by Janice Lynn
“Be happy for me,” she ordered, getting frustrated with how they kept looking at her.
“We are happy for you,” Suzie insisted, her big green eyes cutting to Monica for back-up. “Only...”
“Only what?”
“What if this guy was the one?”
Natalie laughed at the absurdity of her friend’s question. “He wasn’t. It’s unlikely I’ll ever see him again.”
Why did that thought make her insides ache?
“Unlikely?” Suzie piped up. “Does that mean it’s possible?”
“Anything is possible. His mother lives in West Memphis and he and I are both pediatric heart surgeons interested in innovative in-utero surgical techniques.” Natalie shrugged. “But I don’t have plans to intentionally see him again, if that’s what you mean.”
“Hey, Natalie,” Suzie said, her expression one full of glee. “You said you don’t mean to intentionally see him again, not that you didn’t want to see him again.”
Yeah, she realized that.
Life without ever setting eyes on Matthew Coleman seemed a long, hard sentence—but why pretend it could be something more?
“So, he’s a pediatric heart surgeon.” Monica waved a manicured hand. “It can’t be that difficult to track down a number to reach him.”
No, it wouldn’t be. But Natalie wouldn’t be tracking him down.
“I won’t lie and say there isn’t a part of me that would like to see Matthew again, but it’s best this way.”
Her friends looked doubtful. “What way?”
“With him being a wonderful memory. I’ve got my career to think about.” It was true. With Dr. Luiz’s upcoming partial retirement, she did need to focus on her career, not long for things that she’d never had and quite possibly never would. People didn’t stick around in her life. Not her parents. Not her foster parents. Not Jonathan.
Not Matthew—but at least she’d known upfront he’d only be in her life for three short days.
Monica rolled her eyes.
Suzie shook her head.
“The hospital board should offer the new position within the next few weeks and I’m going to be busy, busy, busy.” She sure hoped so. She needed busy. “I don’t need any distractions from what really matters.”
“We’re not convinced that promotion’s a good thing if it means you’re going to be working even more.”
Maybe her friends weren’t, but Natalie knew better. Heading the cardiology unit when Dr. Luiz stepped back was what she’d dreamed of long before a dark-haired, pale-blue-eyed, beautiful man had completely possessed her mind and body.
Two weeks later, Matthew pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at the device in disbelief. He couldn’t have heard right.
Apparently, Carrie’s fever had gotten to him and he was now hallucinating. Or maybe it was the lack of sleep over the past thirty-six hours as he’d sat up with her most of the night, afraid to sleep in case her illness worsened—in case he did something else wrong and Carrie paid the price. For the same reasons, he’d called out of work that morning. Something he’d hated to do, but Carrie’s preschool wouldn’t allow her to go in with a fever and he hadn’t had a sick back-up plan short of bringing her to the hospital with him. A feverish child on a neonatal cardiac unit wasn’t a good idea under any circumstances, even if it had meant shuffling his entire schedule.
Glancing down at the sleeping little girl’s flushed cheeks and limp body in his lap, he blamed himself for her illness. No doubt he’d messed up somehow. The pediatrician had assured him that she had a normal childhood illness that would pass, that he just needed to keep her hydrated and keep her fever down, but Matthew knew he’d been distracted, had been working long hours where Carrie had been dragged to the hospital repeatedly to make rounds with him. She’d probably picked up something in the hospital hallway.
“The hospital decided having you at Memphis Children’s was worth making a few concessions,” Dr. Luiz continued on the phone, sounding quite proud of the board’s decision. “They’re prepared to meet your conditions. All you have to do is say yes and their lawyers will draw up the contract.”
Matthew’s head spun. “You’re serious?”
He and Carrie would be close to his mother and sister, to his family. He’d have help. Carrie would be in the care of people who knew how to care for a child.
Natalie was also there.
A wave of heat flushed his body, making him question again if Carrie’s fever had overtaken him, too.
“What about Dr. Sterling? You mentioned her several times when I was in Memphis.” Did Natalie know he might be taking the job she wanted? “How does she feel about this?”
“I don’t foresee it as being a problem. During their reconciliation of your terms, the board plans for Dr. Sterling to directly work with you.”
Matthew wasn’t so confident. “She knows, then?”
“Not yet.”
Which explained Dr. Luiz’s comment about not seeing it as a problem. Matthew knew better, and so would Dr. Luiz soon enough.
“That’s the one stipulation to your contract, by the way.”
Carrie stirred in her sleep and Matthew stroked his fingers over her back in a soothing manner, waiting for Dr. Luiz’s next words, already knowing what the man was going to say.
“With the lighter workload you insisted upon, Dr. Sterling is to share some of the responsibilities that were originally exclusive to your new title. Dr. Sterling is a valued member of our staff. She’s excited about the upcoming projects the hospital is involved in. We see her sharing some of the leadership roles at the hospital as the perfect solution to your demands, as well as her continued role at the hospital. We don’t want to lose her.”
No, he imagined not. Natalie’s resume was impressive.
“She will be a great asset to your work at Memphis Children’s,” Dr. Luiz continued. “You’ll be lucky to have her on your team.”
