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Dear Reader
Visiting New York City is pretty high on my bucket list of things I want to do.
When I was six years old I had a year living in Bethesda, Maryland. I went to school there, and had all the fun of big, big snow in the winter and a ‘real’ Halloween. I still have a major fondness for both events.
I just loved doing the research for this NYC Angels continuity book. Not only did I get to include Halloween, but I was also obliged to spend many hours learning about a magic city that I fully intend to see in the not so distant future. I’ve fallen in love with Central Park already, because it’s very close to the Angel Mendez Children’s Hospital and snuck into my story.
Even better, I had a feisty Texan heroine, a gorgeous hero, and a past conflict between them that was huge. My Alex and Layla had a lot of growing to do and stuff to sort out before they could get anywhere near a happy ending.
I loved getting so close to them on their journey to really discover each other. Hope you do too!
Lots of love and happy reading!
Alison xxx
www.millsandboon.co.uk
CHAPTER ONE
‘No.’
The single word was as dramatic as the way the man had stormed into Layla Woods’s office and slammed a piece of paper onto her desk.
As dramatic as the man himself.
Alex Rodriguez was clearly furious. The waves of his thick, jet-black hair looked rumpled—as if he’d pushed angry fingers through it. Eyes that were nearly as dark glared down at Layla.
A long way down. Layla had to fight the urge to leap to her feet so that she could feel taller. Braver. But that would be a dead giveaway that she was rattled, wouldn’t it? And she couldn’t afford to let Alex know the effect he was still capable of having on her.
With a satisfyingly steady hand, she reached for the piece of paper. The memo she had sent out that morning to all the senior staff members here at the Angel Mendez Children’s Hospital.
‘This is the agenda for the next monthly report meeting.’
‘And you’ve put me down as being the first presenter.’ Alex folded his arms. ‘The answer’s no. I decline the invitation.’
‘It’s not an “invitation”,’ Layla flashed back. ‘It’s the case I’ve chosen to open the meeting. I’m sorry if it’s inconvenient but it’s your patient, Alex, therefore you present the case. End of story.’
The head of paediatric neurosurgery made an exasperated sound, turning as if he intended to storm out of her office in the same way he’d entered. Instead, he stopped beside the large window, with the backdrop of a bright blue October morning. Was he taking in the fabulous view of New York’s Central Park that this prestigious top-floor office had to offer?
An office befitting Layla’s position as the new chief of paediatrics at this famous hospital. Her dream job. A position that had been in jeopardy a few short weeks ago until Alex had stepped in to protect her.
‘What the hell are you playing at, Layla?’
The angry tone of Alex’s voice must have carried because Layla’s secretary appeared at the open door. Layla gave her a tight smile.
‘Hold my calls, please, Monica.’ The tilt of her head conveyed the message that she wanted more than her calls held to deal with this. The door was tactfully closed as her secretary retreated.
‘Well?’ Alex turned back to face her and this time Layla got to her feet.
Slowly.
She walked to the other side of her desk but couldn’t go any closer to Alex. The huge can of worms that represented their shared history was blocking the way.
Or maybe it was the memory of what had happened the first time they’d confronted each other since they’d both been working here at Angel’s. When they’d been close enough for the flames of a sexual chemistry that had clearly never died completely to flare into that scorching kiss.
It couldn’t happen again.
Their past had been precisely what had put her new job in jeopardy. Had she really been naïve enough to think that it had been so long ago it couldn’t affect her life any more? That she could take a high-profile position like this and it wouldn’t matter that she hadn’t disclosed her involvement in the malpractice suit that had nearly destroyed Alex’s career five years ago?
Somehow they had to move past this. Learn to work together.
‘I had intended discussing the agenda with you. You declined the appointment I tried to set up last week.’
‘I was busy.’ Alex held her gaze. ‘As you would have noticed if you’d bothered checking my electronic calendar.’
