Neurosurgeon...and Mum! by Kate Hardy

time as she swayed slightly towards him. The next thing he knew, his mouth was brushing against hers, and the light contact made his lips tingle.
    He should stop. He knew he really should stop. For both their sakes.
    So why did he catch her lower lip between his? Why were her fingers sliding through his hair? Why was her mouth opening beneath his, letting him deepen the kiss?
    Time seemed to stop. All he was aware of was the light floral scent she wore, the warmth and softness of her skin against his, the way she was kissing him back.
    It had been so long, so long since he’d last felt this attracted to someone. Hunger bubbled through his veins, melting away his common sense and urging him to take this further. Somehow—he really wasn’t sure how—he was sitting on the top of the desk in front of her and she was standing between his thighs. His hands were resting against her hips and his fingers were starting to slide beneath the hem of her T-shirt; her fingers were still threaded through his hair and she was kissing him back, a heady mix of desire and sweetness.
    When he finally broke the kiss, it took him a while to realise where he was. Then he looked at Amy. Her pupils were huge, her mouth was reddened and slightly swollen, and embarrassment stained her cheeks.
    Guilt flooded through him. What the hell had he been thinking? ‘I’m so sorry,’ he said. ‘I shouldn’t have done that.’
    She shook her head. ‘It wasn’t your fault. I was there, too.’
    His hands were still at her waist and hers were still round his neck. It would be, oh, so easy to lower his mouth to hers again. All he had to do was dip his head slightly…
    Tempting. So, so tempting. And so, so wrong. He dragged in a breath. ‘Even so, I shouldn’t have done it.’ Although Amy had travelled to Norfolk on her own and wasn’t wearing a wedding ring, that didn’t mean she was single. ‘It isn’t fair to your partner.’
    ‘I don’t have a partner,’ she said quietly, ‘so it isn’t a problem.’
    Oh. So she was single. Available.
    Possibilities bloomed in his head. And then his common sense wilted them again. Amy might be single, but it didn’tmean that she wanted to get involved with anyone. Right now, he needed to concentrate on his daughter, and keeping her life on an even keel after all the upheaval of the last few months. Besides, Amy herself had admitted that she was in a difficult place right now.
    He shook his head. ‘This isn’t a good idea for either of us. Too many complications.’
    ‘You’re right. Absolutely,’ she agreed.
    He needed to take his hands off her. Now. But his body wasn’t working in synch with his brain; his hands stayed exactly where they were, just under the hem of her T-shirt, touching warm, soft skin.
    With an effort, he released her; a fraction of a second later, she took her hands away from his neck and took a step back.
    ‘I have to go,’ he said. Not because he was being a coward. ‘I’m due at the surgery.’
    She nodded.
    He really had to stop looking at her mouth. And kissing her had been a seriously bad idea, because now he knew what it was like to hold her close—and he wanted more. Much more.
    ‘See you later,’ he said, and left.
    Amy sank back into her chair, propped her elbows on the desk where Tom had been sitting and rested her chin on her hands. What on earth had she been thinking, kissing him back like that? True, she hadn’t felt a pull of attraction like this for a very long time, but Tom Ashby was the worst person that she could possibly have a fling with. Apart from the fact that he’d had a rough time recently and needed someone stable in his life—someone who definitely wasn’t her, because right now her head was all over the place—he was also a single father. Andher experience with Colin had taught her that that was a minefield.
    She blew out a breath. On Thursday she’d been so clear about it: don’t get involved. And then what had she done? Spent the weekend