Affectionately Yours

By Emily Foxx

From Australian Romance Author Emily Foxx comes her new standalone, a friends-to-lovers romance with a compassionate heroine and a damaged but lovable hero.

 

Doctor Bradley Stephens

 

Evelyn is a childhood friend. When I moved away from Bluebeach Bay, she would write letters to me, to remind me I was brave.

 

Never did I think she would make another impression on me when I moved back to my childhood home to start a doctor's practice.

 

She reaches a part of me I have closed off to women.

 

My heart.

 

Dark memories from my past make sure of that.

 

 

Evelyn Cassano

 

When Bradley meets me for coffee, we reconnect. It's like old times.

 

When I finally let him know how I feel, I realize he feels the same way. 

 

However, the more time I spend with him, I learn his past is in his present.

 

It causes trouble because he won't open up to me when I am the only person who truly understands him.

 

An emotionally driven and passionate, friends-to-lovers story, with a twist of drama and suspense.

 

Mature audiences only.

Some dark themes.

Check my website for content warnings

• Language: English
• Publisher: Emily Foxx
• Release date: Apr 22, 2024
• ISBN: 9781763527348

Emily Foxx

I am an Australian author. I write spicy romantic stories with a twist of drama and suspense.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

EVELYN

A flutter rolls in my stomach from the heat in Brad’s dark brown eyes when he takes a seat opposite me at the solid oak booth in the open spacious café inside Gippsberry Hospital. He meets me here on Wednesdays after he completes his general surgery.

Good afternoon, Brad, I greet him. Did the surgery go well? Music plays on the radio in the background.

He leans against the black vinyl upholstery, offering a sad smile. Yes, the surgery was successful. But I did receive some sad news from Garry Fields, the orthopedic surgeon who performed surgery on another patient of mine. He told me he did all he could to fix the patient’s torn ligament, but unfortunately, the patient needs to give up his favorite sport. His wife and himself have been attending my practice for the last three years. He is seventy-five years old. So, hearing this from Garry, I know the patient will be crushed when he hears the news, he shares.

No wonder he feels down. I reach over the table and place my hand over his large one.

Oh, I’m sorry, Brad. I know how much you care about your patients, I sympathize with him.

I remember Brad talking about his general practice in the front of his house.

He places his other hand over mine and squeezes it a little. The same rush of heat when he first arrived is back. Thank you, Evie. Brad shows his appreciation with his term of endearment. The only other people who called me Evie were my family and bestie, Renee.

You’re welcome, I chirp.

It’s all I can say while he runs the pad of his thumb across the top of my wrist while our hands remain where they are. He has never done this before and it sends an electric current through me, reminding me of the recent feverish dream I had of him.

Evelyn, forget it!

One.

He remembers me as this six-year-old girl who used to love rough and tumble play on the soccer field with him and wrote him letters when he moved away.

Two.

He isn’t romantically interested in me. The last I knew, he dated a girl named Reanna soon after he moved back down here from Queensland, three and a half years ago.

But I just can’t help picturing us together in a steamy affair.

Truly, there’s no helping me!

So, how was your morning shift? he asks, cutting off my thoughts.

Um, I say, scrambling to think of something because my brain was still warped. It was good. I spent the morning providing antenatal care, I babble.

It’s rewarding to guide expectant mothers through their trimesters and at the end, deliver their healthy baby.

Good to hear, Brad chimes in. Would you like a drink and something to eat? he asks, letting go of my hands as he moves to stand from his seat at the booth.

My usual, I say, because I always order a cappuccino and chicken salad here.

I’ll be back. He winks, and as he leaves to order, I admire the hard planes of his back that struggle against the cotton fabric of his business shirt. I’m quick to gaze at the people coming into and leaving the café when he turns his head back to me with a grin on his face before he orders at the café front counter.

I hope he didn’t notice me checking him out.

We became reacquainted in the last eighteen months since my mother passed away in May, two years ago. Although we did see each other at my parents’ house when he first moved back here, all the interactions we’ve had these past months have made me realize how much more I want from our friendship. Especially with the signals he is giving, like the flare of heat in his eyes. Renee told me I should tell him how I feel.

Evelyn, Brad calls out my name and I jump. Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. You were in a world of your own. His apology makes me blush.

If only he knew what I was thinking.

Oh, it’s okay. I try to persuade him with a sway of my hand.

Brad sits back across from me with his elbows relaxed on the table and his fingers linked in front of him.

If you don’t mind me saying, when you look nervous your cheeks blush, a rosy color. It’s an attractive look on you. But then again, you have always been beautiful to me, Evelyn. Even without makeup. My stomach flutters when he tells me that.

