. She could do this. She would just have to hire a car and figure out how to drive herself into Reykjavik and the small vacation home she’d rented. Dr. Sturlusson didn’t seem the type to leave her high and dry, but perhaps something unavoidable had happened and he hadn’t been able to contact her.
She should’ve told him not to bother picking her up and she should’ve gone with the car-rental plan in the first place.
Betty glanced up at the signs overhead, trying to figure out where to go to rent a car when she saw something move out of the corner of her eye.
She looked over her shoulder and her mouth hung open a little as an over-six-foot Viking of a man came marching toward her. Quickly.
His eyes were trained on her and her knees instinctively weakened, because even from a distance there was an air of command about him. His hair was a dark blond and he had an athletic build. She was pretty sure that he could easily pick her up and toss her a long distance, despite the fact that she was pretty tall herself at five feet nine.
He stopped a few feet from her, those piercing blue eyes settling on her as his gazed briefly raked over her form, assessing her. It sent a shiver down her spine, but not one of fear. His assessment of her was something else, something almost sensual. He didn’t smile, his lips pressed together firmly, his strong jaw clenched.
She knew from his posture that he wasn’t happy about being here and that got her back up a bit. Why was this stranger staring at her with annoyance? It wasn’t as if she were blocking his way, but then again maybe most people made more of an effort to get as far out of his way as possible.
Betty narrowed her eyes and stared back at him, holding her ground.
“Dr. Jacinth?” he asked, almost in disbelief, his voice deep and rumbling.
“Yes. And who might you be?”
“Dr. Sturlusson,” he snapped back in annoyance. “I thought that would be obvious.”
“No, it’s not obvious. I’ve seen Dr. Sturlusson and he’s at least seventy. Are you telling me you’re seventy?”
He rolled his eyes. “You mean my father. I am Dr. Axel Sturlusson, his son.”
“I see. I thought your father was meant to pick me up.”
“He was, but something came up and I’ve come to collect you.” He sounded annoyed by the prospect of taking her into the city.
“Well, if it’s too much trouble I can rent a car and drive myself. I wouldn’t want to burden you.”
“I am here now and you will come with me.”
It wasn’t ‘will you come with me?’ It was you will come with me and that irked her even more. Dr. Sturlusson was pleasant and polite. His son Axel was a bit of an arrogant jerk.
She should argue with him further, but truth be told she was tired and she was glad to not have to drive.
“Fine,” she said. “Lead the way.”
He looked down at her shoes. “You do know this is Iceland in winter?”
“I’m aware.”
“You’re wearing ridiculous heels.”
She glanced down at her boots. “They’re boots.”
“It’s icy outside,” he stated gruffly.
“Oh, I’m surprised to hear that a place called Iceland is icy,” she snapped back. She was too tired to be bandying words about with a gigantic behemoth of a Viking in the middle of the airport.
His eyes narrowed. “I don’t appreciate the sarcasm.”
“And I don’t appreciate your tone, either. I assure you, if I can navigate the likes of Manhattan during rush hour I can get myself to Reykjavik intact.”
A small smile flitted at the corner of his mouth and there was a sudden twinkle in his eyes. “Is that so?”
“It is. And I can do all that in heels.”
He was openly amused. “Well, my apologies, then, but since I am here already perhaps you’ll let me drive you anyways?”
“Thank you.”
