‘Okay. So we’re here. Now what?’
‘Wait and see.’ Lucas was looking annoyingly smug.
‘Mav...?’
Mav shrugged. ‘I don’t know. No one told me.’
That was probably just as well. Mav wouldn’t have been able to keep the secret, so he and Drew had both been kept in the dark.
‘You’ve got the rings, though. Tell me you have the rings, Lucas.’
‘Yes, I’ve got the rings. Simmer down, mate.’
That was one thing sorted at least. Lucas would be giving Caro away, and Ellie had agreed to be Drew’s best man, on condition that this best man was going to be wearing a dress. Mav had been given the responsibility of carrying the rings, but not until they arrived at the unspecified venue, in case he lost them on the way.
Drew turned towards the sea, taking a deep breath. Caro would be coming for him. Carrying the small spark of life with her that would grow into their child. It was everything that he wanted, and he’d marry her anywhere that took her fancy.
Then he saw the boat. Bedecked with flowers, rounding the corner of the bay. And Caro. Standing at the prow, waving. Behind it was a small flotilla of boats, which were sounding their horns on the off chance that no one had noticed their presence. Drew started to run towards the dock, hearing Mav shouting with excitement behind him.
He couldn’t take his eyes off her. Her blonde hair shimmering in the breeze. Her white dress moulding the curve of her hips and floating out behind her. The bouquet of summer flowers, bright in her hand, as she waved it above her head. It was Caro through and through, different and delightful, and he couldn’t wait to be standing next to her.
Gramps steered the boat up to the dock and he jumped aboard before anyone had a chance to secure the mooring rope. Caro stepped carefully down from her perch, straight into his arms.
‘Do you like it?’ She looked up at him, her eyes dancing.
‘I love it. I love you, Caro.’ He found her hand, raising it to his lips.
‘Shall we get married, then? We brought the registrar with us.’ Caro gestured towards the local registrar, who was wearing a suit with a lifejacket and beaming at them from the deck.
‘Yes. Let’s get married.’
Phoenix, Lucas and Mav tumbled into the boat and they cast off, Gramps navigating the craft to the centre of the bay and then dropping the anchor. The other boats clustered around, forming a small floating cathedral bedecked with flowers under the wide arch of the summer sky. When it was time to say their vows, they faced each other, Caro clinging tightly to his hands as he steadied her against the roll of the sea. And when they were pronounced man and wife, a deafening chorus of horns sounded from the other boats.
Drew lifted his new wife out of the boat and onto the dock. The beach was beginning to fill up, with people who’d come overland from the village and family and friends from the boats. But all he could see was Caro. When she looked up at him, her eyes brimming with love, he knew for sure that he was the happiest man alive.
* * *
Their wedding day had been perfect. The food truck, which had raised a few eyebrows when it had arrived on the beach, had won everyone over with gourmet pancakes and delicious finger food, while another truck had dispensed drinks. The cake had been big enough to feed the whole village, and when darkness had begun to fall she and Drew had kicked off their shoes and danced together in the sand.
And now they were going home. They’d decided to spend the first few days of their marriage here, and then two nights in Florida, visiting Caro’s parents for a second celebration. Then, ten days in the Caribbean, with nothing to do but relax and be together.
‘What was your favourite thing?’ Caro asked the question as Drew drove back towards the village.
‘Hmm. Not sure. Mav almost dropping the rings overboard? Phoenix trying to snack on your bouquet?’
‘What! All the things that went wrong, you mean.’ Caro smiled. They’d been two of her favourite things too.
‘What could possibly have gone wrong? You married me, didn’t you?’
‘I did. And you married me straight back.’
‘Yes, I did.’ Drew stopped the car outside their house, leaning over to kiss her. ‘How could I do anything different when you came sailing across the sea to find me?’
He got out of the car, opening the tailgate to let Phoenix out and then folding her in his arms. ‘Our home. Our family.’
‘My lover...’ Caro intimated his soft Cornish burr, and Drew laughed.
‘Yes. Always.’
The house, up in the hills above Dolphin Cove, had come onto the market just a few months ago. It was perfect, big enough for the family that they both wanted, along with a book-lined study for Drew and even an old conservatory at the back, which could be renovated as a workshop for Caro. Drew had pulled out all the stops to make sure that the sale would go through in time for him to carry her over the threshold after their wedding. He lifted her up gently into his arms and Caro clung to him.
‘You don’t have to carry me all the way up the front path. That’s just showing off, Drew.’
‘I’ve been thinking about this for a long time now. I’m not doing it by halves.’
His leg was fully healed now, and Drew could do everything he’d done before the accident. He strode up the path, stopping at the front door.
‘Keys. In my pocket.’
Caro felt in his pocket to find the door keys and unlocked the front door. Drew kicked it open and Phoenix bounded past him. Then he carried her over the threshold.
‘This is my favourite part of the day.’ She snuggled in his arms, kissing him.
‘Yeah. Mine too.’