He has noticed my makeup.

I’ve only just started wearing the natural eyeshadow a month ago. I thought he didn’t notice. It reminds me of why I think he is the best. He speaks how he feels. I glance down at my painted nails that are chipped from me nervously biting them. Once I return my gaze to him, a shiver runs through me at the knowledge he kept his gaze on me the whole time.

He clears his throat. Evie, are you okay? he asks.

Um—

There I go again!

Not able to articulate a word at this precise moment. I’ve always dreamed he would profess his love for me, but to hear him say I am beautiful, a warmth of grace envelopes me.

Now is the time to say something about how I feel.

Brad, that was kind of you to say. I haven’t been called beautiful since Mamma died. I—

Brad’s name is called out to pick up our order.

Give me a minute. I want to hear what you have to say, he says before he heads to the front counter, and is quick to bring our food, placing the orders down on the table.

You were saying before we were interrupted? One of his eyebrows raises high in curiosity as he takes his seat back at the booth, while I unexpectedly notice his prominent brow ridge when he focuses on his meal and memories flood back to that day.

Go Brad, we shout out.

Mamma, Papa, Bradley’s brother Seth, and his mum Brenda are here on the sideline with me. Brad’s father, Tate didn’t come to this game, as he wasn’t well.

Brad has the ball. He is quick with his feet to move it away from the opposition. He finds a space between two players and slips through. He moves at lightning speed on the open field with the ball in front of him. When he is close to the goalpost, a player comes across, bringing him down.

The whistle blows, and the ref has a word with the coach and boy of the opposition, while Brad still hasn’t risen from the ground. I panic because he could be really hurt, as Brenda, Seth, Mamma, and I watch Brad’s coach along with Papa, who is a medical doctor, walk on to the field to check he is okay.

I hope he isn’t badly hurt. Papa finishes checking on him. The coach and Papa help Brad stand. The referee blows another whistle to signal the game to stop until Brad is taken off the field. My eyes water because I hate to see him get hurt.

I haven’t admitted to anyone I have a crush on my friend who is six years older than me.

It started when we were playing soccer in my backyard or on the soccer field when he was practicing his soccer skills. But when I see the blood on the side of his brow, my heart breaks.

Evelyn, what’s going on? You’ve zoned out. Brad makes me jump, bringing me back to earth with his brow rising high. He is concerned about me.

I’m okay, I answer, digging a bigger hole for myself, smothering him with a lie.

Why can’t I just tell him?

I’m twenty-six years old. I should be able to say what I feel, but deep down, the true reason I don’t share is because I worry this will end our friendship.

He tugs a smile and drops his head, shaking it. I close my eyes; he knows I am not telling the truth.

I am so done here.

Evelyn. I slowly open my eyes. We both know you are not telling me the truth. I will not pressure you to explain yourself because you are not acting like yourself, Brad says to reassure me.

My shoulders relax. Thank you.

We are both quiet, enjoying our meals, and I remember what he said last week. This is an excellent opportunity to break the uncomfortable silence between us. I finish my mouthful of delicious salad before I quiz him. Brad, how is the hunt for a new cleaner coming along?

He grins. I haven’t found the right one yet. I have a few more interviews ahead of me.

I acknowledge his answer with a nod, and I check the time on my watch. I have to leave shortly, I say as he shoves his empty plate into the middle of the table.

Yes, but I want you to remember you can always talk to me if you need to. I can see it in your eyes. Something is troubling you, he appeals.

I clasp my hands together and swallow the doubt I have built about my feelings and fess up.

I— I stumble, licking my lips. I wish this wasn’t so hard. In the last few months, we have got to know one another well again. I don’t know how to tell y—

You want more than a friendship with me, Brad finishes my sentence, and hot prickles scatter over my body when he adds, A relationship would not work out between us.

At first I’m stunned, but all the same, it hurts.

I understand. I choke the words out while I focus on picking up my handbag beside me on the seat, not wanting to wait for him to answer back. I stand from the booth. I knew it was a mistake to share it with him and leave without another word.

I’m quick to leave the café and turn left in the main hallway leading to the elevator.

Evie, stop! he calls out.

I take the steps instead of the elevator to the next level to try and lose him, which is counterproductive as he is now right behind me. I reach the birthing suite and am about to key in the code on the side of the twin doors, but Brad's hands land on the wall to prevent me from moving to the doors that opened beside us.

Now I am enclosed in the frame of his muscular arms as the doors shut. It’s just as well we don’t have an audience. Visiting hours are not for another two hours.

