An unforgettable night has consequences that will change this surgeon’s life forever in the first story in Charlotte Hawkes’s exciting new Billionaire Twin Surgeons duet!A blast from the doctor’s past……brings a baby into his future! Billionaire surgeon Basilius has just one rule: don’t get attached! After a childhood where Bas was only ever let down by those closest to him, he’s hesitant to trust anyone. So why can’t he stop thinking about nurse Naomi after four and a half months? Still, as Bas fights to forget her, he hits a stumbling block. Naomi is back as his new colleague—and she’s carrying his baby!
From Harlequin Medical: Life and love in the world of modern medicine.
Billionaire Twin Surgeons
Book 1: Shock Baby for the Doctor Book 2: Forbidden Nights with the Surgeon
Returning home could lead to a life the nurse never expected! Enjoy this wonderful reunion romance from Harlequin Medical Romance author Alison Roberts.A family……to change the nurse’s life! Nurse Isobel has no doubt. Returning home will be anything but easy. Especially as being back in England means being back in her ex Dr. Rafe’s life. Rafe was once the man whom Isobel almost found happily-ever-after with. Now he’s the single father of adorable twin boys! Yet it’s when Isobel discovers that she has an orphaned newborn niece in the NICU that their lives truly collide. Will their reunion be for good this time?
Will the heartbroken doc take her second chance with the single dad? Find out in this emotional and uplifting Harlequin Medical Romance from USA TODAY bestselling author Traci Douglass.
Home is… …where the doctor is?
Widowed Dr. Morgan needs a fresh start! But the first man that Morgan meets on Whidbey Island in Washington State plunges her back ten years…to a passionate encounter she’s never forgotten. Dr Ely is now a single dad—and her new, if temporary, colleague! Yet as their connection bursts back into life, Morgan’s resolve to protect her broken heart is sorely challenged. Dare she let herself dream of forever again?
Flirting with the forbidden! Can they resist their attraction, or will they give in to temptation? Find out in the second story in Charlotte Hawkes’s Billionaire Twin Surgeons duet!Will one night……be enough? It’s surgeon Rik’s first day at Thorncroft Royal Infirmary and his plan is simple: to reunite with his long-lost brother and put the ghosts of their past to rest. Until Rik is reunited with Dr. Grace…who completely derails his plans! Because Grace is not just the woman whom he spent one unforgettable night with—she’s his brother’s best friend! With a connection this powerful, can they walk away from their off-limits temptation?
From Harlequin Medical: Life and love in the world of modern medicine.
Billionaire Twin Surgeons
Book 1: Shock Baby for the Doctor Book 2: Forbidden Nights with the Surgeon
Travel to Naples with a princess as she swaps her tiara for a stethoscope—and an unexpected romance!—in Becky Wicks’s latest Harlequin Medical Romance. Trading her tiara……for a stethoscope! After the very public explosion of her engagement, Princess Adrienne is dedicating every hour of every day to her medical training! Arriving in Naples, she’s ready to learn everything she can from esteemed Dr. Franco. If only it wasn’t so hard to prove that she is so much more than just a “privileged princess” to him! Yet as Adrienne battles for Franco to recognize her talent, she finds herself battling their fierce—and unexpected!—chemistry, too…
A GP steps into the earl’s world in the latest Harlequin Medical Romance from author Karin Baine. See the sparks fly as these opposites attract!What happens……when opposites attract?Nobody is more dedicated to their job than Dr. Thomas. Which is why he struggles to accept that it’s time to take on a new job as the Earl of Morton. Not least because, by taking the title, Thomas must accept that he’s lost his father. So Thomas does not have the headspace for dynamic Dr. Daisy’s arrival. Until a flood hits Little Morton and together, they must fight the rising water and their rising attraction!
For us here in the Northern Hemisphere, Spring is upon us. Now, I say that with bit of sarcasm since where I’m at in the US Midwest, it’s April 18th and it’s snowing. Again.
Ugh.
This time of year, the weather can be so unpredictable here. Today, the high is in the 40s and snow. But by Saturday, the forecast temperatures are near 80 and sunny. Craziness.
