by Tina Beckett
The Island Clinic
Saving lives in St. Victoria!
Welcome to paradise! Or, as it’s officially known, the Caribbean island of St. Victoria—home to chief of staff Nate Edwards and his private hospital, The Island Clinic. With the motto “We are always here to help,” The Island Clinic was created as both a safe haven for the rich and famous to receive medical treatment and a lifeline for the local community.
This summer, we’re going to meet The Island Clinic’s medical team as they work hard to save lives...and, just maybe, get a shot at love!
How to Win the Surgeon’s Heart
by Tina Beckett
Caribbean Paradise, Miracle Family
by Julie Danvers
Available now!
The Princess and the Pediatrician
by Annie O’Neil
Reunited with His Long-Lost Nurse
by Charlotte Hawkes
Coming soon!
Dear Reader,
Have you ever felt uncertain about what the future holds? I think most of us have at some time or other. Sometimes those fears can consume us...paralyze us. That’s the spot surgeon Sasha James finds herself in. She has finally put a failed relationship behind her and now has her future all mapped out. But you know how that goes, right? Trouble arrives, in the form of life events and, more importantly, a man she’ll have to work closely with for the next several weeks. A man who makes her insides go all wonky.
Thank you for joining Sasha and Nate as they struggle to free themselves from their pasts once and for all. And maybe, just maybe, this special couple will find a little something extra along the way. I hope you enjoy reading their story as much as I loved writing it. These two characters stayed with me long after I typed “The End.”
I have to say working with Julie Danvers, Annie O’Neil and Charlotte Hawkes on The Island Clinic continuity was a dream come true. I can’t wait for you to read their stories and get a taste of paradise!
Much love,
Tina Beckett
How to Win the Surgeon’s Heart
Tina Beckett
Three-times Golden Heart® Award finalist Tina Beckett learned to pack her suitcases almost before she learned to read. Born to a military family, she has lived in the United States, Puerto Rico, Portugal and Brazil. In addition to traveling, Tina loves to cuddle with her pug, Alex, spend time with her family and hit the trails on her horse. Learn more about Tina from her website or “friend” her on Facebook.
Books by Tina Beckett
Harlequin Medical Romance
New York Bachelor’s Club
Consequences of Their New York Night
The Trouble with the Tempting Doc
A Summer in São Paulo
One Hot Night with Dr. Cardoza
A Family to Heal His Heart
A Christmas Kiss with Her Ex-Army Doc
Risking It All for the Children’s Doc
It Started with a Winter Kiss
Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.
To my kids for always supporting me. I love you!
Praise for Tina Beckett
“Tina Beckett definitely followed through on the premise and managed to infuse just the right amount of angst and passion to keep me glued to the pages of Miracle Baby for the Midwife from beginning to end.”
—Harlequin Junkie
Contents
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
EPILOGUE
EXCERPT FROM CARIBBEAN PARADISE, MIRACLE FAMILY BY JULIE DANVERS
PROLOGUE
NATE EDWARDS STOOD on the tarmac, a tiny cloth doll clutched in his hand, awaiting the Medicine Around the World plane that would whisk him away from Saint Victoria and the aftermath of the hurricane that had wreaked havoc on the small Caribbean island. His thumb rubbed across the doll’s rough cloth, trying not to picture the tearstained eyes of her parents as they presented the gift to him. But their faces were forever burned into his memory. As was the dark-haired child who had been so very sick. And yet she’d managed the tiniest of smiles for him. With the island’s hospital obliterated by the fury of the storm, there had been little hope of saving her.
But God, how he’d wanted to. How he’d fought for her.
The phone in his pocket pinged.
Hell. His team had had only the most rudimentary supplies to work with during their stay. How, then, could cell phone signals still get through?
He pulled the phone out of his pocket, glad he’d charged it before packing for the trip home.
His mom’s name appeared at the top of the screen.
Glad you’re coming home today. We have a big surprise waiting for you! Your father and I can’t wait for you to see it.
A sense of dread filled his gut. He’d hoped by coming to the island he could circumvent their plans and buy himself a little more time to explain things to them. And then there was Tara, who had been hinting about settling down once he finished specializing. Except so much had changed. He tucked the doll under his arm as a bead of sweat rolled down his temple. He typed back.
Please don’t do anything until I get there.
He had no idea how he was going to tell them that he had no intention of joining their practice. After his trip to Saint Victoria—which they hadn’t approved of—the last thing he wanted to do was practice plastic surgery on the rich and famous.
One of his colleagues came up beside him. “Nate, we just got the results back on your patient’s mystery illness.”
Too late. Marie had already passed away. Still he forced himself to ask. “What was it?”
“Schistosomiasis. It must have damaged her liver and intestines beyond repair. That’s why she was so jaundiced. She had to have had it for a while.”
