Nurse to Forever Mom

by Susan Carlisle

  “Did Alex know it was you?” He’d never forgive the man for not putting him out of his misery as soon as he knew it was Stacey coming for the interview.

  “Nope. At least, not until I saw him in the hall. He said something peculiar. Something about being damn tired of running a place for lonely hearts.”

  Cody chuckled. Alex was no doubt fed up with dealing with him and also having Salty unhappy about Mrs. Kerridge-Bates. Love hadn’t run smoothly for them either, but at least they had finally sorted out their issues and had admitted to loving each other. They were even planning their wedding. Now, if he could just convince Stacey that they should go down the same path...

  “So what makes you want to work at Maple Island Clinic?”

  Her mouth quirked. “Do you conduct all your interviews standing up?”

  “Uh...no, sorry. Come in and have a seat.” She came in and closed the door, then took the chair in front of his desk.

  Cody sat as well, clutching his hands in his lap. If he didn’t touch her soon, he would die. Yet if he did, it might scare her off. She looked so cool and collected. As if she were unaffected by the weeks that had passed since they had seen one another.

  “In answer to your question, you do.”

  “I do what?” He’d forgotten what he’d asked. She giggled. He loved that sound.

  “You asked me why I wanted to work at the clinic and I said because of you.”

  Did he dare to hope? “Why is that?”

  “Because you’re the most amazing, giving and caring doctor and man that I know. You are a wonderful father, a good friend and most of all I want to be around you. Working with you would make me a better nurse and person.”

  Cody’s heart swelled. Did she really believe that? He stood and circled the desk then sat on the corner of it within touching distance of her. “You do know that if you take this job, you would be a permanent staff member. Are you prepared to stay here for a lifetime?”

  “I am.” Her eyes didn’t waver.

  He gaze didn’t leave hers. “I can be demanding, and misguided, and sometimes say things I regret. Can you deal with that?”

  “I believe so. I often do the same thing.” She continued to hold his gaze. Stacey had the most amazing green eyes.

  “It sounds like we could get along well together.” He knew exactly how well they could get along and wanted them to find that happiness again. “Do you have any questions for me?”

  “I do have one.” She looked down.

  He waited. Was she afraid to ask him? Now, that was unlike the Stacey he knew.

  Her eyes met his again. “Do you love me as much as I love you?”

  His heart raced, his hands shook as he lifted her out of the chair and crushed her to him. He kissed her with all the passion that had built inside him while they’d been apart. It flowed freely over the dam he’d created to try to protect himself. She returned his kisses with the same abandon. He now had everything he wanted in life in his arms and he was going to do whatever it took to keep her there.

  “I missed you so much. I’ve called everywhere, looking for you.” He nibbled at her neck.

  “Cody?”

  “Yes?” He continued to kiss her eyes, her nose and her cheeks. He inhaled the peach smell he couldn’t get enough of.

  “You didn’t answer my question.” There was a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

  He leaned away until he could meet her eyes. “I love you too. More than life.”

  * * *

  Stacey lay in Cody’s bed that evening, wrapped in his arms. Life took odd turns and sometimes gave a person something they never dreamed was possible. That had happened for her. She had what she had hoped for all her life—someone to love her, a place to call home and a man who would never leave her. Could her life get much better?

  “Hey, what’re you thinking about over there?”

  “About how happy I am.”

  Cody rolled to her, placing a kiss on her bare shoulder. “You make me happy.”

  She cupped his cheek. “I’m sorry I said all those mean things to you.”

  “Don’t be. I needed to hear them. You were right. That’s why the girls are at my parents’ and I’m here. I have to start letting go.”

  “I’m proud of you. What you said to me hit home as well. I talked to my mother, really talked. She’s the one who convinced me to come and see you, to tell you how I felt. It turns out that in some ways she’s been a good mother. I just didn’t want to see it.”

  “It sounds like we have both made steps in the right direction.” He gave her a tender kiss. Pulling away, he said, “It’s about time for the girls to call. They’ll be so excited to see you but they might ask questions we don’t want to answer if we don’t put some clothes on.”

  Not long after that Stacey could hear Cody already talking to the girls before she came out of the bathroom. They were video-chatting. She stepped up behind him and smiled into the screen at the two girls that she loved almost as much as she did their daddy.

  “Hi, Jean. Hi, Lizzy.”

  “Stacey!” the girls squealed in unison.

  “You came back. I knew you would,” Jean said with a satisfied smile.

  “I’m glad to be back. I missed you both so much. I look forward to hugging you when you get home.”

  “You’re wearing the bracelet we gave you.” Lizzy said, pointing.

  “I am. I’ve thought about you both every day we have been apart.” She squeezed Cody’s shoulder. She’d thought of him every minute.

  Cody pushed the chair back and spoke to Stacey. “Why don’t you have a seat? I think the girls have something they want to ask you.”

  Stacey gave him a questioning look but took the spot he had vacated. She looked into the screen at the smiling faces. Cody came round beside her and went down on one knee, taking her hand.

