Heart Surgeon to Single Dad

by Janice Lynn

  Phenomenal, out-of-this-world sex.

  Last night and again that morning.

  Everything seemed wonderful, but Natalie knew it was only a ruse, that this euphoria wouldn’t last, and that when it came to an end she’d be the one hurt.

  Still, it would take a stronger woman than she was to withstand the power in his blue gaze.

  As head of the department, Matthew had already familiarized himself with the Harris case and Natalie’s innovative treatment plan. He let her walk him through the simulation step by step, how she’d prepared for the surgery, what precautions she’d taken for anything unexpected, and marveled at this amazing, intelligent, gifted woman he was working with, and that Delaine Harris’s baby’s heart was in good hands.

  He’d known. In Miami and since moving to Memphis. But watching her, listening to her explanations, beat him over the head with the fact that he’d never met anyone like her.

  “You aren’t listening to me.”

  He smiled. “I’ve listened to every word you’ve said.”

  “You were a million miles away,” she accused, her gaze narrowed.

  “I was listening. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than right here with you.”

  Her forehead creased as she frowned. “So what were you thinking about?”

  “Delaine Harris.”

  Natalie’s brow arched. “Really?”

  He leaned forward, dropped a kiss to the tip of her nose. “No worries. All my thoughts were professional.”

  “That’s not what I—Oh, you.” Natalie rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t worried. Not about that.”

  “No worries on the surgery, either. The Harris baby is the perfect candidate. In your heart, you know that.”

  Her gaze met his. “I just don’t want anything to go wrong. Not ever, but especially not on this first procedure.”

  “No matter how much you prepare, or worry, when dealing with human lives something can always go wrong.”

  She nodded. “I’d thought Dr. Luiz would be in surgery with me when I did this live for the first time.”

  “I’m sure he’d step in if you prefer?”

  She shook her head. “No, I want you.”

  Magic words that had him grinning.

  Natalie rolled her eyes again. “Again, not what I meant.”

  “But true,” he teased, knowing his words to be so.

  It wasn’t a question. He didn’t need her to tell him.

  She’d shown him.

  * * *

  What was taking Matthew so long? Natalie leaned against the pillow she’d propped against the headboard. He’d disappeared while she’d been in the bathroom.

  How did one get ready for bed with the great Matthew Coleman?

  She’d done all her usual routine—washed her face, brushed her teeth and hair, flossed, moisturized. She’d even taken a few extra steps of freshening up all over, because she knew what the night was likely to bring.

  Perhaps she should have searched for something more glamorous than the cotton pajama shorts and tank top she’d packed at her house when they’d swung by after leaving the hospital. He’d spoken with his sister and she’d asked to keep Carrie another night. But truthfully, Natalie figured no matter what she started off wearing, she’d likely end up naked before long.

  She adjusted the strap of the tank, letting it fall off her shoulder, then, feeling stupid, straightened it.

  “Matthew?” she called, wondering if he’d fallen asleep on the sofa or something.

  “On my way,” he answered, and he must really have been because he almost immediately walked into the room, bare-chested, in a pair of to-the-knee gym shorts.

  He was carrying a bowl of popcorn and a large water bottle.

  “What’s that for?” She’d thought he’d dive straight into bed and make haste to remove her pajamas, not bring a snack.

  “Us.” He put the bowl and drink on the night stand. The buttery scent of popcorn filled her nostrils, making her want some even though they’d grabbed dinner on the way home from the hospital.

  “We’ll get popcorn in the bed,” she warned, reaching out and tossing a few warm kernels in her mouth.

  Not looking as if he cared if they covered the bed in popcorn, he grinned.

  “Mmm, that’s good.” She grabbed a few more.

  He picked up a remote control, pushed a button that dropped a big screen down out of the ceiling.

  “Wow.”

  “You haven’t seen anything yet,” he teased, climbing into bed beside her and holding the remote out toward the screen.

  “You’re wrong about that.”

  Glancing at her, he laughed. “What’s your favorite genre of movies?”

  Natalie stared blankly at him.

  “Come on, you have to have a favorite.”

  “Not really. I don’t watch much television and haven’t been to the movie theater in years.”

  “Seriously?”

  Feeling self-conscious, she shrugged. “It’s really not a big deal.”

  “Sure it is. You were in a relationship for a couple of years. Didn’t he take you out?”

  Touchy subject, Natalie thought. “We went for dinner.”

  “That’s it?”

  “He went with me to hospital functions. I went to his work functions. It worked for me. Obviously, it wasn’t working quite so well for him.”

  “His law firm represents the hospital? That’s why he was at Dr. Luiz’s semi-retirement party?”

  She nodded. “His family has a lot of connections to the hospital. It’s how we met.”

  “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: he’s an idiot.”

  Not wanting to talk about her ex any more, she scooted closer to him and traced her fingers down the indentation in the center of his abs. “That’s two of us who think so, but let’s not waste time talking about him. He doesn’t matter.”

  His skin prickled with goosebumps beneath her fingertips.