Anyway, Spring is my favorite season because everything is so fresh and new and there’s a sense of possibilities in the air that I always find so inspiring, despite whatever else might be happening in my life or the world. It speaks of the power of rejuvenation and second chances. And boy, do I love a great second chance.
Speaking of which, I have a new book out next week on 4/26 that specifically speaks to second chances and new beginnings. Island Reunion with the Single Dad, features Dr. Morgan and Dr. Eli, both of whom have dealt with some stuff in life. They had one star-crossed night together a decade prior and now find themselves back together again to run a clinic on Whidbey Island, Washington. There’s lots of unresolved tension between them and enough chemistry to light up the entire West Coast US for years.
Here’s a little exclusive snippet from Island Reunion with the Single Dad to whet your whistle:
“What’s Boston like”? Seriously? Such a lame question. He should have left after telling her about the case. That was what he’d intended to do. But no. Now he was sitting on her sofa asking her stupid questions instead of the things he really wanted to know about her, and… Gah! This was all a mistake. A horrible miscalculation. Except, the more time Ely spent around Morgan, the more he wanted. Seeing her in action today with the C-section had reminded him of her passion—in work, and in life in general. And while his life was neat and ordered and perfectly wonderful, it lacked passion. He wanted that passion back dearly. Morgan watched him a moment, apparently as stunned by his silly question as he felt. But he couldn’t think of anything intelligent to ask her now that he was here. He, a physician, well respected in his field, had absolutely no game at all where this woman was concerned. Of course it didn’t help, either, when his gaze slid downward against his will to her breasts, their outline more pronounced since she’d crossed her arms beneath them, pushing them up and out into that soft fleece top she was wearing. His palms suddenly itched to touch them, cup them, see if they were as plump and full and just the right size like he remembered. He licked his dry lips and glanced away. No. Stop looking there. Stop it. And now his lower body was responding as well, dammit, as the tension inside him grew stronger. Heat climbed his neck from beneath the collar of his white button-down. Maybe she wasn’t going to answer. Maybe she sensed the things he was feeling. Maybe she’d kick him out on his butt as he deserved. Instead, she just gave him an odd look and snuggled down farther in her chair. “Uh, Boston is a nice city. Brutal winters. Not that I saw much of them. I worked in the ER, and it was very busy, so I didn’t have much free time.” “Right.” His pulse thumped harder against his temples. Now that he couldn’t look at her boobs, it seemed that was all he wanted to do. But he couldn’t. Nope. He wasn’t that type of man, ruled by his desire. Flustered, he asked the next question that popped into his head, which turned out to be the complete wrong one. “Is that where you met your husband?” Hell. Morgan’s gaze narrowed, and Ely rushed to cover his blunder. “Sorry. No idea why I asked that.” Stop talking, idiot. He couldn’t. “I mean, I’d like to get to know you better, but…” He swiped a hand through his hair and looked away. “I didn’t mean anything by it.” Morgan untucked her legs from beneath her, placing her pink sock–covered feet on the floor. And now he was looking at her toes, wondering what she’d do if he massaged them, kissed them… What the hell is wrong with me? Leave. Now. But he couldn’t stand up without knocking into her, because she was close now, too close. Close enough for him to catch the scent of her perfume, something floral and sweet and entirely too intoxicating for his liking. He clenched his jaw, a small muscle ticking in his cheek. “I’m sorry,” he said again, because that seemed to be all he could say tonight. Why couldn’t he just let it drop? That would be the easy thing to do, but then, nothing was easy with Morgan, and damn if he didn’t like it that way. His blood pounded, and his chest burned. He felt more alive than he had in years. Everything seemed sharper, clearer, including that pinch of regret that had never quite gone away where she was concerned, even after a decade apart from her. The one that got away.
If you liked that (I hope you did!), consider checking out the rest of the book. Link here:
Home is… …where the doctor is?
Widowed Dr. Morgan needs a fresh start! But the first man that Morgan meets on Whidbey Island in Washington State plunges her back ten years…to a passionate encounter she’s never forgotten. Dr Ely is now a single dad—and her new, if temporary, colleague! Yet as their connection bursts back into life, Morgan’s resolve to protect her broken heart is sorely challenged. Dare she let herself dream of forever again?
