Is he ready to be a father...

And to fall in love?

Everything’s always come easily to world-renowned playboy surgeon Matthew Coleman. Until he suddenly becomes guardian to his young goddaughter. Now she must come first—so he takes a job back home closer to family. And comes face-to-face with recent fling Dr. Natalie Sterling, who thought the role was hers! Can new dad Matthew win back career-focused Natalie’s trust...and her heart?

JANICE LYNN has a Masters in Nursing from Vanderbilt University, and works as a nurse practitioner in a family practice. She lives in the southern United States with her husband, their four children, their Jack Russell—appropriately named Trouble—and a lot of unnamed dust bunnies that have moved in since she started her writing career. To find out more about Janice and her writing visit janicelynn.com.

Also by Janice Lynn

After the Christmas Party…Flirting with the Doc of Her DreamsNew York Doc to Blushing BrideWinter Wedding in VegasSizzling Nights with Dr Off-LimitsIt Started at Christmas…The Nurse’s Baby SecretThe Doctor’s Secret SonA Firefighter in Her StockingA Surgeon to Heal Her Heart

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

Heart Surgeon to Single Dad

Janice Lynn

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-07537-4

HEART SURGEON TO SINGLE DAD

© 2018 Janice Lynn

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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Version: 2020-03-02

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In loving memory of my papa, Floyd Green.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Extract

About the Publisher

CHAPTER ONE

“I’M A DOCTOR, you know.” No, the flight attendant didn’t know, but Natalie Sterling was determined to make it on time to her presentation.

She’d heard of airlines overbooking flights, but it had never affected her. Until now.

“A pediatric heart surgeon,” she added, hoping to gain empathy. Natalie couldn’t recall having pulled that card before, but she wasn’t one to no-show a speaking commitment if she could help it. “Bumping me to a later flight doesn’t work.”

The stewardess shook her head. “There’s nothing I can do. It was in the agreement when you purchased your ticket that if the plane is overbooked you would have to take a later flight.”

Taking a deep breath, Natalie stared at the pretty thirty-something blonde in her crisp uniform. It wasn’t the woman’s fault.

“It’s urgent I go on this flight.” She heard the almost pleading tone, but was beyond caring. She needed to get to Miami this afternoon.

“We’re sorry for any inconvenience, but you’re going to have to exit the plane.” The forced smile on the attendant’s face warned that further argument was futile and the woman was losing her patience.

If only Natalie could have kept her flight the evening before, instead of having to delay her departure. Still, she’d been needed for an emergency surgery, and her patients came first. Always.

“What if I refuse to give up my seat?”

The attendant’s obligatory smile disappeared. “I would be forced to call Security.” Her tone warned Natalie would regret such a decision. “They would escort you off the plane. Are you refusing?”

Visions of herself being dragged off the plane, kicking and screaming that they had the wrong person, had Natalie cringing. Yeah, that splattered all over the news wouldn’t impress Memphis Children’s Hospital’s board.

Feeling much like she was being punished for a crime she hadn’t committed, Natalie closed her laptop, unclasped her seatbelt and pulled her case out from under the seat in front of her. “I’m not refusing, I just wondered if it was an option.”

“It’s not,” she was assured, the stewardess’s eyes still narrowed.

“Fine.” Not really, but apparently she had no choice. “But you have to get me to Miami this afternoon.”

She gathered her things and pulled her carry-on bag back out from the overhead compartment.

Seeing that Natalie wasn’t going to give them any further trouble, the flight attendant’s obligatory smile returned. “Yes, ma’am. We’ll do all we can to get you to your destination as quickly as possible.”

As she was passing through the first-class section, a man glanced up from his phone. He turned his head toward her about the time she registered who he was, and Natalie’s gaze collided with his.

Her breath caught. Just as it had done when their gazes had met in the airport waiting area.

No matter how she’d tried, she hadn’t been able to keep from glancing his way and they’d made eye contact several times. She’d felt an instant attraction, had thought that if her best friends were there they’d have pushed her to cross the room and strike up a conversation because they thought she needed a vacation fling. Natalie being Natalie, she hadn’t done anything more than fight to keep her focus on her upcoming presentation rather than on the intriguingly handsome man.

She bet he never got bumped from his flight.

No one would dare.

There was something dark and dangerous in those ice-blue eyes. Maybe it was his inky black hair and tan skin that contrasted so dramatically with those frosty blues that gave him such a startlingly handsome look, like he belonged in some paranormal movie where he’d shape-shift into a sexy mythical being who preyed on unsuspecting women who were powerless to resist his allure.

Natalie felt his pull, felt his power, and a sexual intensity flashed through her mind. No doubt, he’d have looked into the flight attendant’s eyes and told her to go pick someone else and she’d have answered, Yes, sir, and can I get you anything else with that?

Just like Jonathan.

Bleh. She wasn’t going to think about her boyfriend.

Ex-boyfriend.

The lying, cheating scumbag.

Literally.

Casting one last look at Mr. Dark and Dangerous, who was watching her with the same expression with which one might watch an accident unfold, probably wondering if she was going to cause a ruckus and delay his flight, she sighed. Not a good start to her little mini-vacation wrapped up in teaching a workshop at a medical conference. As long as she got to Miami in time to give her presentation, everything would be fine.

Despite rushing through Miami Airport and hiring a taxi driver who’d taken her request to get her to her hotel as fast as possible, literally, Natalie missed the time of her presentation.

Frazzled from the delay, then the mad dash, she’d dropped her bags with the bellhop, then quietly snuck into the auditorium and slid into the back row to catch the end of what they’d filled her spot with. Settling into her seat, she glanced to the front of the auditorium and almost fell out of her chair.

No way.

Not even possible.

She was hallucinating.

