Stolen Kiss with the Single Mom Read online

  Alston had called her a hero. If he only knew what a coward his mother really was. It was as if she could see happiness just beyond her reach, but was too scared to grab it.

  If Ben could have picked a man out for her and Alston she knew it would have been Scott. The man who had been there for her when she hadn’t thought she could go on. But she was afraid to be there for him while he used his medical knowledge to take care of others. What kind of friend did that make her?

  * * *

  Scott stopped outside Lacey’s hospital room and prepared himself. He was set to leave the next day, and this would be the last chance he’d have to see her before he left.

  He heard a sound through the door that sounded like someone was crying, and pushed open the door. Lacey was sitting up in the bed while she cried into the covers.

  Moving to the bed, he eased her into his arms. “It’s okay,” he said. “Is it the pain? I’ll call the doctor and get your medicine increased if you’re still hurting.”

  “It’s not the pain,” Lacey said. “It’s me. I’ve been such a coward.”

  “You’re not a coward. You’re one of the bravest people I know,” Scott said.

  He rested his chin on her head and breathed in the sweet scent of her. He’d miss that scent while he was gone.

  “No, I’m not. And I’ve been an awful friend, too,” she said. “I’ve been totally irrational concerning everything. And I could have been killed just walking to the library.”

  He tried to understand what it was that she was saying, but she was beginning to ramble like her eight-year-old son.

  “It’s just the pain medication,” he told her. “As soon as you get some rest you’ll feel better.”

  “No, I won’t,” she said. “I’ve messed things up, and now you’re leaving, and I didn’t even get a chance to tell you that I love you.”

  “I love you too,” Scott said, knowing that she wouldn’t understand that he meant it in a purely un-platonic way.

  “No,” Lacey said as she drew away from him. “I love you, Scott. As in I’m in love with you.”

  Scott stepped away from the bed. With all the pain medication she had been given, did she even know what she was saying?

  “You’ve had a hard day, Lacey. They’ve given you a lot of medication to help with the pain. We can talk about this after you take a nap,” Scott said.

  “It’s not the medication. I know how I feel,” Lacey said, then yawned.

  Scott watched as Lacey’s eyes closed and her respirations became even. Did she really know how she felt? Did she truly know how he felt?

  He’d asked her to wait for him but he’d never come out and asked her if she would marry him. He’d been afraid that he’d scare her off if he asked too much of her, too fast, but he’d assumed that she must know where he was hoping the relationship would eventually go.

  * * *

  Lacey opened her eyes and looked across the room to where Scott sat in a chair, asleep. Had she really told him that she loved him or had it all been a drug-induced dream?

  She lay in the bed and watched him. Drugs or no drugs, she knew what she wanted now. There’d be no more wasting her life. She’d spent too much time letting her fear of the unknown keep her from admitting her feelings for Scott. She wouldn’t let him leave without telling him how she really felt.

  He stirred in the chair, then looked over at her. “Do you feel better?” he asked.

  “Yes. Can you come over here?” she asked as she moved over on the bed. “We need to talk.”

  “Sure,” he said, and he stood and moved closer to the bed. “Look, I want you to know that I understand that you might not have meant everything you said earlier. I don’t want you to think that I’m holding you to it. Pain medication can do funny things to people.”

  “Which things are you talking about?” she asked.

  “Well, you said that you love me,” Scott said.

  “Yes, I did,” she said.

  “You said that you were in love with me,” Scott said.

  “Yes, I did,” she said.

  “And you said that you would marry me when I came back to the States,” he said, his lips turned up into a mischievous smile.

  “Scott Boudreaux—I never said any such thing. Besides, you didn’t ask me to marry you,” Lacey said as she pushed herself up in the bed.

  “Lacey, will you marry me when I get back?” Scott asked.

  He looked so hopeful, and she knew inside her heart that she was making the right decision for both of them.

  “No, I won’t marry you when you come back. But I will marry you before you leave.”

  She laughed as Scott collapsed back into the chair beside the bed.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “Are you sure? I don’t even have a ring for you,” Scott said as he took her hand in his.

  “I’m sure. That is if it’s what you want?” she said.

  She hadn’t considered that he might want a big wedding.

  “It’s what I want. But how are we going to make it work? I leave tomorrow night!” Scott said.

  “Well, the first thing we need to do is call your mother and your sisters,” Lacey told him. “If anyone can get a wedding together by then it would be your family.”

  * * *

  It took them more than a day, but with a change in flight and some phone calls Scott managed to get an extra day—which also allowed Lacey a little more time to recover in the hospital before she was whisked off to his parents’ house by his sisters.

  Instead of the usual bachelor party, Scott and Alston spent the night playing video games and eating pizza. According to Alston it was the best bachelor party ever.

  Scott had felt it was important for him to get Alston’s approval, but he hadn’t been prepared for Alston’s simple answer when he had asked the boy if he could marry his mother.

  “I think my daddy would want you to marry my mom,” Alston said.

  “You do? Why is that?” Scott had asked.