For most people the question, “Where is home?” is simple to answer. Maybe they’d tell you their address, city of residence, or the country they’re a citizen of. Or, perhaps, they’ll tell you a special place of the heart, like a grandparent’s house, or the area their family came from.
An overcast afternoon in Kingston, Jamaica
If you ask me that question, I’d have a hard time replying.
Where I live now in Florida is home, but so is London, Ontario, Canada, and Kingston, Jamaica. I miss them both when I’m not there, although I’ll be the first to say I’m ecstatically happy where I am now too.
It’s tug-of-heart-and-soul, to be honest.
Hibiscus, Runaway Bay, Jamaica
The pandemic really put pay to any plans I had to go to either Canada or Jamaica, and I can’t tell you how excited I was to go to visit my kids in Canada last year. Then, just this month, I finally made it back to Jamaica—and I suddenly felt complete again.
Beautiful day at the beach, Discovery Bay, Jamaica
Renewed.
Invigorated.
Although I’m still trying to recover physically from the trip!
Sunset over the airplane wing- Jamaica, goodbye. Until next time…
It really made me think, though, about that question of home. Is it really a physical place at all? Or, like love, is it where the heart lies? And, like love, is it okay to have many focuses of your attention? If we can love parents, spouses, children, and friends, can’t we love all the places we have unbreakable bonds to—call them all “home?”
I rather think we can.
And I know I always will.
Donkey cart along the Mandela Highway, Spanish Town, Jamaica. Both donkey and mule carts used to be common on the streets and highways, but this was the only one I saw on this trip.
I’m excited to share with you the cover for my July/August release, One Night Fling in Positano. I love it!
Walk underneath the Mediterranean moonlight as you fall in love with Ann McIntosh’s latest Harlequin Medical Romance!
Can one night of passion… …change her whole life? Nurse Kendra lives a jet-set life. Who needs a home and family when they only let you down? So when meeting gorgeous Massimo in Positano results in one unforgettable night, Kendra has no regrets—until he turns out to be her new boss! Continuing their fling is risky, but also irresistible… Under the red-hot Mediterranean sun, will Kendra realize it’s not her fling that’s at risk but her no-strings-attached relationship rule?
No, the above isn’t my age. That would be a long time ago! But it is the number of books I’ve written and a few more.
Harlequin Publishing makes a big deal when their authors reach a milestone of books written. The first is 25 books, 50 and so on. I have worked for years to reach the 25 books published mark. I never believed it be possible but I did it. I was looking forward to being introduce at Harlequin’s annual party and receiving my pin.
Then along came the stuff I refuse to name. The party was canceled and due to the same stuff my pin couldn’t be made. I know in the scheme of things my issues during the last two years has been small. Still the disappointment was large to me since I had been looking forward to that evening for so long.
My work was acknowledged during a very nice zoom party. A year and a half later my pin arrived in the mail. I have to admit I was tickled to get it. It’s a tangible sign of my achievement. I’m currently working on book 33 so it won’t be long before I’m due of another pin. I hope by that time I can prance across a stage and open that tiny box once again. For now I’m enjoying the one I got.
Have you ever looked forward to something then been disappointed?
Then: an almost happily-ever-after Now: a second chance? Surgeon Lia Costa has spent a lifetime trying to blend into the background. So when Dr. Micah Corday picks her out of a busy concert crowd on Valentine’s Day, she can’t believe it! Micah was her first love…and the man she thought she would never see again. Is Lia ready to remember the powerful love that she had tried so hard to forget?
Nashville ER duet Book 1 – New Year Kiss with His Cinderella by Annie O’Neil Book 2 – Their Reunion to Remember by Tina Beckett
Love was off-limits Then she met the best man! Former midwife Isabel is always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Yet she doesn’t count on best man Dr. Domenico bursting into her life! Years ago, Isabel firmly shut the door to love. Now Dom is starting to break down her barriers…one heart-stopping smile at a time. But it’s Dom’s ability to see the real Isabel that has her asking if she is ready to risk it all on their unexpected connection.