A parasite found in water had killed her? He closed his eyes. That possibility had never even crossed his mind. They’d had to send samples via water courier to a neighboring island, but he’d known in his heart it was too late. It should make him feel better to know there was nothing he could have done. Instead he just felt...empty. And now he had to go home and face his parents and Tara.
He forced himself to meet the eyes of his colleague. “Thanks for letting me know.”
“You’re welcome.” Peter clapped him on the back. “Not your fault.”
“Thanks.”
What else could he say?
Just then his phone pinged again, the screen lighting up and drawing his attention to the words that were printed there.
Too late. It’s already done.
Three smiley faces appeared at the end of the phrase.
She was right. It was already done. All of it.
Marie. This trip. His decision about what to do with his future.
Maybe Tara would understand. Maybe she’d even want to join him.
He stuffed his phone back in his pocket and cradled the worn doll in his palms.
Because he was coming back to this island, someday, and he was going to use his training to do something good. Something worthwhile.
If it took every penny he had.
CHAPTER ONE
SASHA JAMES GROUND her teeth as she waited
for the shuttle that connected The Island Clinic with Saint Victoria Hospital. She was surprised the man hadn’t taken his fancy helicopter instead. After all, he was the one who’d paid for Saint Victoria Hospital to have the helipad installed. And for The Island Clinic’s. His own little kingdom.
“Not fair, Sash. You know good and well he’s done a lot for the island over the last three years.”
But how long before he got bored with playing the part of a philanthropist?
She rolled her eyes. It would not do to make an enemy of the man, because without a doubt, she would come out on the losing end. Everyone she’d talked to idolized him.
Especially those wealthy women who had vacation homes here on the island. There were rumors that some of them had their eyes set on dating him. That a few might have done just that. Except the clinic’s chief of staff was apparently not interested in deeper relationships.
Sound familiar?
The shuttle, with The Island Clinic’s picture emblazoned on the side, pulled up to the doors of the hospital’s main entrance. Why had she been appointed as the one to meet Mr. Big Wig?
Because they were short staffed and Sasha had no immediate surgeries scheduled. Basically, she’d drawn the short straw. It was also why Dr. Edwards had offered to come over from the clinic.
The door to the back opened and a couple of people got off the shuttle, followed by a man who must be Edwards in black jeans and a matching polo shirt.
She’d expected Armani and had gotten Men in Black, instead. Great.
Maybe he’d decided to dress down for the Saint Victoria crowd.
There she went again.
Pushing through the glass door, the heat outside swept across her cheeks and made her clothing want to stick to her skin. She hurried to meet him halfway down the sidewalk. “Dr. Edwards? I’m Sasha James. Nice to meet you.”
“You, as well.”
A quick smile appeared, forming a crease on the left side of his face, one which disappeared in the blink of an eye. With black hair swept back from a strong forehead and an even stronger chin, the man’s features were swoon-worthy. Fortunately, Sasha was no swooner. Not anymore. Her gaze traveled a little further down, where the swell of biceps was noticeable under the sleeves of his knit shirt. How in the world had he gotten those? Warmth washed through her belly, and her hand instinctively went there to push back the tide. It didn’t work.
She had to admit his appearance didn’t immediately scream wealth and privilege, the way she’d expected it to. The way Austin’s had done. There was no softness to his jawline, no paunch around his middle—not that her former boyfriend had had either of those things. Maybe, like Austin, this man spent hours exercising to keep himself fit. But she didn’t think so, and underneath that rugged veneer there was something that said this was a man not to be trifled with.
Well, that was okay. She’d already met his type during her time at Harvard. Rich men were a dime a dozen there. And they were not always who they seemed, as she’d discovered.
She had to admit though, Dr. Edwards had done quite a bit for the island, had taken in a lot of Saint Victoria’s hardship cases. Courtesy of The Island Clinic’s wealthy clientele.
Okay, now that she had Dr. Edwards, she wasn’t quite sure what to do with him. And she’d been too peeved by the request to meet him to ask. “Did you know where they wanted you?”
“Wherever you need me.”
Her palm pressed even harder against her abdomen as the graveled tones turned the burner up on whatever was happening inside her.
“Dr. Edwards, I think—”
“Nate. Please.”
She didn’t want to call him Nate. Didn’t want to be on a first-name basis with the man, despite the fact that she called almost everyone else by their given name. This just seemed...different. “I think I’ll stick to Dr. Edwards if it’s okay with you.”
He lifted his shoulders in an easy shrug, although she was pretty sure there was a tension to the movement that hadn’t been there moments earlier. “That’s fine... Dr. James.” His lips curved as he added her title, making her realize how strange she was acting.
But it wasn’t an act. She had no idea why he was even here. What could he do, exactly? Did he practice actual medicine anymore? Or was he just a showpiece for the clinic?