Layla kept her expression carefully neutral. She had checked his calendar but he could have easily suggested another time. They both knew the real truth. He had been avoiding her.
Since that kiss.
He hadn’t even let her voice her thanks for the way he’d stepped in and defended her at the board meeting when her integrity had been under examination and it had been highly likely that they would decide she was not the right person to oversee the talented staff that Angel’s was so proud of.
Being thwarted in expressing her appreciation had been a putdown but Layla’s aggravation went deeper than that.
Good manners had been drummed into Layla Woods since she’d been knee high to a grasshopper and saying thank you to someone who’d done her such a huge favour wasn’t just about maintaining a good appearance.
It was the right thing to do.
The idea of using the monthly report meeting had been a brainwave. OK, choosing a time she’d known Alex was busy to offer a chance to discuss the agenda could be deemed unprofessional, but Layla had had enough. She was taking control.
She hadn’t expected it to backfire quite so instantly. Why hadn’t Alex simply continued to avoid her? He could have asked his deputy head of neurosurgery, Ryan O’Doherty, to present the case on his behalf.
‘It’s not a current case,’ Alex added. ‘And it was successful.’
Of course it was. Layla would hardly have picked a case that was presenting a current dilemma or, worse, one that had had a bad result.
The last thing either of them would want would be to go over that old ground. To the case of the toddler, Jamie Kirkpatrick, that had brought them together in the first place. To the cutting-edge surgery for a complicated brain tumour that had fallen disastrously short of being successful. Jamie had died. Alex had been sued by a distraught family looking for someone to blame. He’d been cleared but Layla hadn’t been there to help him celebrate, had she? She’d ended their affair the night before Jamie’s surgery.
She nodded at Alex’s terse summary. ‘That’s precisely why I chose it. We don’t just put up a current, complicated issue to get the benefit of input from different specialties. Or to dissect what went wrong in a case that wasn’t successful. Sometimes it’s a good thing to reflect on a triumph. And Matthew was a triumph.’
‘There are plenty of other cases you could have chosen.’
‘Not one that so many people are so interested in.’
The brain tumour in the nine-year-old boy had been so rare and complicated that surgeons all over the state had refused to touch it. Until the little boy’s desperate parents had brought him to Angel’s as a last resort and begged Dr Rodriguez to use his legendary skills to give their son a chance to survive. And that was why it wouldn’t make any difference if Ryan presented the case. Everybody already knew who the real hero was.
‘The criterion for picking a case to report is that it’s out of the ordinary,’ Layla continued. ‘From what I’ve heard, this one was all that everybody talked about at the time and the staff involved in the recent follow-up appointment were thrilled by Matthew’s progress. I also heard that you’re writing the case up for a top journal. I thought it would be nice to share that.’ The occasional triumph shared at the meeting was good for everybody. A counterbalance for the heart-breaking cases.
‘Shine the spotlight on someone else, Layla,’ Alex growled. ‘Somebody’s going to wonder why you picked on me and I’ve been talked about more than I’m comfortable with around here lately.’ Alex turned to look out of the window again as he spoke but then his gaze swerved back to Layla. ‘Gossip about the Kirkpatrick case was bad enough. What happens when people start talking about the fact that I was having an affair with a married woman at the time? How do you think that’s going to help my reputation?’
The glare Layla received would have intimidated anyone.
Layla straightened her spine.
‘I came to Angel’s for a fresh start,’ Alex ground out. ‘I won’t allow you to drag my name through the mud.’
Oh … Lord …
OK. The plan had been to make this a public gesture of thanks, whether Alex liked it or not. She knew that this case would earn him even more respect from those colleagues who didn’t know all the details of the case, even though it had been breaking news on the grapevine in the months before she’d come to Angel’s. She had also known that it would be a public statement of her own faith in his abilities.
But it was a huge leap to go from not wanting her gratitude or public support to accusing her of being prepared to damage his reputation. The attack was unjustified. Unfair.