His hot breath catches on the skin of my throat near my ear, while I appreciate his fresh lemon peppered scent in the air. I slam my eyes shut, hoping he will leave.

Evelyn, speak to me, he whispers.

Why won’t he just leave?

I know he doesn’t want me the way I do with him.

It’s part of the reason I am not speaking a word. I know this is the end of us. Then he shocks me more with what he says next.

Don't think for one second your thoughts of a relationship are one-sided.

My heart throttles like mad, blinking my eyes, not sure if I misheard what he said. Does he truly have feelings for me? I spin to face him in the small space he created. I swallow hard as I raise my chin to his captivated eyes that steal my breath away.

What do you mean? I ask breathless, because I want to hear him confess what he feels for me. Laughter lines spread high on his cheeks as he shifts to gaze away. His smile always makes my heart melt. But it's short-lived when his steely gaze is back on me, moving closer within a hairbreadth. Every part of me is tingling with need. My stomach is doing flips, anticipating him kissing me on the lips, but instead, he kisses me on the cheek.

Evelyn, I do like you, a lot. And I’m sorry for the way I made you feel back at the café, he whispers against the shell of my ear before he pulls back to look me in the eye. Your friendship means a lot to me.

Tears water my eyes because his friendship means the same to me. After all, we go way back. I was only five when I first met him. Brad raises his hand to wipe away the trickle of water that’s escaped with the back of his knuckles as I close my eyes.

Please don’t cry, he pleads.

His words only make me worse. People chat in the distance and it makes me wonder if there are staff wanting to access the keypad to unlock the doors. I open my eyes to find the people walking in the opposite direction down the hallway.

Can you please let me go? I murmur.

Brad places his forefinger and thumb underneath my chin to make me look at him. His eyes are appreciative when I finally gaze at him.

Yes, I will let you go, but please let me finish what I want to say. Somehow, I knew you had feelings for me, too. However, I made a promise to your father to look after you. His words dash my hopes and dreams.

I don’t know what’s worse; him softening me up before he tramples on my heart, or that he is only doing this as a favor to Papa.

I point my finger at him before I let him know how I feel.

I expect that from Papa, but not you, I say, heartbroken.

There’s nothing more I want to say and after a couple of seconds he sighs and drops his arms to the side, before moving back a step. I’m quick to spin and key in the code again. It releases the lock for me. The twin doors open from the middle, and I enter the suite without checking to see if Brad is watching me. When the doors close behind me, I'm quick to reach the staff toilets, and the second I am in the toilet cubicle, I sag against the wall, and I completely let go of all the hurt I have inside me.

I’ve never been so humiliated by someone I am in love with. I choke back the tears. And I drop my head back against the wall, exhaling a huge breath, closing my eyes.

There’s no point in dwelling when there is another six hours' work to get through before I can talk more about this with Renee at home.

CHAPTER TWO

BRADLEY

Thank you for your time, Mrs. Laidlaw. You will receive a call in the next two weeks if you are successful, I assure her as I open the front door for her to walk out.

Thank you, Doctor Stephens, Mrs. Laidlaw says when she turns around. I look forward to receiving your call, she adds in a confident tone.

She’s a mature lady who is punctual and dresses impeccably with years of experience as a cleaner. However, I will not be employing her after she gave me a list of instructions on how she will perform her duties. If a person works for me, they follow my rules. End of story.

Have a good evening, I say before she can say more and close the door. I have one more interview to get through tonight.

I lean my back against the wooden door of my general practice. It’s quiet in the reception area. The gray furnishings suit the ambiance of the area that’s spacious enough to accommodate six chairs. My staff left at five-thirty, and everything is quiet now, giving me too much time to think.

Evie hasn’t been far from my thoughts. My heart pounds loudly against my chest while my mind races over what happened between us two days ago. I was screwed the moment I let her know my true intentions in spending time with her.

It doesn’t mean I haven’t developed feelings for her. Fuck, I nearly caved in and kissed her. It crushed me to watch her wet glare when I let her enter the birthing suite. I get what she said about her father, too. Luca Cassano is protective of Evie. He wanted me to watch over her when he went back to his childhood home in Sicily, Italy.

Not that it was hard to convince me. What troubles me with Luca? The man I knew when I was younger would have not left his daughter behind. He would have taken her with him.

Evelyn’s ravishing. Her light olive skin and dark brown eyes, with her beautiful smile, would brighten any room. Plus, her captivating personality and intellect would entice any man. She makes me want to peel away the layers of her inner beauty; side of her I glimpsed when I moved back here, but has faded since Luca went home to Italy. And seeing how in love she is with me now; I know I’m in trouble.