It started with one night… …and led to a nine-month secret! Dr. Emily Archer would rather be anywhere than Los Angeles! Arriving to offer her sports medicine expertise to an international dance team, she’s immediately confronted by the memories of her turbulent childhood in the spotlight. Fortunately, on her first night, she finds the perfect distraction—charismatic Dr. Daniel Labarr. Neither can resist when instant passion takes over… And neither realize that their passion has been life changing
From a midnight kiss… …to a reunion in the ER! When Dr. Carter shares a New Year’s kiss with a captivating stranger, he doesn’t expect a reunion. Then he walks into Saint Dolores’s ER the very next day…and discovers she’s his new colleague! Awkwardly, their smoking-hot attraction hasn’t gone away! But for Carter, life has meant staying mobile, and he can’t simply lay down roots. Yet there’s something about Nurse Avery and Nashville that’s starting to really feel like home…
Nashville ER duet Book 1 – New Year Kiss with His Cinderella by Annie O’Neil Book 2 – Their Reunion to Remember by Tina Beckett
Is this a marriage… …That’s meant to be? The last person Iris expected as the new temporary consultant in her Dublin ER was her ex-husband, Lachlan! It’s been eight years since their whirlwind marriage ended after the heartbreaking discovery they couldn’t have children. Iris knows they should focus on being colleagues, but Lachlan is impossible to resist! Older and wiser now, they’ve been given one last chance to find their way back to each other… Are they ready to take it?
Rule number one? Forget their fling If only it was that easy! Pioneering transplant surgeon Lily Evans is always cool under pressure. So why does the idea of working with ex-fling Max James have her so hot under the collar? Max is just passing through Florida, after all, and maintaining a professional relationship is top of their agenda. Yet Lily’s sensible head is being overruled by her unusually reckless heart as she begins to fall for more than just Max’s roguish charms…
Me, still processing 2021. 2022 coming in three weeks.
Hi all!
It’s that time of year again where we all settle in for the holidays and all the ‘Best of” lists start to appear. Many people begin to think about the last twelve months. Some things that happened to us were good. Some things, not so much. But whatever happened, if you’re reading this, then we survived. So cheers to us!
Since I truly believe that what we focus on becomes our reality, I’ve been doing a lot of work on myself regarding gratitude and mindfulness and manifesting the things I wish to see more of in my life. To that end, today I thought I’d share with y’all three things that happened to me this year that I’m so very thankful for. Here goes:
1. My home office re-do is complete!
This project has been a long time in the making. Below at the “Before” pictures. It’s a 3rd bedroom in my home that no one uses. As you can see by the dusty treadmill there in the back, I’d had dreams of this being a workout room when I first move in, but eventually, it just turned into catch-all clutter space. Filled with boxes and mementos and anything else I didn’t have the time or spoons to deal with at that moment. There was also a desk in here, where that blank space is against the wall in the second pic. It’s where I started my writing career, but after my mom’s passing in 2013, I was just too sad to return to it. When I did start writing again in 2016, I did so slumped over my kitchen table because there was so much stuff in this room by then, you couldn’t even see the desk anymore. It was too overwhelming. Until April of 2021 when I couldn’t stand not having a dedicated space for my writing career anymore and…
Before…
After!
I seriously LOVE my office so much now. Lots of storage, everything has it’s place and all the furniture matches. I’ve got my stand-sit desk and under desk elliptical to make sure I get my exercise in and the whole vibe of the space is very light and uplifting. It’s my new favorite room in the house!
2. My new pup Karley!
After my beloved pup and writing partner Clara passed away at the end of September this year, I was devastated. She’d been with me for fifteen years and it was like losing a beloved family member. Grieving, I wasn’t going to get another dog right away. But fate intervened and Karley arrived in my life on October 16th. And after nearly two months with me, Karley’s settling in nicely, I think. Oh, and I had her DNA tested and she’s a Schnese. Gesundheit. LOL! A miniature schnauzer-havanese mix. And 100% the bestest girl! ❤️
3. Author Milestones!
When I published my first book with the Medicals line back in 2018, I had no idea that just three years later, my 10th book with the line would come out. Wow! I’m so proud of Costa Rican Fling with the Doc, my first seasoned romance with older protagonists, and I’m so grateful to all you readers who allow me to keep doing what I love to do by buying my books. Cheers to me writing ten more Medicals books with the line, eh? Oh, and here’s the link if you want to check out Gabe and Sara’s story for yourself!