No doubt, but she wasn’t going to be happy.
Nor was the hospital in Boston, his research team, his office staff.
If he accepted the position in Memphis he’d miss his life in Boston. He already missed his life in Boston. He’d had a great life—a booming career, loyal friends, good times and a plethora of women to fill his nights.
His gaze dropped to the child in his arms. Everything had changed, and not for the good. He didn’t resent Carrie—he loved the kid—but he knew he wasn’t cut out for raising a little girl, knew he longed for the freedom he’d known just a few months ago, knew she’d be better off elsewhere. His mother, his sister, his extended family were all in Memphis. People whom he trusted to do what was best for Carrie. As much as the thought of leaving the job he loved in Boston stung, what Dr. Luiz offered was exactly what Carrie needed.
If he said yes, he would be hurting Natalie, would be snatching away something she desperately wanted and, in many ways, deserved. She wasn’t likely to forgive him.
Glancing down again at the sick child in his arms, feeling his overwhelming inadequacy in solely providing her care, Matthew admitted that being near his family would be a godsend. His parenting skills weren’t up to par, and so far his live-in nanny interviews hadn’t turned up a single applicant he trusted.
Had he been in Memphis he wouldn’t have had to call out of work today, wouldn’t have had to reschedule multiple surgeries that weren’t easily rescheduled, because he would have had family willing and able to help. How many more times over Carrie’s childhood would she be ill, have needs that would require an unexpected change to their normal routine?
He liked to think he’d been an awesome uncle, but what did he know about being a dad? About meeting the emotional needs of a four-year-old who had lost everyone except him?
Nothing.
Accepting the position in Memphis was a necessity.
* * *
“You’re quiet,” Dr. Luiz pointed out from across his desk.
Having gotten lost in his thoughts that he’d soon come face to face with a woman he’d thought about way too often over the past month, Matthew leaned back in his chair and shrugged. “It’s been a long day.”
It had been a long month. More like a long four months, during which his best friends had died and fatherhood had been thrust upon him, ready or not.
“But a good one. This move is good for Memphis Children’s, and from what you’ve told me about your situation it’s good for you, too. A win-win for all.”
It was a win-win all the way around.
“Except for Dr. Sterling.”
Despite the fact that she was technically being promoted, she wouldn’t think she was a winner. Not when she’d thought she’d be running the whole shebang.
Would she agree to work with him?
If she didn’t, if she opted to leave the hospital, perhaps it would be best. He had enough issues to deal with without adding in a sexual attraction to his new co-worker.
Dr. Luiz and the board had been all too willing to go along with nothing being said, that the whole deal be kept quiet until Matthew arrived. He’d made the request due to the concerns of his Boston colleagues regarding his research, that he needed to have things settled prior to any word leaking out of his relocation. Boston’s work would continue on developing the robot. Matthew had made sure of it.
Working in collaboration with the Boston team, he’d establish a smaller second team in Memphis, one that would implement use of the robot in its upcoming further expansion into in utero heart surgeries. With Memphis Children’s eager to expand their pediatric cardiology department’s capabilities, the timing couldn’t be more perfect.
“Natalie wants what is right for her patients. You being here is for the better of all.”
She’d likely hate him. He had enough personal turmoil. He could do without discord at work.
“She is an ambitious woman who has career goals. She wouldn’t be human if she didn’t resent my having taken what she thought was going to be entirely hers.”
Dr. Luiz’s gaze narrowed. “She mentioned she met you in Miami, but suggested it was a brief meeting. You sound as if you got to know her better than on a casual basis.”
Matthew’s comment to Natalie on the plane about knowing her popped into his head and his jaw tightened. “The entire conference was three days. I know very little about Dr. Sterling.”
Just that she’d smiled lazily when he woke her up at sunrise so they could watch the sun come up that last morning. That she loved the feel of wet sand between her toes. That she laughed at the corny jokes he’d told her, and that she thought strawberries were manna from heaven.
That she made love to him like a siren and slept in his arms like an angel.
That she was going to be floored by the hospital’s announcement today.
A knock sounded on Dr. Luiz’s office door and Matthew tensed.
Natalie.
His heart pounded in his chest, thumping wildly against his ribcage.
He was about to play a role in hurting a woman who got to him as no other ever had.
Being in Memphis was right for Carrie.
That was what mattered most.
Natalie was just...just someone he’d once spent three fantasy days with.
CHAPTER SIX
WAITING FOR DR. LUIZ to bid her to enter his office, Natalie smoothed her scrubs.
Finally, she thought.
The buzz around the hospital was that something big was about to happen. Natalie knew what that something was. She couldn’t wait until the announcement was made that she’d be promoted and that they’d gotten approval for the surgical procedure they’d been working on for years. She would soon perform the first in-utero vessel transposition repair at Memphis Children’s.
A dream come true. She and Dr. Luiz’s research showed great promise on correcting transposition of the vessels prior to birth. She’d gone through the procedure time and again on computer models, on premature and full-term “blue” babies. She wanted those babies to be born pink, to go home with their families much sooner, to have longer, healthier lives, and believed there was no reason they couldn’t. That she would get to head up the team, would get to be lead surgeon, was enough to make a girl over the moon.