I squeeze my eyelids shut, wishing this wasn’t truly a monumental fuck up. Maybe it’s all for the best.

I chuckle at myself.

You keep telling yourself that …

I know the reason I won’t date Evelyn.

Reanna.

She ruined dating women for me.

I knock my head back against the door and flash open my eyes, zeroing in on the marble-tiled floors.

Excuses, excuses.

It’s more than what happened with Reanna because therein lies a deeper truth. Anyhow, I made a promise to Luca. He’s glad Evelyn and I are catching up over coffee at the hospital.

Luca is someone Seth, my brother, and I have always confided in. He saved us when tragedy struck my family. I was twelve, Seth, ten. He was a family friend. Luca made sure we both weren’t separated through foster care and being a Doctor of Medicine, he made sure we actively spoke about what we felt. He took care of us until the adoption agency could find a family that would adopt us. He wanted us to have a new beginning to leave the past behind us, even though my heart was set on staying with him and his late wife, Beverley. But I was drawn back here when an opportunity became available to have my own doctor’s practice.

I stride down the hallway of my practice with a sudden desire to quench my thirst, but the sight of gray fur stops me in my tracks. I stick my head around the general surgery room and just as I thought, Bella, my cat is spread out on her stomach over my sterile steel table. She turns her head when she notices me strolling towards her and rolls onto her back, stretching out, knowing what she is trying to do.

You can act as cute as you want, but you should not be in here. She leaps up, stretching out her legs, increasing her height, then rubs the body of her fur against me, purring. I place her on the floor.

She meows, dancing around my feet, not having a care in the world. I finish wiping down the steel top with some disinfectant pads before throwing them into the little bin. I must have left the back door to my house open by mistake. I close the door to the surgery room and I smile when I glance down at my cat who made herself at home in the crook of my right arm. Her bushy tail waves happily as she purrs at me.

Bella has me wrapped around her paw and she knows it.

I stride to the end of the hall, and like I thought before, the connecting door to my private residence isn’t closed properly. I’ll have to be careful in the future. I step into the garage and stride past my dark blue SUV, then onto another door that leads into my home. I let Bella walk into the foyer and we head upstairs to the open concept living, kitchen, and dining area that has views of Bluebeach Bay. Not that you can see it now as it’s dark outside.

I place Bella on her little bed in the living area, near the exit out to the terrace. She makes herself at home while I turn on the kettle to make myself a coffee. I look at the time on my gold Longines watch. It’s almost six-thirty in the evening. Bella is back with me in the kitchen, running her little legs around mine, making a figure eight between each of my legs. She always does this when she is hungry.

Okay, Bella. That’s her cue to move away, and I grab her tin of chicken cuisine from the silver fridge. She meows as I scoop the contents into her bowl at her spot in the kitchen. That should keep her occupied for a few minutes while I enjoy my coffee.

My phone buzzes in the deep pocket of my trousers and I shove my fingers in there to retrieve it, pressing the call button as I lift it to my ear.

Doctor Stephens speaking.

Hey, Brad, Evan greets me.

Shocked to hear Evan’s voice over the line, I pause mid sip. He must be back from his deployment with the Australian Artillery.

Evan, when did you get back? I ask.

Yesterday. Want to grab a beer tonight? Christian said there’s this new nightclub called Memphis. Are you interested? he inquires.

I sigh. He knows I hate nightclubs, but if it means catching up with him and our soccer teammate, Christian Rivers, then so be it.

Yes, send me the deets. I should be finished with my last interview for a new cleaner by seven. The last couple of cleaners I interviewed were disasters.

What happened to Gladys? he asks.

She is traveling overseas with her husband for a year.

Lucky them. What happened in the interviews?

The last lady I interviewed had a list of demands. It’s a complete turnoff. No one tells me how to run my household or practice, I share with him.

He laughs through the speaker. I’m glad I don’t run a business. It sounds like the interview process is stressful. What happened with the one before?

She was younger than most of the applicants I have seen. Only twenty—she wanted to save money for a holiday. That’s all good, but she had no prior experience. Then she asked me personal questions about my love life. Who I was dating, etc. Fuck, she is twelve years younger than me. Far too young for my taste. I share my grievances with Evan, but he is quiet. Evan?

I’m sorry, mate. I had to control myself from laughing at your predicament. Any warm-blooded man would be charmed, but not you. And you’re damn good-looking, too. So, it’s not surprising, he answers.

Why Evan … I didn’t know you were interested in me.

He laughs at my sarcasm. Ha, ha! I’ll see you tonight.

I smile at his comeback. See you tonight. I end the call.