  “Well, my daddy loved you. And my daddy loved my mother. Doesn’t that mean that he’d want you two to love each other?”

  And that was that, as far as the eight-year-old boy was concerned. And Scott couldn’t help but feel that Alston was right. That somehow Ben had had a part in him and Lacey falling in love.

  As a surprise, Scott had managed to get the management of Baby Blues to open early, and his sisters had set up the courtyard there for the ceremony. He remembered how Lacey had loved the magical feel of the place. They might not have had a lot of time to plan the wedding, but they were only going to do this once and he wanted to make sure they did it right.

  Now, pacing back and forth, Scott waited at the entrance, watching for the car he’d rented to arrive. As it turned in he stepped back and waited. When the car came to a stop, Scott opened the door before the driver could come around.

  Lacey stepped out and the courtyard went silent. She wore a simple white dress that left her shoulders bare.

  Louis Armstrong sang “A Kiss to Build a Dream On” over the speakers—the song he had requested. It would be their song from now on, and he could imagine it playing forty years from now, as they danced together with their arthritic joints and graying hair.

  “It’s all so beautiful,” she said as she looked around the courtyard.

  “Are you ready to get married?” Scott asked her.

  “I’m ready,” she answered as she slipped her hand into his. “I’m finally ready.”

  EPILOGUE

  SCOTT STARED STRAIGHT ahead and reminded himself that he couldn’t embarrass his wife. He’d spent his life taking on some of the most dangerous challenges around the world. He’d hiked the Alaskan mountains and dived in shark cages. He’d parachuted out of planes and been white water rafting on some of the fastest rivers in the world. Bu
t nothing had ever scared him like what he saw on the ultrasound machine.

  “There are two of them?” he said for the third time.

  “Yes,” said the ultrasound technician. “There are two.”

  “And they’re both girls?” he said, again for the third time.

  “Yes,” his wife and the ultrasound technician said both together. “They’re both girls.”

  “But there are two?” he said as he turned to his wife. “We’re going to have two girls? At the same time?”

  “That’s usually how it works with twins,” his wife told him as the technician wiped the gel from her stomach.

  How could she be so calm about this? Of course, in his defense, she had known about this for longer than he had. He’d been overseas when Lacey had learned they were having twins, and she had sneakily kept that information to herself.

  He watched as the technician printed out a picture, then handed it to his wife.

  “Here—hold this,” Lacey said, and she pushed him down to sit on the table and handed him the picture. Then she pulled out her phone and snapped a photo of him.

  “What was that for?” he asked as he looked down at the picture in his hand.

  “I just wanted to make sure I got a photo of something I never thought I’d see,” Lacey said.

  “What?” he asked as he stood to follow her out of the room.

  “I think, Dr. Scott Boudreaux, you have finally found your most extreme challenge,” his wife said, then strolled out of the room, following the technician.

  And, looking down at the picture in his hand, of the two little girls who would soon join his family, he had to admit that she was right.

  * * *

  If you enjoyed this story, check out these other great reads from Deanne Anders

  The Surgeon’s Baby Bombshell

  From Midwife to Mommy

  Both available now!

  Keep reading for an excerpt from The Nurse’s One Night to Forever by Janice Lynn.

  WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS BOOK FROM

  Life and love in the world of modern medicine.

  Escape to the world where life and love play out against a high-pressured medical backdrop.

  6 NEW BOOKS AVAILABLE EVERY MONTH!

  The Nurse’s One Night to Forever

  by Janice Lynn

  CHAPTER ONE

  FOR THE HUNDREDTH time since Riley had arrived at the engagement party Dr. Justin Brothers found himself watching her pretend she was having a good time. She wasn’t.

  Which didn’t make sense as he knew she and Cheyenne were close friends. And Paul was a great guy. Surely Riley was happy at their engagement?

  Still, if ever a woman was faking it, Riley was now. Her eyes begged to be rescued, even though she was laughing at something someone had said.

  Justin wanted to don some armor and do just that.

  He knew better.

  Riley King fought her own battles and would cut down any man who got in her way. Or maybe it was just him she cut down.

  The only place she was relaxed around Justin was in the surgery suite. There, she’d give tit for tat. He loved working with her, watching her take charge and make sure everything went smoothly. It always did with Riley at the helm.

  “Go talk to her.”

  Justin cut his gaze to his friend Paul. “You worry about taking care of your own love-life.”

  Faux-punching Justin’s shoulder, Paul grinned. “This whole shindig is about my love life and how awesome it is.”

  A pang of envy hit. Was it only last summer that Justin had almost walked down the aisle himself? That he’d thought he’d found “the one?”

  How quickly things changed.

  Although Justin wasn’t lonely, he wasn’t opposed to meeting someone special and being in Paul’s shoes.

  His gaze went back to Riley. The curvy nurse who was so quick to put him in his place, had captivated him from the moment he’d met her.

  “You like her.”

  “Never said I didn’t,” he reminded his friend, dragging his gaze from Riley yet again. “It’s more that she doesn’t like me.”