  “I’m taking you to the movies, Natalie,” he surprised her by saying. “You, me and Carrie. We’re going next weekend.”

  She just stared.

  “That work for you?”

  Still wondering what she had gotten herself into, but knowing she was on this roller-coaster ride, Natalie nodded.

  Matthew’s smile was brighter than the screen he’d just clicked on when he said, “It’s a date.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  MOISTURE TRICKLED DOWN the back of Natalie’s neck and beneath her scrubs. A surgical nurse kept the sweat from her face by dabbing gauze over it every so often. Delaine Harris’s abdomen had been opened and the sweet little girl inside was being operated on while still attached by the umbilical cord. They’d been carefully making incisions into her tiny body as they threaded the smallest possible arterial catheter into her heart.

  Via the catheter, Natalie and Matthew had repaired the blockage in the pulmonary artery that, once the baby was born and having to breathe on her own, would have prevented her body from getting oxygenated blood.

  Everything connected with repairing the blockage had gone smoothly and they’d made the decision to repair the large ventricular defect with a patch. Using the computer for guidance and just as she’d practiced dozens of times, Natalie placed the patch, closing the abnormal defect one painstaking suture at a time. Matthew stood on the opposite side of her, working to suture the patch as well.

  As much as she wanted to glance away from the screen to meet his eyes, to see his wink of encouragement, she didn’t dare look away from the image of Delaine’s baby’s tiny heart.

  No matter. She could feel Matthew’s presence, feel his encouragement as surely as if he were speaking the words.

  Along with the obstetrician, a neonatologist, an anesthesiologist and a slew of nurses an
d surgical techs, Matthew was a valued member of the surgical team.

  Having him there meant everything.

  Which was a little scary.

  She didn’t want to get too dependent upon him. She didn’t want to depend on anyone. Hadn’t she learned her lesson over and over—that to depend on someone was to set oneself up for disappointment?

  Natalie worked on reattaching one set of vessels while he worked on another. Considering their tiny workspace, how well they worked together was quite impressive.

  Not once did he attempt to take over—he just followed her lead, perfectly performing his repair while she made hers.

  An alarm sounded, indicating that Mom’s heart rate was dipping.

  “Got this,” the anesthesiologist assured, as he and the obstetrician made medication and fluid adjustments.

  Natalie hoped they were right. Everything was proceeding according to plan, but it would be another few hours before they were done.

  When they’d finally finished the baby’s heart surgery and stepped back to let the obstetrician take over safely closing the baby inside her mother’s uterus, Natalie felt like her insides might explode with excitement.

  She’d done it.

  Something she’d dreamed of doing for years, since being in residency and proposing the idea. She’d performed her first in-utero vessel transposition repair. She’d written papers on the procedure, done hundreds of computer simulations, believed it would improve the long-term outcomes of her patients.

  Emotions rushed through her as she realized she’d just performed what could be the most important surgery of her career. If it worked—it had to work—it could change the entire way “blue baby” care was approached.

  Now, for the next few months, they’d wait and see if she’d been correct. Wait, and do a whole lot of praying.

  Which was okay. Natalie did a lot of praying with each surgery she performed because that was someone’s precious child.

  Because some children were wanted and loved.

  Not all kids ended up in the foster program as she had.

  Just look at Carrie.

  Natalie slipped off her surgical mask, slumped against the wall of the room she’d just entered, and prayed that Delaine and her baby continued to do well—better even.

  “You did an amazing job, Dr. Sterling,” Ben Robards, the obstetrician who’d been in on the surgery, praised when he entered the room, along with Matthew. Both removed their surgical masks. “Thanks for letting me be a part of this.”

  It was Ben who’d initially come to her with his patient, discussed with her the possibility of Delaine’s baby being the first at Memphis Children’s to have her heart deformity repaired while still in utero.

  “Without the long hours you put in, today wouldn’t have been possible,” she assured him. “You did a fabulous job with Delaine. The whole team did.”

  “Agreed,” Matthew said. “Now we wait to see.”

  “When you think mom and baby are stable enough to consider sending home with fetal monitoring,” Dr. Robards said, “I’ll give you a call to be sure we cover all our bases.”

  “Sounds perfect.”

  “Nice man,” Matthew commented after the obstetrician had removed his protective outer coverings from his scrubs, thoroughly cleaned his hands and left the room. “I met him briefly at Dr. Luiz’s retirement party, but hadn’t talked with him much until today.”

  Natalie still leaned against the wall and stared at him.

  “Exhausted?”

  “In some ways. In others, I feel exhilarated.”

  He grinned. “I know what you mean.” First glancing through the window on the door going into the operating room to make sure no one was close to coming into the room, he reached out and cupped her face. “You were amazing in there, Dr. Sterling. Deserving of every praise Dr. Luiz ever uttered.”

  Casting her own nervous glance toward the doorway, Natalie smiled. “He’s a smart man, that Dr. Luiz.”

  Matthew studied her. “Even though he played a key role in my being hired?”

  Natalie hesitated only a second. “Especially because of that.”