Proud to publish my 10th book with the line, Costa Rican Fling with the Doc!
So, there are 3 good things that happened to me this year. With so much darkness and uncertainty in the world, let’s shine a light on joy! I’d love to hear what awesome things have happened for you this year too. Please tell me in the comments!
And until next year, I wish you and yours peace and love and every good thing you desire! Happy Reading! 🤓📚❤️
For widowed GP Owen Ledger, the arrival of his replacement, Dr. Lucy Childs is step one on the road to a new life… away from the island where he spent his marriage. Only as Owen hands over the practice to warm-hearted Lucy, he starts to see everything through fresh eyes. Could Lucy be the final step to a second chance – and show Owen that he does belong on the island – with her!
I live on an island of twenty-two thousand people. Which, despite it being a lot of people, you tend to hear the same names cropping up over and over again. Councillors, MPs, teachers, doctors. When people want to complain, you tend to hear about it. If someone does something wrong, it stays in the communities minds for a long time and forgiveness? Is something not often seen. People like to hold a grudge.
It was this aspect of island life that I wanted to explore in a book. How living on an island, where you’re fairly well-known and liked and how people expect a certain level of commitment from you. A certain standard of behaviour and how those people might react if you went against expectations.
So Owen came to life. He’s lived on Morrow Island with his wife for ages. Everyone loves him. Everyone puts his name with his wife’s. Who has died. Owen wants to move on, but the island doesn’t want to let him go.
Which, in turn, created Lucy. A woman stifled by the expectations of her family and their concerns for her, who breaks free of their hold and moves to an island, in the hope of becoming free, not realising that the second she arrives, she becomes one of them and that privacy and secrets are not things that you get to keep in a small community, who want to know everything about you and butt into your life.
Owen and Lucy’s story was such fun to write. I got to create an island, a community, a haunted cove with its own tragic love story. But I also got to create the good side of living in a small community. I got to create some great secondary characters!
I almost didn’t want to leave Morrow myself!
Originally, I named Morrow, because it rhymed with Sorrow. But this island is anything but sorrowful. It’s a happy place and Lucy helps Owen see it. She helps him realise just how much he is loved by everyone else.
And her, too, obviously!
I hope you enjoy Lucy and Owen’s story and maybe, one day, I might return to Morrow Island and explore some of the other characters on the island.
A Gift to Change His Life is my 35th book for Harlequin! It’s very exciting for me but also feels a little surreal.
I was first published in 2004 and it’s safe to say I have learnt a lot along the way and seen plenty of changes in the publishing industry. My first books were print only – no audio or ebook editions – manuscripts were printed and sent out from the UK office to me in Australia for editing and proofing and there was no such thing as an author website and now, here I am with 35 books to my name 😊
Covers have changed along the way too and a variety of themes have been popular but romance still remains a favourite genre for many readers and for that I am very grateful.
A Gift to Change His Life is Book 2 in my Bondi Medics series about the four Carlson siblings – Lily, Jet, Poppy and Daisy. They work as an ED doctor, a lifeguard, a paramedic and a paediatric nurse and live and love in beautiful Bondi.
Jet is a lifeguard on the iconic beach and living a bachelor lifestyle until the day Mei reappears:
Sun, surf…and a seven-year-old secret!
Lifeguard Jet Carlson’s heart skips a beat when paramedic Mei Chen shows up at his beachside rescue. They shared a soul-stirring connection during their teenage summer fling — and then real life beckoned…Jet doesn’t want to let her go again, but his commitment-free lifestyle means he can’t offer more. And Mei makes it clear that isn’t enough — because it’s not just herself she must protect this Christmas, it’s their daughter too!
Costa Rican Fling with the Doc by Traci DouglassDude sprawling in autumn leaves wearing a Witch Way to the Wine T-shirt. In other words, all of us.
Hello again and Happy Autumn! 😊🍁🍂
Spring and Fall are my favorite times of the year. Not too hot, not to cold, beautiful colors everywhere. Though I will say for me, since about mid-September and through to Oct. 22nd has been and will be a blur. Lots of stuff has happened–good and bad.