  Paul gave a look of disbelief. “Never known you to strike out.”

  “It happens.” Unfortunately. He couldn’t recall the last time prior to Riley, but she was a biggie.

  Too bad she’d laughed when he’d asked her out. Laughed and told him no in no uncertain terms.

  His gaze drifted back to her, taking in the body-hugging green dress that flounced at the hem and made his eyes pop. She had her dark hair pulled up, but several tendrils had worked loose and framed her pretty heart-shaped face. At work she wore scrubs and no-nonsense shoes. Tonight she had stilettos on that made her legs look a million miles long and gave a gentle sway to her hips when she walked.

  Just looking at her had Justin struggling not to reach for his collar to loosen a few buttons. Riley made him hot.

  Because she was hot.

  And smart, and funny, and—not interested.

  Only he’d swear she was...

  From across the terrace her big green eyes collided with his gaze and she failed to hide the initial flicker of awareness. The same awareness he felt every time they were together but that she seemed to find easy to push aside and deny.

  She’d had a bad break-up a year or two ago. He didn’t know the specifics, but you couldn’t work in the same hospital unit and not pick up on gossip. She didn’t date. Perhaps she was still hung up on her ex. That theory made the most sense but, right or wrong, the thought of her wanting another man irked him.

  Cheeks blushing a rosy pink, she averted her eyes, took a drink from her champagne glass, then pretended to listen to whatever her friend was saying.

  The same way Justin was pretending to listen to what Paul was saying.

  Justin grimaced and told himself to stop with the Riley fascination and acknowledge the woman Paul was now introducing to him.

  The single woman who’d just joined them had a hopeful look in her eyes. If she triggered half the sparks Riley did, he’d consider himself a lucky man.

  Too bad he felt nothing when he looked at the tall blonde and everything when his gaze wandered back to the brunette whose gaze was on him again...

  * * *

  For so many reasons surgical nurse Riley King hadn’t wanted to attend her coworker’s engagement party. But she adored Cheyenne, and hadn’t been able to think of a single excuse that wouldn’t have their close-knit workgroup rallying to make sure Riley was okay.

  This party was about Cheyenne—not a wake for expressing grief over Riley’s jilting at the altar. She had to at least make a quick appearance, even if she knew she’d be one of the few solo attendees and would get looks of pity and offers of blind date set-ups.

  No, thank you.

  She didn’t want pity, blind dates, real dates, or to be anywhere that had anything to do with the opposite sex and especially not with weddings.

  Like this engagement party.

  Still, she had to go on smiling and pretending she was having the time of her life, and that she wasn’t hungry when she was actually longing to give in to the temptation of the yummy-looking calorie-laden appetizers at various locales on the beautifully decorated patio.

  Even worse, she had to pretend that the engagement and wedding excitement didn’t trigger flashbacks to sitting in her fancy white dress, alone on her wedding night.

  Johnny’s exit had just been more dramatic, but every man Riley had ever cared for had left, leaving her done with romantic involvements.

  So why was her gaze constantly on the man on the opposite side of the party venue? The very gorgeous man she couldn’t keep her eyes from straying to no matter how many times she dragged them away?

  Hot, steamy Dr. Justin Brothers—the heartthrob orthopedic su
rgeon all the females at the hospital oohed and ahhed over twenty-four-seven.

  Riley didn’t ooh or ah over Justin. Much. Sure, he was tall, muscular in a non-gym-rat kind of way, and had the most amazing blue eyes and smile. But she knew his type. Male—which equated to love ’em and leave ’em.

  Justin was one of those fast guys who didn’t waste time before declaring, “Next!” From the moment he’d arrived on the Columbia Hospital scene, he had never been with the same woman twice. He wasn’t interested in pretending he’d stick around.

  Wasn’t that what Karen, one of his more recent exes, had told Riley when they’d bumped into each other at the grocer’s? Justin was fun while it lasted, but knowing that hadn’t prevented the woman from being heartbroken when he’d moved on.

  Riley did not want to be the next Karen. Or Nancy. Or Stephanie.

  So what if she enjoyed their hospital banter? The way he made her fight laughter more often than not? Made her fight the awareness that, although she’d sworn off romance, her body was still young and hormonal?

  Regardless, she wouldn’t risk a repeat of what had happened with Johnny. Not ever, ever, ever.

  That was why she’d told Justin no when he’d asked her to dinner.

  Twice.

  She hadn’t been sure he was serious the first time, and had figured the second time had been about wounded pride.

  But if ever she was tempted to date again, Justin would be the one to make her do it.

  When Justin had come to work at the hospital six months ago she had felt good old-fashioned lust surge to life. Something she’d thought impossible to feel again. Something she hadn’t wanted to feel again.

  Which was why she avoided him when she was outside the safety of the hospital.

  The less she knew about Justin, the better.

  The more she thought of him as a player—no better than any other man who’d ever walked the earth, looking for a female’s heart to crush—the better.