‘You’re not the only one who’s come here for a fresh start,’ Layla snapped. ‘And I’m sure you haven’t forgotten but I was the married woman. I don’t want that being common knowledge any more than you do.’
‘So stay away from me, then.’
Layla let out an incredulous huff. ‘You’re the one who came storming into my office.’
‘Because this needed to be dealt with.’
‘What needs “to be dealt with”,’ Layla responded, ‘is the fact that we find ourselves working in the same hospital. Again.’ She took a deep breath. ‘It’s unfortunate, I agree, but you had your chance to get rid of me. You could have let me get fired.’
‘I didn’t do it to protect your job and keep you here, if that’s what you’re thinking.’
No. That idea had been farfetched enough for Layla to have dismissed it at the time.
Almost.
‘So why did you do it?’ she asked quietly.
‘Because I’m not going to let my past dictate my future. The Kirkpatrick case did enough damage already. I stood up for you because … because it was the right thing to do.’
Thanking him had seemed like the right thing to do, too, but he wouldn’t let her. Now Layla wasn’t even sure she wanted to thank him. Had he just been facing his own demons? Making them a part of a past that didn’t matter any more?
She had to look away. ‘Well … we’re going to have to work together. I’m not about to leave a job I’ve only just started.’
‘Neither am I.’
He was still angry. Layla could feel the waves of it reaching her across the distance she’d been careful to maintain between them. She could also feel other currents mixed in with the anger. Like his determination to succeed and the fierce intelligence with which he was assessing his options. And beneath all of that she could feel his raw magnetism and power. The charisma that Alex Rodriguez wore like a second skin.
There seemed to be nothing left to say.
They were at an impasse. Both of them struggling to take control of their present by focussing on the future and dismissing the past.
Could it be that easy?
Layla had to make an effort to swallow. ‘Fine. Then let’s start as we mean to go on from now on. I’ve set the agenda for the meeting. I’ll look forward to hearing your presentation, Dr Rodriguez.’
Alex said nothing. With no more than another searing glance, he turned and left her office.
Two days later and people were filing into the small lecture theatre tucked away on an upper floor, along with the operating theatres. Some were carrying Styrofoam cups of coffee and paper bags containing sandwiches and some were reading messages on their pagers. All of them would have a notebook and pen available.
Fellow Texan, neonatal doctor Tyler Donaldson came in, protectively ushering his now very pregnant fiancée, Eleanor, into a front-row seat where she would have plenty of room. Eleanor smiled at Layla.
‘Don’t mind me if I have to sneak out to the bathroom,’ she said. ‘My bladder capacity is shrinking by the day.’
‘Yeah …’ Tyler beamed proudly. ‘And that little rodeo rider in there likes to work out and use it for a punching bag.’
Layla returned the smile but said nothing. She wasn’t in the mood for baby talk and Tyler might be an old friend but it wasn’t exactly professional to sit there holding hands with Eleanor, was it?
There was a quiet buzz of conversation going on and seats were being filled but there was still no sign of Alex. Layla gave Ryan a questioning look, her head tilted towards the door. As Alex’s second-in-command, surely he would know where the senior neurosurgeon was? But Ryan merely shrugged and then turned to his companion, a smile on his face as he responded to some comment. The atmosphere in here was relaxed and why wouldn’t it be?
There was no blame, no shame for unsuccessful cases but the discussion could get robust. What could have been done differently? What would be done differently next time? Hindsight was a wonderful thing when it could be used for a good purpose. You could never say they didn’t learn from mistakes around these parts.
Could Layla say that about herself?
Professionally, of course she could.
Personally? Layla suddenly became aware that she was tapping her foot impatiently. How long had she been doing that? Had anyone noticed? Her foot stilled.
Of course she could say that she learned from personal mistakes.
She hadn’t got married again, had she?