“Marcus...er... Dr. Warren,” too late she realized she’d used the other doctor’s name making a mockery of her reticence to calling him Nate, “worked in the ER. It’s where our biggest shortage of staff is. If you’re up to it.”
“I’ll do my best to keep up.” Again that smile rolled across his face, that crease making her shiver. Was he making fun of her?
Her hand finally dropped from her stomach and curled into a ball next to her hip. “I’ll walk you over, since I’m helping out there, as well.” Today was her scheduled day off, but there was no way she was going to sit at home while everyone else in the ER struggled to cope.
“Thanks, I appreciate that.”
In silence, they walked down the tiled corridor toward the small hospital’s emergency room. Dr. Edwards threw her a look.
“What?”
“Nothing.” His smile this time was a bit cooler than it had been. “How long have you been at the hospital?”
“A little over three years.”
“Do you specialize?”
That made her hackles rise all over again. “I’m a surgeon, so yes. Why?” Did it matter to him what she did? If so, she might not be able to refrain from giving him the “we’re all equal here” speech that she’d had to give to more than one person over the last couple of years.
“No reason. I just don’t think we’ve met before, and I thought I knew most of the staff over here.”
She didn’t tell him that she made herself scarce whenever she heard that Nate Edwards was coming over to the hospital. She hadn’t realized how much she’d prejudged him until right this moment though. Everyone she knew always spoke of him as if he could do no wrong. Maybe that was why. It had rubbed her up the wrong way, somehow. The man was not a god. He was a mortal just like everyone else.
But where she’d expected to meet an abrupt, pompous ass who thought he was better than everyone else, she was seeing something different. Either the man was a good actor...or he wasn’t as much of a jerk as she’d painted in her head. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or bad.
She’d give him the benefit of the doubt. For now. But she was going to reserve final judgment until she saw how he was with actual patients. The island’s population, that is—not the wealthy ones from his fancy clinic.
“I don’t think we have met. I’m in surgery quite a bit, so we’ve obviously missed each other.” It was true, but she was well aware of the fact that she was fudging it just a bit. He was at the hospital once every week or so, normally to pick up a patient or check on one who had been discharged back to Saint Victoria Hospital.
“Obviously.”
The way he said it made her squirm, as if he was glad not to have met her before this. Was she being that unfair? She wasn’t trying to be.
Wasn’t she? Didn’t she guard her heart a lot more now that she was older and wiser?
They arrived at the ER to a chaotic scene. An ambulance had just pulled into the bay. Sasha glanced around and didn’t see any other doctors. “I’ll help with whatever’s going on here, if you want to check in.”
“Checking in can wait. I’ll see if they need a hand.”
They both hurried over to where the EMTs were sliding a gurney out of the ambulance.
“What have you got?” she asked.
“Possible heart attack.”
For a split second her own heart froze. Then she forced herself back into action as the patient’s vital signs were read off. Nate was leaning over the man, a stethoscope magically appearing in his hand. The patient was u
nconscious, his breathing loud and raspy. His color didn’t look good either.
They rushed him into a room. And got to work with the help of a nurse, putting leads on his chest and firing up the EKG machine.
Sasha glanced at the readout. His heart was beating but there were some telltale signs coming across the machine. “I’m seeing hyperacute T’s.” The T waves were taller and more pointed than normal. It was one of the first signs of a heart attack.
“I see it. Let’s get some blood readings and get some tenecteplase ready, just in case. Who’s the cardiologist on call?”
The use of TNKase was still controversial in some circles, but in this case she agreed with Nate’s assessment.
The nurse said, “Let me check.” Two minutes later, she was back, a frown on her face. “Dr. Holloway is in emergency surgery and expected to be there for another couple of hours. I can try to call Dr. Benson at home.”
“Damn.” The word slid out before she could stop it. Their patient was at a critical stage. “It’ll take him a half hour to get here.”
Nate stripped his gloves off and pulled out his cell phone. “We’re care-flighting him to The Island Clinic.”
As he made the call, relief battled with irritation at the way he’d taken over. Just because he was chief of staff at The Island Clinic didn’t give him the right to make decisions for Saint Victoria Hospital. But she knew he was right. Either they were going to have to treat the patient here in the ER and hope for the best, or they were going to have to rely on the specialists at the clinic, who were all top in their field. Nate had made sure of that.
She managed to grit out, “I agree.”
Ha! Since he was already hanging up his phone, it hadn’t really mattered what she thought. It was a done deal.
“Let’s get him ready for transport.”
For once she was glad for the helipad. By ambulance, the trip would have taken close to forty-five minutes, since the clinic was located on the southeast corner of the island. By helicopter it would only take seven minutes. She’d heard that magic number repeated over and over again. Another source of irritation.