On the good side, I turned in my 11th book for the Medicals line, Island Reunion for the Single Dad, on August 27th. I also hit an author milestone this month with the release of my 10th book with the Medicals line, Costa Rican Fling with the Doc, on Oct. 26th, and I’m getting new author photos taken on 10/22—like hair, makeup, the whole “top model” treatment—and I’m both excited and nervous. LOL. 😂 And I celebrated another birthday.
On the bad side, after turning in the Aug book, I received two-weeks worth of edits on it in mid-September. Around the same time, my beloved 15 y.o. dog, Clara, passed away, on 9/22. And I was also busy writing book #12 with the line, which is due 10/15. So yeah. A LOT. But I’ve learned over the years to keep persevering, to keep my head down and focus on just that moment, just that hour, just that day, and keep moving forward. Eventually things get done, plates get cleared. And the sun shines again and we write on. ❤️
But, needless to say, I haven’t gotten to do nearly the amount of cheerleading for my upcoming release later this month that I usually do, so I thought I’d share an exclusive snippet with y’all today to hopefully pique your interest.
In this scene below, my hero Gabe and heroine Sara have finished up a difficult birth for a patient in the village nearly, and are strolling back to the field hospital together that night, still too buzzed to sleep and too aware of each other to want to part ways just yet. Enjoy…🤓📚❤️
Exclusive Excerpt:
As they walked back to the clinic, Sara marveled at the lush foliage. Everything seemed bigger now, brighter now, since the birth. She still couldn’t quite believe she’d done that. Working in the PICU, she cared for tiny infants all the time. But bringing them into the world? Now that was something.
The late-afternoon sun filtered through the trees, its rays still prickling Sara’s sunburned skin as they passed a bar, a crowded convenience store and a school painted in primary colors in the village. Gabe pointed toward a tiny house to their left. He looked rumpled but perfect, a tiny, infant-size handprint staining the front of his scrub shirt. “That’s where to go for the best tortillas in Costa Rica.”
“Really?” Sara smiled. “I’ll have to remember that. Thanks for letting me help out today.”
“Thank you for being there,” he said, the solemnity in his green eyes making her think they were talking about more than the breech birth.
Before Sara could ask more, however, they reached to compound and walked back to the clinic tent to drop off their supplies. At the entrance, an older woman waited, her gray bun perched precariously atop her head and her blue cotton dress neat but faded a bit around the edges.
“Hola,” Gabe said, waving. “What can I do for you?”
The woman smiled, then spoke in rapid Spanish.
“Anything I can help with?” Sara asked him, setting her supply bag on the table inside the tent.
“Sí.” Gabe grinned, walking past her to his exam area to drop off his stuff. “She’s inviting our team to dinner tomorrow.”
“Oh.” Sara straightened. “That’s very nice.”
“It is.” He chuckled. “She’s an old friend and a patient here at the clinic. She feels it’s her duty to feed us while we’re here.”
The woman, still waiting at the entrance, nodded. She spoke to Gabe once more, too fast for Sara to keep up. Maybe something about a horse? Or hair? She could never keep those two words straight. Gabe moved in beside Sara then, and maybe it was the adrenaline from earlier still sizzling through her veins, or the joy of bringing new life into the world. Whatever it was, she suddenly couldn’t help being aware of how close he was standing behind her and how if she leaned back just slightly, his chest would rest against her back, all warm and solid and…
Oh, boy.
Gabe promised the woman they’d all be there for dinner the next evening, and the woman walked away, leaving the two of them alone again. Inside the tent, long shadows increased the intimate feel of the moment.
“Thanks again for your help with Angela,” he said, leaning in to rest his free hand on the desk behind her back. Her body buzzed, hyperaware of his every move even though there was still a good foot of space between them. He lowered his head and stared at the ground. “There were moments during the delivery when I thought…” His dark brows drew together.
Cicadas sang their nightly song outside the tent, but inside it was just the two of them. Sara hesitated, then asked the question that had been on her mind since she’d arrived and first met Gabe. “What happened to them? Your family?”
He swallowed hard and straightened, and for an awful second, she thought he might shut her out again, but then he took a deep breath and said quietly, “They died. When our apartment in Croatia was bombed during the war. I lost my family, everything I cared about within a matter of hours.”