* * *
Look out for the next story in the Dolphin Cove Vets duet
The Vet’s Secret Son by Annie O’Neil
And if you enjoyed this story, check out these other great reads from Annie Claydon
A Rival to Steal Her Heart
Winning the Surgeon’s Heart
Best Friend to Royal Bride
All available now!
Keep reading for an excerpt from Weekend Fling with the Surgeon by Janice Lynn.
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Weekend Fling with the Surgeon
by Janice Lynn
CHAPTER ONE
DUMPED. HOW COULD Paul have dumped her?
Dr. McKenzie Wilkes stared at the phone message, not quite believing what she was reading.
Not just dumped, but via text. Seriously?
What did it say that Paul had dumped her via a typed message? That she hadn’t warranted an in-person kick to the curb?
After more than two years of dating and his promise of undying love, she’d at the minimal deserved a call and explanation, surely? At least Clay, her ex prior to Paul, had broken things off in person rather than through technology.
To be fair, Paul had tried calling the previous evening.
Only she’d not seen the missed call until too late to dial back because she’d been on call at the hospital until six this morning and she’d been swamped. She’d not even seen the notification until long after midnight. Was this what he’d wanted to talk to her about? That he no longer loved her and wanted to end their relationship?
McKenzie bit the inside of her lower lip as she glared at the phone screen. Nope, she was not going to cry. Not going to happen. She had to go inside Seattle Cardiac Clinic for Kids and put on a happy face. How could she not when her patients and their families were dealing with so much more than a broken relationship?
Their sweet little hearts really were broken, physically
as well as emotionally. Yet, most of her patients’ families had amazing attitudes once the initial shock wore off. Yeah, she had to get her act together and not give in to the urge to go home, crawl into bed, curl into the fetal position and cry until there were no tears left.
Her patients needed her.
McKenzie loved her job as a pediatric cardiologist and advocate for her patients. She often got caught up in work, volunteering to take on extra shifts or canceling plans because one of her patients was in crisis.
She’d thought Paul had understood. Perhaps he hadn’t. He worked for an online retailer. His clients didn’t die if something went wrong.
McKenzie bit deeper into her lower lip, hoping the physical pain would defer the shattering in her chest.
Paul loved her. Hadn’t he told her so hundreds, if not thousands, of times over the past two years? How could he just text that they needed time apart to reevaluate their feelings? That he felt they’d grown apart and had different life views and goals?
Pretty much all her future personal plans were tied up with Paul and the life they’d someday have together. She’d thought they’d be married within the next year or two, would start a family, would grow old together.
Then again, she’d thought the same thing with Clay, hadn’t she? He’d ended a seven-year-long relationship that had begun during medical school and ended it when she’d thought they’d be taking that next life step together. Instead, he’d told her he was accepting a residency in Boston and she wasn’t invited.
Oh, the pity she’d gotten at home following that breakup. As if dealing with her own inner misery wasn’t enough, her mother had just about driven her crazy with date setups and poor-you babying.
She’d had to get away. Taking a residency offer in Seattle had been a godsend in so many ways.
Unfortunately, McKenzie was about to have an emotional déjà vu. A bad one. Possibly one worse than the last. In just under a month, she would be traveling to Tennessee for the first time since she’d moved.
For her cousin Reva’s wedding with McKenzie as one of the bridesmaids. They’d always planned to be in each other’s weddings. McKenzie had even wondered if Paul would use the trip to pop the question himself.
Obviously not.
Why had she hinted to her mother that a proposal might be in her near future? Wasn’t that like throwing gasoline on a fire?
Going to Jeremy and Reva’s wedding single was not an option. Her mother would feel it her obligation to push every Tom, Dick and Harry at her, all the while offering her looks of pity and conversations about how she’d once again been dumped.
McKenzie’s fingers palmed the phone she held as reality further sank in. Paul had ended their relationship. He didn’t love her anymore, if he ever had.
Sure, he’d never sent her heart into the acrobatics childhood fairytales had made her think were supposed to happen when she was around her significant other, but she enjoyed his company, their relationship made sense, and she genuinely cared for him. Besides, who believed in those kind of fairy tales, anyway?
Their relationship had been pleasant, comfortable, like warm cocoa on a cold drizzly Seattle night. Paul was dependable and made her happy.
She’d loved her cocoa guy. He’d made her feel loved, needed, as if she mattered.
“Hey, Dr. Wilkes,” one of her colleagues called, jarring McKenzie to the fact that she was standing frozen to the spot where she’d gotten the text.
“Hi, back,” she called, giving a little wave and pretending that her world hadn’t just crashed around her as she made her way inside the building and toward her office.
Her hands shook. Thank goodness she was in clinic today and not doing procedures where she had to have super steady hands.
It was more than her hands that shook.
Her entire body trembled.
Paul had dumped her.
Feeling a wave of lightheadedness hit her, McKenzie paused on her way to her office, leaned her forehead against the cold concrete wall, and closed her eyes.
