With a glass of sparkling cider in one hand, I carefully wipe of the crumbs from the front of my floor length formal dark red dress. The paper napkins I’m using snag on a few of the embedded jewels along the front. My frustrations bubble up as I grind my teeth together. But this little setback can’t damper my mood. This is a big night for me. I’m finally accomplishing another one of my goals and dreams. Mark waves a couple of white linen napkins in the area as he rushes towards me. “Look what I have found. Stop trying to get the food off. I’ll get it done.” His playful smile widens as he gives me a wink. “In no time, I’ll have you back looking as beautiful as ever.” I sigh and let my shoulders drop. In his black tuxedo, he bends over in front of me and very carefully wipes all the little food particles off me without smearing it across the smooth satin fabric. I glance around the venue and notice a few people giving us some questioning looks, but no one has the courage
“Wanda! Tell me you found her! Please, tell me we can get to her before she moves again.” My heart twists as a wave of panic washes over me. I have been living with such longing and regret for the last few years that I think I’m going crazy. Why didn’t I just tell Katie when we were at the university together that I liked her? No, I love her. I fell in love with her almost instantly. Her deep dimples are just so adorable, and the way she gets so grumpy at me always sends my heart fluttering, but I’ve messed it all up. I didn’t tell her how I truly felt, and I know she was given a chance of a lifetime to do her internship and residency at a prestigious hospital on the other side of the country. I have wanted to tell her so many times, but she always acts like she didn’t like me. Then I was stupid and let my fear of her rejecting me take control. There is no way I could handle it if things between us became awkward since our friends were dating each other, and we are always
“Hey, I knew I would find you down here. Most of the staff go to either the rooftop garden or the park just outside the hospital, but you always come to the daycare. I guess watching children has a way of calming you down.” Dr. Smith pats me on my shoulder. Without looking away from the kids, I mumble, “Something like that.” He nudges me. “Come on, our department has a meeting in five minutes. You have to go back upstairs.” Reluctantly, I tear my eyes off the kids and, while remaining silent, I turn and walk back up to my department. It is days like this that have me practically running to the daycare. There is the one face which always manages to calm me down without having to do anything. The only difference from what I remember is the precious boy has dimples, too. When I get back upstairs, I can’t even face the grief-stricken parents. They are still sitting in the waiting area, and they are still crying. I can’t image receiving the news your child is sick and may e
UGH!! This is taking forever. I want to get out of here and get my Katie, but I’m still stuck at the airport.As we stand by the luggage claim area, Wanda lightly taps my arm. “Mark, stop worrying. Everything is going to be all right. We will find Katie and then hopefully we can get her talked into coming back home with us.”Dragging a few bags, Frank steps up beside me and huffs, “Mark, you are making everyone nervous with your constant fidgeting and pacing. Knock it off.”I just ignore him. It is easy for him to say that, but he has no clue what I’m going through right now. I’m so close, but yet so far away. The good thing is we know where she is working, so if for some reason, she has moved again, we will just go to the hospital. I’m going to find her one way or another.After what seems like years, we finally have our luggage and get through the airport. I hurry over to the rental car counter, and in record time, I get all the paperwork handled and get the rental car ke
I can’t believe this. I’m a father. I still can’t believe it, but this adorable little boy is my son. He has the same black hair and dark brown eyes as me, including the slight glimmer of mischief. I just can’t take my eyes off him. As we leave the daycare with Casper in my arms, my little man suddenly shouts, “Uncle Shane! Look daddy came!! Mommy is going to be so happy!”I rip my focus away from my son and look at the tall man in front of us. His mouth is gaping wide open, and he stares at me. He looks about the same age as us but is frozen in place. His ID hanging around his neck shows he works at the hospital. His short blonde hair is slightly messy and frames his tired face and blue eyes. I’m not the only one who has had a rough day.Casper claps his tiny hands, while his eyes sparkle with excitement. “Uncle Shane. I want to tell mommy. Let’s go tell mommy.”Shane shakes his head and turns his attention back to my son. “Sorry, Cass, but mommy has an emergency surg
I walk out into the living room with Casper in my arms, along with the memory stick and the photo album, just as my friends enter the house. “Wand, did you bring your laptop?”She glances across the room at me but doesn’t say anything and walks to the kitchen with Izzy. The two set their grocery bags down on the counters and then come back out to the living room while my other friends take more bags into the kitchen behind them. She stops in the middle of the room. Her eyebrows knot together as her light brown eyes fill with confusion. “Yeah. Why? Do you need me to go get it out of the van?”Before I can answer, Casper frantically nods his head and chimes, “Yes. Mommy has stuff for daddy.”I smile at my son and add, “Katie has some files Cass says are for me on this memory stick. Can I use your laptop to look at them?”Wand’s eye light up and she flashes me a brilliant smile. “Sure. I’ll be right back.”As she turns to dash out to the van, Izzy quickly snatches the photo al
Katie POVI press my lips together as I look at the opening in my young patient’s abdomen. This should have been a simple procedure, but a long one. Unfortunately, nothing has been easy tonight. It is almost like the world is out to get me after the rough day I previously had. I don’t want to lose another patient this week. I don’t know if I can bear two in one week. My nose itches behind the mask. My lip instantly twitches, trying to get relief. My hands stop in midair as the itching gets worse. Is someone talking about me? Or is the saying someone is thinking about you? Whatever it is, I hope this itching stops soon. A child’s life hangs in the balance right now, and I need to keep my focus on him.From the other side of the operating table, a nurse looks at me. Confusion circles around in her eyes as she asks, “Katie, are you alright? Is something wrong?”I quickly shake my head and proceed with what I was doing. “No. Nothing is wrong. My nose is itching, nothing e
Katie POVI breathe a sigh of relief as I step away from the operating table, and my gaze goes to the newly stitched incision. Luckily, things have ended up going well, and the surgery is a success. This is something I really needed right now. The only thing better than this would be if Mark suddenly appeared in front of me with his arms opened wide and the playful smirk I love. A faint smile dances across my lips as his handsome face pops into my head. Images from our last and only night together come flooding back to me. He looked even more handsome than normal, or it was just me and I didn’t want to leave him. But I didn’t have much choice. My goal has always been to become a doctor, and I wasn’t going to put it on hold, even for him. His dark brown eyes seemed to be darker and sexier than usual that night, and his muscular body looked amazing in his tight shirt, which accented every line on his toned body. He looked the best, though, without the shirt on. Ah, is it gett