The next thirty minutes move fast as the interview goes well with Mrs. Theresa Little. She ticks all the boxes, but I won’t decide until next week. I enter my bathroom suite to have a shower so I can meet with Evan and Christian at the nightclub while thoughts stew in my mind about what happened earlier in the week with Evie. I hope one day she’ll understand why I can’t be in a serious relationship with her because I don’t want to lose our friendship.

Techno music blasts when I make my way through the doors after paying at the reception desk of the RSL Club. I heard about this new club which just finished being built. It has a new nightclub called Memphis. It’s the talk of the town for being one of the biggest clubs in the Southern Hemisphere, which houses an Olympic pool and gym. Apart from it being new. Memphis is now crowded with young adults, the ones who end up in the hospital for alcohol poisoning, fights, or worse, car accidents. I move past the many couches with a small table in the center that spread around the dance floor to the back where Evan, Christian, and a couple of familiar looking men I can’t place stand around a tall table.

Hey, bro, Evan greets me, giving me a bear hug and pat on the back. Do you want a beer?

I shake my head. No, something stronger, I shout back, and he smirks.

He knows I’ve had a tough couple of days with interviews from what I shared over the phone earlier. I shake Christian’s hand.

Brad, this is Kain O’Connell and William Devereux. I nod, remembering Evan mentioned in the past that they all went to school together at Bluebeach Bay. It’s when I put two and two together. I know them from public school, but we never hung out together. I only knew Evan and Christian because of our love for soccer and rugby league.

Good to meet you, Brad, Kain says. He is first to introduce himself with a shake of his firm hand. William also reaches out to greet me.

I heard you own a doctor’s practice in our neighborhood, William speaks up over the music.

Yes, three years now, I say.

Evan passes me a straight bourbon and I down half the glass in one shot.

So, what are you not telling me? He leans in near my ear, talking over the music. I knew he would read between the lines. We’ve been friends since first grade. Long before Seth and I moved away and reconnected like no time had passed when I moved back here.

It’s nothing for you to worry about, I say.

He rubs his smooth, short black hair over his head and by the widening of his brown eyes, he isn’t buying it while the music thumps to the beat of a well-known song from the eighties.

Do you both want another drink? Christian asks, thankfully interrupting the conversation.

I shout over the music, No, thanks, while holding up my glass that’s half full.

Is it just me or does the music get louder after being in the club for a while?

Are you still having problems with Reanna? Evan asks.

He’s trying to fish for more information, but Reanna is the last person I want to discuss after she deceived me six months ago.

No, I answer, because he knows what Reanna did, so that’s the end of that conversation.

The crowd surrounding us is rowdy. I lean close to Evan’s ear. I bet your mum is happy you’re back, I ask to change the subject. His mother is Australian and his dad who recently died from cancer was from South Africa. He has his father’s reddish-brown skin.

He leans back in. Yep. She had my favorite lamb roast dinner ready for me. A laugh rises from deep in my chest because his mum always reminded me of Evelyn’s mother.

My chest tightens as I still feel remorse over what happened on Wednesday.

What’s up, man? Evan pats me hard on the back.

Sorry, didn’t hear you, I yell back.

What’s going on? I know you said it's nothing to worry about, but something else happened this week by the glance you gave when I mentioned what my mum cooked me.

I take a huge breath.

Evan knows Evie, and I prefer to keep what is going on between us private, at least until I sort this mess out with her.

I’m okay, I eventually answer.

He chuckles, dropping his gaze with a shake of his head.

He knows I won’t back down.

A loud sharp sound makes our heads turn to where a group of men are on the side of the dance floor wolf-whistling at whoever caught their eye. We move in closer, intrigued by what is going on.

There are two women dancing rather provocatively to a retro song from the eighties, one of them I know. It’s Renee Smyth, Evelyn’s best friend, but I cannot make out who is with her, and when the woman in question does a twirl coming into view, I cease to move.

What the hell is Evelyn doing here on the dance floor?

My heart beats fast when my eyes fall on her short black skirt and see-through red lace, long sleeve top with a camisole underneath. Exasperation has me tingling with the need to remove her off the dance floor knowing she is knocking the socks off every man in the club. My fists begin to shake as I notice all the men that have their roving eyes on her.

She should be mine.

It makes me want to break every man’s skull that has a dirty thought of their own even though all I can think is that her ankles should be locked behind my ears with me inside her.

Evan shouts out, Is that Evelyn?

I don’t answer him as I stalk towards the dance floor.

CHAPTER THREE

EVELYN

I didn’t want to come tonight. Not after what happened with