“Come in.”
Smiling, Natalie turned the knob and stepped into Dr. Luiz’s office, only to stop short when she realized her mentor wasn’t alone.
She’d recognize the back of that dark head, those shoulders, anywhere.
What was Matthew doing in Dr. Luiz’s office?
All the blood in her body drained to her feet, bolting them to the floor.
He had known it was her at the door. That much was evident when he stood and turned to meet her gaze. There was no surprise in his pale blue eyes.
Natalie fought shock, though, a million emotions hitting her at once.
He looked so good, so perfect, so much better than anything her memory could conjure. Her body leapt with joy, recalling how he’d stroked such pleasure through every part of her being.
But he shouldn’t be there. At her work. With her boss.
Why was he there? What possible reason could Matthew have for sitting in her boss’s office?
Her brain raced. Had he told Dr. Luiz what had happened in Florida? Why would he? What did it matter if he had? The hospital had no say in whom she slept with. She doubted any of the board members cared, so long as she brought no public shame on the hospital.
Sex with Matthew was nothing any woman should be ashamed of. The man was gorgeous, brilliant, and had the ability to rock a woman’s whole existence.
And how.
Nope, she was not going to let her brain go down that path.
Her gaze not wavering from his, Natalie resisted the urge to clear her throat. She would not let him know how much his being there threw her world off its axis.
“Natalie,” Dr. Luiz began, “you’ll, no doubt, recall having met Dr. Matthew Coleman in Miami, and I know you’re a fan of his work.”
Ha. She was a fan, but she doubted she and Dr. Luiz referred to the same work.
“Dr. Coleman.” She reluctantly stuck out her hand. Reluctantly, because as much as she wanted to touch Matthew, for him to touch her, seeing him was wreaking havoc on her ability to think. “Nice to see you again.”
Matthew’s eyes searched hers, as if he was trying to determine if she believed her own words.
It was nice to see him. It was also making her heart pound like crazy, because he shouldn’t be there. He should be a pleasant memory from her past. Nothing more.
Okay, so she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him, wanting him, but with time she would have shoved him into the recesses of her mind. At least, that had been the plan.
“Dr. Sterling,” he greeted, taking her hand into his in what appeared to be a casual grasp yet was anything but. The skin-to-skin contact sent shockwaves throughout her body as surely as if he’d electrocuted her. How could he do that with just a brush of his skin against hers? “It’s a pleasure to see you again.”
Her cheeks heated. Mainly because Dr. Luiz was observing their exchange. She tore her gaze from Matthew’s and glanced at her very astute boss. Her boss who wouldn’t quite meet her gaze.
Which had Natalie tugging her hand out of Matthew’s scalding one.
In all the years Natalie had known Dr. Luiz, that was a first. He was the most straightforward person she’d ever met. So why was her boss avoiding making direct eye contact? She didn’t understand Matthew’s guilty look, and she sure didn’t understand her boss’s unusual behavior.
Her gaze narrowed suspiciously as she refocused on Matthew. “To what do we owe your unexpected visit?”
&nbs
p; “Not unexpected. I invited him,” Dr. Luiz informed, motioning to the vacant chair next to Matthew’s. “Have a seat, Natalie.”
Tension twisting in her muscles, tighter and tighter, Natalie sat.
“As you know, with my semi-retirement and the grant approval, there are a lot of upcoming changes taking place in our cardiology department.”
Natalie’s heart picked up pace, thundering in her chest.
“You and I have discussed that the hospital’s main goal is to transform our department into one of the top facilities in the country, that we want to lead the way, rather than jumping on board with what other hospitals are doing.”
This was one of those defining life moments.
Dreams were about to come true.
Only, why had he asked Matthew to be there? The only possible explanation, as crazy as it was, had her wondering if the dream was actually a nightmare.
“I’m pleased to inform you Dr. Coleman has joined our team to help us do just that, by taking my place as Head of Cardiology.”
On a wave of extreme excitement and expected elation, Natalie’s heart crashed down with the force of having been hit with a sledgehammer.
Nightmare it was.
Her blood drained from her face, heavily pooling in her legs, making her body feel stuck to her chair, making gravity suck at her entire being, threatening to flatten her.
Dr. Luiz was still talking but Natalie’s ears roared, only letting her brain absorb part of what he was saying.
“...know you wanted the position...” blah, blah, blah “...know you are as ecstatic as I am about getting to work with Dr. Coleman...”
She should be, right? She’d admired Matthew’s surgical work from afar for years. But she knew this department inside out, knew how to take it to the next level, and had earned the position.
Matthew had taken it from her.
“You’ll be on his team, of course.”
Of course. Her head spun.
“His second-in-command, with specific responsibilities...”
Second. Not in charge, but answering to Matthew.
Matthew. Oh, crap! Matthew was going to be in Memphis. All the time. Her eyes widened. Matthew was going to be working in Memphis. With her. Day after day.