“Oh, God.” Sara’s own heart broke at the eviscerating agony in his voice. “I’m so sorry, Gabe.”
She tried to put her hand on his arm, but he took a step back, reaching into the back pocket of his scrub pants for his wallet. “I have a picture of them. Would you like to see?”
Sara nodded, trusting herself not to cry.
The photo he pulled out was a bit crinkled and bent at the edges, as if handled a lot. He moved closer to Sara again, handing her the picture, then pointing at the pretty woman smiling in it. “Her name was Marija. We were married almost two years when this was taken. She’s holding our son, Karlo.”
Blinking back tears, Sara smiled. “She’s lovely. And Karlo is precious.”
“Thank you.” He took the photo from her, staring down at it reverently. “He was our everything. We couldn’t wait to move from Vukovar to Prague and start a new life there, but I had to finish medical school first. Marija and I used to fight about it, but she let me win.” He gave a sad little snort. “I was so young and stupid back then. I thought we’d have all the time in the world.”
“You couldn’t have known this would happen,” Sara said, touching him now to emphasize her point. “No one knows what the future holds.”
“I should have.” His expression darkened to a scowl, and he put the photo away, those damned walls of his crashing down hard again. “Anyway, I apologize if I seemed distracted during the delivery earlier.”
It took a moment for his words to penetrate the emotional fog in Sara’s brain. “You weren’t distracted. I thought you were brilliant today. You saved them both, Angela and her baby.”
“No, you did.” Gabe smiled again, and it felt like a million stars shining to Sara, that dimple of his making her slightly dizzy with yearning. “Without your small hands, all would have been lost.”
Sara held her hands up as she shrugged. “Genetics, I guess.”
“Hmm.”
The low whirr of the generators kicking on outside reinforced the fact that she and Gabe were still alone out here in the tent, standing in the shadows, so close that the heat radiating from his skin penetrated the thin cotton of her scrubs, sending her pulse skyrocketing.
“We should probably go into the dorms,” she murmured past her taut vocal cords.
“We probably should,” he agreed.
Neither of them moved.
Finally, Gabe reached into one of the drawers of the nearest table and handed her something.
“What’s this?” she asked, staring down at the chunk of cellophane-wrapped white in her palm.
“Sweets for the sweet. Dulce de coco,” he said, his teeth even and white as he smiled in the darkness. “Coconut candy. I get tired of eating beans and rice.”
She sniffed the stuff. “Wow. Smells amazing.”
“It’s very good.” Gabe stood there a moment, staring down at her, then sighed and turned away. “Well…uh… I guess this is good night, then.” He started to leave, but Sara placed a hand on his forearm, her fingertips tingling from the touch. Gabe froze, looking back at her, his green eyes flicking from her eyes to her mouth, then back again. Her name emerged low and rough, and she felt it like a physical caress. “Sara?”
“Yes?”
Silence stretched for eons. Finally, he stepped closer once more, his fingers trailing down her arm, firm but tentative. Gentle but wanting. “I want to kiss you, but I know I shouldn’t.”
He was probably right—she knew that. With his past and her future waiting back in Chicago, getting involved, even temporarily, made no sense. And yet, at that moment, Sara wanted to kiss him more than she wanted her next breath. Taking the initiative, she closed the small distance between them and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down until their lips met. She put all of her whirling emotions into it—the sweetness of the birth, the sadness of his picture, the need and want she’d felt for him since the first day she’d met him. Gabe seemed taken aback at first, holding back, but then her tongue traced his lips, and he gave in with a grunt, pulling her tight against him as he deepened the kiss. His mouth was perfect against hers, mirroring the soft eagerness of his touch. She couldn’t help giving a desperate whimper.
More. I need more.
The sound of footsteps outside the tent finally jarred them back to reality.
Sara inched away, breathless and light-headed.
Gabe’s warm breath fanned her face, stirring the tiny hairs near her temple. He gave a short sigh full of frustrated need, then kissed her forehead. “Tomorrow we talk, yes?”
“Yes,” she whispered, savoring the feel of him against her while she could.