  “Okay, girls,” Cody said.

  “Will you marry us?” all three of them asked at the same time.

  Stacey blinked back tears as she looked into Cody’s eyes. “I can’t think of anything I would love more.”

  She wrapped her arms around Cody’s neck and they kissed to the sound of “Ooh!” coming from the girls.

  EPILOGUE

  STACEY FLOATED ON happiness like a hot-air balloon through a cloudless July sky. It was her wedding day. Wedding day.

  Fleur fussed around her, tugging here and adjusting there, as Stacey prepared to walk down Cody’s porch steps to the beach where he was waiting. “You look beautiful. I can hardly wait until Cody sees you. Your dress is perfect.”

  Stacey glanced down at the simple gauzy fabric with the pink ribbon at the waist. She carried a bouquet of pink roses that were a gift from Cody. “Thank you. Just think, you and Rick will be having your wedding day in only a couple of weeks.”

  Fleur stopped what she was doing. A serene look came over her face, along with a slight smile. She turned to Stacey. “There’s nothing like marrying the man you love, is there?”

  “No, there isn’t.” Seconds later the sound of Jean and Lizzy giggling drew her attention. They were coming up the path from the beach.

  Jean called, “Stacey, you’d better come. Daddy’s getting nervous, he said.”

  “I was just waiting for you two to escort me.” Stacey went down the steps to meet her future with a bright smile on her face.

  “You’re so pretty,” Lizzy breathed in awe.

  “You two look beautiful.” The girls wore soft pink matching dresses that flowed in the slight breeze. Matching flowers circled their heads.

  Fleur went down the steps carefully. At the bottom she spoke to Stacey. “Give me one minute to tell the guitar player to start playing and then you can come meet the groom.” She disappeared between the rocks.

  Stacey stepped down the stairs. “Are we ready, girls?”
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  Jean and Lizzy’s faces turned serious as they started back toward the beach. Stacey followed close behind. Notes of the wedding march flowed on the ocean breeze as she stepped between the rocks to see Cody ahead, waiting for her at the end of the lines of chairs that formed an aisle. He had never looked more handsome than he did then, dressed in a light gray suit with a crisp white shirt open at the neck. Alex, his best man, would stand beside him until she joined Cody in front of the pastor then Alex would take a seat next to Fleur.

  The girls paused in front of Cody and he kissed the tops of their heads before they went to sit beside his mother and father on the right side front row. Across from them was her mother. She was smiling but her eyes held a glossy look.

  When Cody’s gaze found hers, Stacey’s middle fluttered. He took two steps forward and offered his hand. She grasped it and he brought her to him as they stared into each other’s eyes.

  The pastor cleared his throat and they guiltily turned to him.

  The rest of the ceremony was a blur for Stacey. Before she knew it Cody was kissing her and they were going back down the aisle to applause and smiles. They continued until they got to the house. At the bottom of the steps Cody picked her up and swung her around then let her slide to her feet. “I love you, Mrs. Brennan.”

  She was now Mrs. Cody Brennan. Stacey Brennan. She liked the sound of all of it. “I love you, Dr. Brennan.” She reached up and kissed him.

  They climbed the stairs to the porch, where they would greet their guests before they went inside for the reception. The first to join them were the girls. They came running. Close behind them were Cody’s parents.

  “I’m hungry,” Lizzy said as she reached them.

  She and Cody laughed.

  “I’m glad you’re going to be our mother.” Jean hugged her.

  Stacey returned it tightly. “I am too.”

  “I’ll see about them,” his mother said. “This is your day.” She hurried the girls on.

  “Congratulations, son,” his father said, with a handshake.

  Just behind them was her mother. She hugged Stacey then Cody. “I wish you both the best.” She looked at Stacey and smiled.

  Soon Rick and Fleur were coming up the stairs, along with Alex and Maggie. They were all smiles.

  After all the congratulations had been offered, Maggie said to no one in particular, “I’m sorry Rafael and Summer had to miss this but I know they’re enjoying their honeymoon in Spain.”

  “When they get home, maybe we can all get together and share wedding pictures,” Fleur suggested.

  The men groaned.

  Stacey’s heart expanded. She’d not only gained Cody and the girls but this clinic “family” as well. For someone who had so little family of her own, she now had a lot.

  Other members of the Maple Island community stopped to speak on their way inside. Soon she and Cody joined the crowd enjoying food and drinks. The first people they met near the wedding cake were Salty and Philomena.

  “Congratulations, Doc.” Salty offered his hand to Cody. “The steps were too much for us so we came round to the front door,” Salty said in his gravelly voice. Philomena stood beside him, leaning on a decorative silver cane. “I told you a good woman is hard to find.”

  Philomena gave him a nudge. “Uh...and you found one, too.”

  Stacey leaned against Cody and squeezed his arm. She enjoyed the look of embarrassment that washed over Salty’s face.

  Philomena smiled at Stacey. “Beautiful bride and a beautiful wedding. I’m so happy for you both.”