She had challenged Alex, though. She hadn’t heard a peep out of him since that tense exchange in her office and she’d been left wondering if he would back down and appear to present his case. Surely he would guess that a non-appearance would start people talking even more than if he’d shown up as her star turn of the day?
There was an air of expectancy in the room now. These were busy people. They only had an hour to spare and they were all giving up their lunch-breaks to attend. There were a few empty seats but that was normal. Some people couldn’t make it on the day, even if they were rostered to present a case, but that was OK, too, because they always had more cases lined up than they ended up having time to discuss.
She’d give Alex exactly one more minute to show up.
‘Aren’t you supposed to be at Monthly Report?’
‘Yep.’ Alex Rodriguez was facing his half-brother, Cade. Both men were semi-crouched and already sweating in the midday September sunshine that bathed the small area out the back of the ambulance bay where a basketball hoop was attached to the wall.
Alex had control of the ball right now, bouncing it in sharp movements as his body wove from side to side, looking for an opening to get closer to the hoop.
‘So why aren’t you?’
‘Could ask you the same question.’
‘Hey, I was only going to listen. Aren’t you supposed to be presenting a case?’
Alex ignored the question. With a lunge, he dived sideways, scooping up the ball and firing it at the hoop. With a resounding thump it hit the backboard and went through the net.
‘Yes …’
Both men went for the ball as it bounced on the tarmac. This time Cade made contact first and gleefully took control.
‘You may as well give up, bro. Go and have a shower and make Layla happy.’
‘What the hell is that supposed to mean?’
‘Whoa …’ Cade caught the ball instead of bouncing it and spun it on his hand. ‘Who put the burr under your saddle?’
Using Layla’s Texan drawl, along with a phrase they’d both heard her use, was like rubbing salt into the wound. With a move Cade didn’t see coming Alex knocked the ball from his hand and took off across the court, scoring another goal.
Cade laughed. Game on. For several minutes they played hard, ignoring the heat and the sweat and how out of breath they were getting.
No way was Alex going to go to that meeting and make Layla happy. It wasn’t so much that this was obviously a public pat on the back for a case that had gone so well, it was the string-pulling that he could sense going on behind it.
OK, he’d done Layla a favour but he’d done it in order to face his own demons, not to protect her. He didn’t want her thanks.
Hell, no …
Because if she got close enough to thank him properly, he knew exactly what could happen. Had already happened. That chemistry between them would explode and they’d end up in a clinch, kissing like there was no tomorrow.
And, God help him, he was not going to let it happen again.
Who the hell did Layla think she was that she could pull a string or two and have people dancing to her tune?
He’d told her that he didn’t want to present. She’d had plenty of time to back down and change the agenda and she hadn’t done so despite knowing that it could kick off a fresh wave of gossip. Well … he wasn’t even going to put in an apology for the meeting.
He just wasn’t going to show up. They might have to work together again but was going to do it on his terms, thank you very much.
She could deal with that. By herself.
This was getting borderline embarrassing.
From her position on the podium Layla nodded at the group. It was time to begin. Her heels sounded loud on the podium, rapping smartly on the wood as she moved to the microphone attached to the lectern. She tapped it gently to check it was on.
‘Howdy, folks. Glad y’all could make it.’ Her smile was bright. Along with good manners, Layla Woods had grown up knowing exactly how to present the perfect public face, no matter what was going on inside her head.
Or her heart, for that matter.
‘Looks like our first presenter is missing in action,’ she continued, ‘so let’s get the ball rolling with our second case. Dr Donaldson is going to share one of our neonatal department’s case histories.’
‘Thanks, darlin’ …’ Tyler reluctantly let go of Eleanor’s hand and strolled up to the podium. He winked at Layla as he inserted a memory stick into the data projector.
Layla kept her smile in place with difficulty. She knew what that wink was about just as clearly as she could sense the significant looks being passed between the people seated in the tiered rows in here. They all knew that Alex’s name was on the top of the agenda. Now they were all wondering if he really had an emergency keeping him away or if there was something else going on. Were some of those rumours circulating about a romantic involvement between Alex and Layla true?