She’d be okay. Even if Paul didn’t love her anymore, she’d be fine. Somehow.
Even if she had to go to Reva’s wedding and pretend everything was just lovely in her own life despite being single again, she’d survive those looks and conversations behind her back.
Her stomach knotted and sweat burst from her skin.
Oh, how her mother had gone on and on about how she looked forward to meeting Paul, how she couldn’t wait to meet the man her daughter loved, planned to marry and start a family with.
Nausea pitched, rising up McKenzie’s throat. A fresh wave of clamminess coated her skin.
She was going to throw up.
“Ahem.”
At the deep clearing of a throat, McKenzie spun and almost lost her balance as she came face-to-face with Dr. Ryder Andrews.
Fire spread across her cheeks at the furrowing of his brows.
Ugh. Of all the people in the world to see her on the verge of being physically ill, why, why, why, had it had to be him?
The reality was, Ryder always sent her heart racing, jitters in her veins and a fluttery schoolgirl feel in her stomach. Ugh. She did not like how he made her feel. Even when things had been all flowery and friendly, he’d turned her insides all quivery. Then again, she was a fresh-out-of-residency pediatric cardiologist and he was a highly skilled pediatric heart surgeon.
Of course, she’d been a little in awe. She still was. That was only natural but had always made her feel a tad guilty.
If Paul was warm cocoa that made McKenzie feel warm and cozy inside, Ryder Andrews was 100-proof whiskey, leaving her off balance and fuzzyheaded.
Ryder was not comfortable. He was...concerned.
“Are you okay?”
Tears prickled. Could this day get worse? She just wanted to go home, restart her day. This time, without a dismissive text message and a run-in with her least-friendly coworker.
“Fine,” she lied, because no way was she telling Ryder that she’d just been dumped.
He stared at her with his honey-colored eyes, rimmed with thick lashes, that, on the rare occasion their paths crossed, she avoided looking into because she felt as if he saw too much. Like now. Because she’d swear he knew she was lying.
Okay, she had been leaning against the wall and on the verge of losing her morning’s coffee. It didn’t take a genius IQ to realize she wasn’t on her game.
Of all people to see her moment of weakness, why Ryder?
As brilliant as he was, as great a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon as he was, McKenzie was positive he didn’t like her. She wasn’t sure she liked him. When he was around, she felt edgy, as if she was on the verge of saying or doing something stupid. She always seemed to, too. Possibly because she was so self-conscious.
She wasn’t one who had to have everyone like her, but Ryder had been friendly in the beginning. He’d smiled and teased her. She’d really liked him. She’d thought they would be good friends. After just a couple of weeks of his being at the hospital, he’d done a complete about-face. He’d never been openly hostile, just went out of his way to avoid her except for when work absolutely demanded they interact.
These days, when their paths did cross, an underlying tension she didn’t understand was always present. She couldn’t recall having done anything to upset him, had even asked him about it once. He’d denied that anything was wrong but continued to avoid her. She’d started doing the same. Perhaps she was overly sensitive to his attitude change but being around him left her rattled.
Like now.
Looking into those intelligent eyes that probed beneath the surface made her think he already knew she’d been dumped, and he sympathized with Paul for being saddled with her for so long.
“You don’t look fine,” he unnecessarily pointed out. “Do I need to get you a glass of
water or call someone?”
Yep. Her day just kept getting better and better.
“I’ll be fine.” Which was a more honest answer than her first one. She would, right? She’d survived her breakup with Clay, and she’d survive Paul ending things.
Because he no longer loved her.
Was she so unlovable that the men in her life always ended up walking away?
“If you’ll excuse me,” she continued, needing to escape from Ryder’s curious gaze before she went full-blown waterworks. “I’ve got a few things to take care of before I start seeing patients.”
Like going to her office and bawling her eyes out.
She walked away before Ryder could say anything more or before she did anything further embarrassing.
Dumped.
Again.
Ugh.
The back of her neck tingling as it often did around Ryder, McKenzie turned, found he stood exactly where she’d left him.
He’d not moved, just stared after her. His brows were drawn together, as if he was deep in thought and not pleasant ones.
Pursing her lips into a tight line, she shot Ryder a look of disgust at his gender, then, head held high, she retreated into her office.
McKenzie closed the door, leaned against it and gave in to the waterworks.
* * *
Dr. Ryder Andrews stared at McKenzie’s closed office door and felt torn into a thousand directions.
Just walk away, he ordered himself.
She obviously does not want to talk to you about whatever is going on. He sure didn’t need to talk to her about whatever was going on.
The less he had to do with Dr. McKenzie Wilkes the better.
Because, when they’d first met, he’d found himself rapidly falling for her. Once he’d discovered she was seriously involved with another man, he’d quickly put a stop to those feelings and avoided her as much as possible to prevent any reoccurrence of his fascination with her.
She’d been upset this morning. Very upset.
Healing the Vet's Heart Page 17