  “Thank you.” Stacey couldn’t stop smiling. She looked around at the crowded room. She couldn’t believe how much her life had changed in such a short time. For a person who’d had almost nobody in her life, she had now found a home and a community of what would become long-time friends.

  Cody tugged her away so that it was only the two of them. He watched her closely. “What’re you thinking?”

  “Just that you have given me everything I’ve ever dreamed of and more. I love you so much.”

  He pulled her tight against him. “You have done exactly the same for me.”

  * * *

  We hope you enjoyed the final story in the Single Dad Docs quartet

  And if you missed where it all started, check out

  Tempted by Her Single Dad Boss

  by Annie O’Neil

  Resisting Her English Doc

  by Annie Claydon

  The Single Dad’s Proposal

  by Karin Baine

  All available now!

  Keep reading for an excerpt from Heart Surgeon, Prince...Husband! by Kate Hardy.

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  Heart Surgeon, Prince...Husband!

  by Kate Hardy

  CHAPTER ONE

  ‘LUCIANO BIANCHI, the new heart surgeon, is starting today,’ Sanjay, the head of the cardiac unit, told Kelly. ‘Can I ask you to look after him for me this morning—take him round the department, show him where the canteen is and introduce him to everyone? I’d do it myself, but I’ve got meetings with suits.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘All day.’

  ‘Oh, the joy of budgets,’ Kelly said, sympathising with her boss. ‘Of course I’ll show him around.’

  ‘Wonderful. Thank you.’ Sanjay patted her arm.

  Rumours had already flown around the hospital. Luciano Bianchi wasn’t just a cardiothoracic surgeon; he was a prince. His father was the King of Bordimiglia, a small Mediterranean country on the border between Italy and France. Apparently he’d trained in London and worked for some years at the Royal Hampstead Free Hospital; now one of the surgeons here was retiring, Luc was moving to Muswell Hill Memorial Hospital.

  Everyone had looked him up on the Internet, of course; it was hard to reconcile the idea of an upper-class playboy who didn’t take life too seriously with a man who’d spent years training to be a heart surgeon. So who was Luciano Bianchi—and would he be part of the team or would he be a royal pain in the backside?

  From the photographs, he was definitely nice-looking enough to make all the women in the department sigh and speculate why he hadn’t been snapped up years ago. Tall, with dark hair and dark eyes, Luciano looked more like a model for a high-end fragrance ad than a surgeon. But he didn’t seem to date that much—or, at least, there weren’t loads of paparazzi pictures of him with a princess or the daughter of some wealthy industrialist on his arm, on their way to some high society party or movie premiere. It looked as if he put his job before his position in society, which boded well for life at the hospital.
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br />   Kelly wasn’t one for gossip, but one rumour that had caught her attention involved his work. He was allegedly going to set up a trial for a new surgical procedure to help patients suffering from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy—a condition where the muscular wall of the heart thickened and made the heart stiff, making it harder to pump blood around the body.

  It was too late for a trial to help Simon; but it wasn’t too late to help his younger brother Jake or Jake’s daughter Summer.

  Kelly would never forgive herself for the fact that she hadn’t picked up on her late husband’s heart condition. How could a trained cardiologist have missed something that massive? Since then, she knew she’d become a workaholic—but she was determined that nobody’s symptoms would go unrecognised on her watch. She didn’t want other families to have to go through what her family had been through. And getting Jake and Summer onto the trial might help to blunt the edges of her guilt. If she explained the situation to Luciano Bianchi, then maybe she could persuade him to at least consider Jake and Summer as candidates for his trial.

  She kept an eye on the reception area from the office where she was catching up with paperwork, and twenty minutes later Luciano Bianchi walked through the doors. She pushed her chair back and went out into the reception area to greet him. ‘Mr Bianchi?’

  He turned to look at her. ‘Yes.’

  Oh, help. Maybe she should have called him ‘Your Highness’. But he was here in his capacity as a surgeon, not as a prince, so she’d used the convention that surgeons were called ‘Mr’ rather than ‘Dr’. She summoned up her best smile. ‘I’m Kelly Phillips, one of the cardiologists,’ she introduced herself. ‘Sanjay is stuck in meetings all day, so he’s given me a reprieve from paperwork to show you round and introduce you to everyone. And, if you don’t have any other plans, to take you to the canteen for lunch.’

  * * *

  Luc was used to people judging him first as a prince and secondly as a doctor, but maybe at last his reputation at work was starting to take precedence, because Kelly Phillips was definitely treating him as a surgeon and a colleague. He really liked the fact that she’d called him ‘Mr Bianchi’ rather than ‘Prince Luciano’. And, OK, there was an unobtrusive bodyguard with him, because of who he was, but his security detail was discreet. Luc didn’t want to be treated any differently from the other staff on the team. He was here to save lives, just like they were. A doctor first and a prince second: and he thought he could serve his country far better with his medical skills than by doing the job he’d been born to do but his older sister would do so much better.