‘Meet Madeline,’ Tyler Donaldson announced, as a photograph of a tiny, premature baby almost hidden by wires and tubes came up on the screen. ‘Born at a gestation of twenty-five weeks, this li’l gal weighed in at six hundred and eighty grams and measured thirty-two centimetres. She was intubated immediately after birth and given positive pressure ventilation due to her prematurity.’
To outward appearances, Layla was listening attentively to the presentation of all the complications this baby had had but in reality she was trying to unravel the knot of anger forming in her gut.
He could have put in an apology for the meeting. Or arranged for Ryan to present the case. They could have both kept their dignity intact and made a fresh start by putting their professional lives onto some kind of an even keel. The gossip would be fuelled by his non-appearance with no explanation. Layla didn’t like being the subject of gossip. She didn’t like the ashes of the past being raked over. Would she ever get away from the mistake she’d made in getting involved with Alex in the first place?
Don’t you mean get over him?
That tiny voice in the back of her mind got ruthlessly silenced. Layla glared at Tyler.
This was all his fault, wasn’t it? They’d known each other practically their whole lives. Ty knew how badly her marriage had ended and how strained her relationship with her family was. OK, maybe he hadn’t known about the affair that had spelt the end of that marriage, or that Alex had been the man she’d had an affair with, but it had been Ty who’d persuaded her to apply for the job here at Angel’s.
The job that meant she and Alex were working at the same hospital.
Again.
Layla took a deep breath and tried to tune in to what Tyler was saying about the complex surgery baby Madeline had had to go through. The fleeting thought that his specialty had to be harder now that his fiancée was pregnant with his own baby only led Layla straight back to her own personal issues.
Like how she was going to deal with the tension between Alex and herself. It wasn’t just about avoiding damage to their reputations, was it? There was still something there. Something powerful. That kiss had been more than enough to make it obvious. And, despite what Alex had said, she didn’t believe that doing the right thing had been the only motive for defending her against the management board.
Did he care about her on some level?
Did she care about him?
Not like that. Layla may have fallen in love with him the first time around but the disaster the affair had created in her life had been enough for those emotions to morph into simmering resentment at how thoroughly her life had been derailed. Whatever was still hanging around was about lust, not love. But, man, that sexual chemistry hadn’t lost any of its power, had it?
She just needed to learn to control it.
Like she tried to control everything else in her life?
Good grief, that little voice was annoying. A control freak? Her? Well … Layla had to admit she’d engineered what had been supposed to have happened today but look how well that had worked.
She was already planning how to get around it, though, wasn’t she? To take control some other way. Instead of thanking him now, part of her wanted to let Alex know just how aggravated she was with the way he had dropped her into covering for his absence and fielding the ensuing curiosity.
She wanted to demonstrate that she was able to stand up for herself.
Like she had when he’d put her aside just before little Jamie’s operation?
When she hadn’t been prepared to stand aside quietly and she’d taken control and told him it was all over?
Why had she chosen the night before the surgery to take her stand? She could have contributed to why Jamie’s case hadn’t turned out to be the kind of miracle that the case she’d asked Alex to present today was.
The guilt was still there, wasn’t it? Not just that she’d been cheating on her husband but that she might have made a difference to Alex’s performance that day.
And maybe that was why it had seemed so important that she got the chance to thank Alex.
And why he didn’t want to hear it.
Why did it matter so much, anyway? It had been years and years ago. They’d both moved on.
Or had they?
Impossible not to remember that kiss …
It had been the last thing she had expected.
No. Maybe the last thing she had expected had been the way she’d responded to it. To have stepped so far back in time to when her desire for this man had made her throw her caution to the winds, along with too many of the values she’d grown up believing she held. They’d been fried in the heat that one touch from Alex could generate. Even now, Layla could feel a flicker of that heat, deep in her belly.