  “Natalie,” he groaned, leaning in to kiss her, but, wide-eyed, she pushed off the wall and shook her head.

  “Uh-uh. Not at the hospital.”

  * * *

  “Won’t Carrie find it odd if I go to dinner with you unexpectedly?”

  Matthew stared at the woman he’d missed in his bed the past three nights. Two nights of holding her, of waking with her next to him, and then being by himself in that big bed had just felt wrong. Not that he hadn’t understood why she wanted to stay at the hospital to keep close tabs on the Harris baby.

  That had been last night. Tonight, she could go home.

  He’d come to her office on his way out so he could convince her to go to dinner. Stubborn woman had refused earlier when he’d asked, just as she had the previous two evenings, and it seemed she was sticking to that trend.

  “Why would she find it odd?” he asked, not understanding her line of thought. Carrie liked Natalie.

  “Maybe she’d prefer to spend time with just you after being away from you all weekend.”

  Elaine hadn’t brought Carrie home until late Sunday. Natalie had been gone for just over an hour when his sister had pulled into the drive. He hadn’t wanted her to go, but from the point his sister called to say she’d be headed that way in an hour or so, Natalie had become guarded and had quickly left.

  “Over spending time with us?” he clarified, trying to make sense of her reticence. “Spending time with you wouldn’t bother her. She’d like it.”

  Natalie didn’t look convinced. “Before was different because I wasn’t having sex with you. It didn’t matter if she didn’t like me. Unless you are hoping she doesn’t like me so you have a reason to end this now?”

  She was right. What Carrie thought did matter. A lot.

  “You know I don’t want to end this, and Carrie already likes you,” he reminded her. “Do you not want to have dinner with me, Natalie?”

  “I do want to have dinner with you. It’s just...”

  “I have Carrie,” he guessed. She wasn’t saying no because of him, but because of his little girl. They’d had such a great time over the weekend, had worked together at the hospital in complete harmony. Why would she hesitate to spend time with him because of Carrie?

  Looking guilty, she said, “I’m sorry. I’m just not much of a ‘being around kids’ person.”

  “You’re a pediatric cardiologist,” he reminded her, not bothering to hide his annoyance.

  “So?” she challenged, crossing her arms over her chest as her chin lifted several notches.

  “So, you make your living by spending time with kids. Carrie doesn’t bite.”

  “I could point out that I specialize in neonatology. Most of my patients aren’t even a year old.” Natalie’s expression didn’t waver. “So don’t make fun of my concerns, Matthew. This is serious.”

  “You think I don’t know it’s serious? I want to spend time with you, want you to go to dinner with me, and you won’t because Carrie is going to be there.” He made it sound a crime, as if she should be ashamed for saying no.

  “I should stay here and work.”

  “Nice try, but there’s nothing you have to do until bright and early in the morning.”

  “Have to and need to are two different things. Besides, being close in case Delaine has issues isn’t a bad idea.”

  “You can be close without spending the night at the hospital. I live ten minutes from here,” he pointed out. When she started to argue, he added, “I want to celebrate the fantastic job you did yesterday, Natalie. Away from work. This is a big deal. Let me share it with you.”

  For a brief second she looked as if she might relent, might go to dinn
er with him and Carrie, but she shook her head.

  “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’d rather not tonight, Matthew.” Her expression remained conflicted. “Please understand.”

  His sigh was full of frustration. “I want to talk you into changing your mind, but I’m not going to be that guy, Natalie. The one who keeps on every time he doesn’t get his way. If you want to go home rather than go to dinner with me and Carrie, then you should go home.”

  “Thank you.” A great deal of her tension visibly eased.

  “But don’t expect me to understand, because I don’t. I really think—”

  “Matthew?” she interrupted.

  “Right,” he said, not finishing the argument he’d been about to present. Glancing at his watch, he cursed at the time, knowing he had to get Carrie from her extended preschool program. “Am I allowed to call you once I’ve put her to bed?”

  “I’ll be here until late.”

  “Your boss must be a horrible slave-driver.”

  A smile toyed at her lips. “He’s not so bad.”

  “Good to know.” He crossed the room, wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in for a goodbye kiss. “I was beginning to think you didn’t like him.”

  “I like him well enough,” she admitted, staring into his eyes.

  “Just well enough?” he asked, his lips hovering above hers.

  “A little more.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him.

  That she initiated the kiss, that her hands wrapped around his neck and held on to him tight, just about undid every good intention Matthew had.

  “No, we are not doing anything on my desk,” she said, reading his mind. “You’ve got to pick up Carrie.”

  “I do.”

  “So go.”

  “I don’t want to leave you.”

  “I’ll be here tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow seems like a long time from now.”

  Smiling, Natalie pushed him toward her office door. “Goodnight, Matthew.”

  “I’ll call later,” he promised, leaning in for a last kiss.

  “I’d like that.”

  * * *

  Matthew didn’t try to talk her into dinner when Natalie said no on Thursday, but that night when he called their conversation quickly morphed into conveying his frustration.