“Good.” Then he brushed his lips across her forehead and started for the exit again. “Sleep well.”
She waited a moment, catching her breath and calming her racing heart, then headed for the dorms herself. Sara wasn’t sure about a lot of things but having a restful night after a kiss like that would be impossible—of that she was certain.
Until next time, Happy Reading! 😊
The road to happily-ever-after starts in Costa Rica in this passionate romance by USA TODAY bestselling author Traci Douglass.
Sometimes the future… …is just a fling away!
For single mom Sara, life has been all about raising her now adult son. But volunteering for a medical charity in Costa Rica is finally the nurse’s chance to focus on her passions. Only, her guarded new boss, Gabe, stirs something deep in her that she’d thought long forgotten… And as the devastatingly handsome doctor sends all her senses into overdrive, for once sensible Sara can’t help wondering—what if they didn’t resist temptation?
Happy October! Here in Canada we’re gearing up for our Thanksgiving (it’s a month earlier than our American friends to the south) and Spooky Season is upon us. It’s my favourite time of the year.
We have six fabulous reads for you.
Congratulations to our milestone authors this month. Juliette Hyland with her 5th book Reawakened in the South Pole and Me (Amy Ruttan) with my 30th Falling for His Runaway Nurse.
Could a runaway bride… …be the one to tempt him? Brooding Thatcher Bell enjoys the anonymity of life as a cruise ship doctor. But when beautiful Lacey Greenwood storms into his life—wearing a wedding dress!—to take up the vacant post as nurse, he’s shocked by their instant chemistry. Lacey is obviously escaping something, and Thatcher recognizes some of the pain she’s hiding behind her dazzling smile. But as they set sail, there’s no way of running from their real and ever-growing feelings!
An antarctic adventure and a reunion of a lifetime… ER nurse Helena Mathews wants just one thing: to show her parents that she’s no longer the fragile, premature baby they cradled in the NICU. So her new South Pole–based job is the perfect way to break free! But Dr. Carter Simpson’s arrival proves that you can’t just erase the past. Her one-time best friend may have left without a trace after a life-altering discovery, but he never left Helena’s heart…
“I just want to talk.” Is he ready to hear her secret? Nurse Thurza had pictured this day thousands of times. The day that Dr. Logan would return. Still, nothing could have prepared her for the real thing… Why? Well, when a mix-up led a brokenhearted Thurza to falsely believe that he had abandoned her and their unborn babies, she said goodbye to Logan—forever. But, as their past and the truth begin to unravel, will Thurza let Logan back in?
A past kiss… …A happy-ever-after? For former army surgeon Mysti, a return to Forgotten Point was not in the cards…until a tragic accident while on duty leads her home. Her physical wounds may have healed, but it’s the invisible scars that remain. So the last thing that Mysti needs is to bump into Dr. Jesse: her unexpected new colleague and the one that got away. Now Jesse’s a single dad with his own hidden pain. Can they heal—together?
A forgotten past… An unforgettable future? In this Reunited at St. Barnabas’s Hospital story, former workaholic Dr. Gil Alexander is happy with the slower-paced life he was forced to adopt following his traumatic brain injury. The only things missing are his memories of just before the accident. But when Dr. Clemmie Francis is temporarily assigned to his rehabilitation center, he can’t shake the feeling he’s met this captivating yet cautious doctor before…and that this isn’t the first time he’s experienced their explosive chemistry! Reunited at St. Barnabas’s Hospital duet Book 1 – Twins for the Neurosurgeon by Louisa Heaton Book 2 – The Doctor’s Reunion to Remember by Annie Claydon
Two tiny heartbeats… …will change their lives forever! In this Reunited at St. Barnabas’s Hospital story, top neurosurgeons Samantha Gordon and Yanis Baptiste spend one unforgettable night together in Paris. Their reunion in London proves even more explosive when they discover Sam is pregnant with twins! Neither Sam nor Yanis is prepared for parenthood, but those two tiny heartbeats could help them find the family neither of them believed they would ever have…
Reunited at St. Barnabas’s Hospital duet Book 1 – Twins for the Neurosurgeon by Louisa Heaton Book 2 – The Doctor’s Reunion to Remember by Annie Claydon
Love is the Best Medicine 