Maybe she’d fallen during her jaunt through the airport, bumped her head and was in a coma, about to have a fantastic fantasy.

Must be, because the speaker at the front of the room was him.

Mr. Dark and Dangerous from the plane.

He would be a fantastic fantasy.

But why was he teaching her class? And smiling and charming the crowd as if he were a natural-born motivational speaker rather than the dark, sexy overlord she’d painted him out to be on the plane? Seriously, the man was discussing heart deformities and yet you’d think he was revealing the secret of longevity by the way the attendees were on the edge of their seats.

Even as passionate as she was about surgical neonatal heart disease treatment modalities, she didn’t think it was the topic that was mesmerizing the crowd.

It was him.

As he spoke, his gaze met with hers and recognition flashed in those unusual ice-blue eyes that somehow didn’t fit with his pleasant expression. Probably because she’d pegged him as shadowy and menacing, not smiling and charming.

He was smiling. And charming. And had a voice that should be reading the books she downloaded to her smartphone from time to time to listen to at night. What a way to fall asleep.

Dark and dangerous or smiling and charming, the man oozed sex. She wasn’t a woman who got hot and bothered from just looking at a guy. Or even hot and bothered from a whole lot of guy effort, but this man made her think S-E-X.

Hot, sweaty, body-slapping, can’t-catch-your-breath sex.

Which was quite disturbing because Jonathan hadn’t affected her this potently. Ever. Sex had been good, pleasurable, but just the thought of it hadn’t set her nerve-endings on fire.

His presentation didn’t pause, but his gaze lingered on hers, flashing with an awareness that made her nerve-endings burn. Hot, out-of-control burn.

He was gorgeous. Perhaps more so than any man she’d ever seen in real life.

Perhaps? Ha. Life had not thrown men like him into her path. Ever. As much as she’d cared for and found him attractive, Jonathan didn’t have a thing on this guy. Not even on this guy’s worst day and Jonathan’s best. Mr. Dark and Dangerous exuded pheromones by the bucketful. His bucket ran over and was flooding the auditorium.

Natalie picked up a mini-sized notepad with the hotel’s logo at the top and fanned her face. Mercy.

He finished his presentation, then did a question-and-answer session, fielding each question with ease, much more smoothly than she’d have done. She’d have been battling nerves at presenting to a room full of peers.

Whoever he was, he didn’t look nervous. Dark, sexy overlords probably didn’t get nervous. When the power of the universe was at your handsome fingertips, why sweat?

As she was doing. Her reaction had surprised her at the airport, on the plane, and even more so now that she’d seen the allure of his smile.

Applause filled the room. Natalie clapped, too. He’d done an excellent job, as if he’d been meant to give the presentation all along. She owed him for filling in when she wasn’t there.

At the applause, the workshop moderator stood. “Thank you, Dr. Coleman, for volunteering to present when the vacancy opened.” The moderator patted him on the back, shook his hand. “You did an excellent job, Matthew.”

“No problem.”

The man should really smile more because his face transformed into a work of art. Okay, so dark and dangerous had been a work of art, too, but smiling he was heart-stopping.

“I was glad to help, since I understand Dr. Sterling had travel delays,” he continued, not glancing her way, but Natalie felt his awareness of her. As if he had some sixth sense that let him know exactly where she was in the room without those amazing eyes having to focus her way. That sense pervaded her entire being and scorched her insides.

Good grief, the way he affected her. Maybe because she was on the cusp of a huge career leap, maybe because she still felt the sting from Jonathan’s betrayal.

Or maybe it was how pheromonally magnetic he was.

Another round of clapping and the group broke for a fifteen-minute break between sessions.

A few attendees moved forward to talk with Dr. Coleman. Natalie should thank him and introduce herself to the workshop moderator, who was also the conference chair, so she could apologize again for her delay.

Dr. Matthew Coleman. She’d never met him. No way would she have forgotten, so why did that name ring a bell?

Suddenly, her jaw dropped. Impossible. That Dr. Matthew Coleman had to be in his fifties at the absolute minimum. Surely. No way could this gorgeous doctor be that Dr. Matthew Coleman. It just wasn’t feasible that he could be the renowned pediatric heart surgeon whose work she so greatly admired.

No way.

Plus, he’d been on a flight out of Memphis. That Dr. Matthew Coleman lived in Boston and headed up a research team making great strides with a robotic laser being developed for surgical use, including in utero. There couldn’t be two pediatric heart surgeons by the same name doing innovative in-utero surgical repairs, surely?

That was when what he was saying caught her attention. He was making a comment about the robot that Dr. Matthew Coleman was one of the country’s leading experts on.

Yeah, she was about to have a fan-girl moment.

Holy smokes. The gorgeous man she’d been fantasizing about on and off ever since the airport was someone she’d idolized for his brain and surgical skills for almost a decade.

* * *

What were the odds of the pretty brunette who’d caught Dr. Matthew Coleman’s eye at the airport being his top competition for the hospital position he’d just interviewed for?

Not that Dr. Luiz had told him that, but he’d said there was another contender the hospital had been planning to offer the position to, prior to Matthew’s interest. Dr. Natalie Sterling was who the man had repeatedly praised for her surgery skills and dedication to pediatric cardiology. She had to be who the department head had meant and, possibly, why they’d not been willing to meet the conditions Matthew had required to relocate.

Those conditions were the deal-maker—or -breaker.

Relocating to Memphis would decrease his stress by leaps and bounds in some ways, but he still wasn’t sure he could give up everything he’d worked to achieve just to make the move in any case. Just because his life had been thrust into total chaos three months ago. Basically, he wanted what he had in Boston, but with less work hours and a new zip code that better fit his personal needs. Anything less and he’d stay where he was.

Which was why he’d contacted Dr. Luiz when a colleague had told him about the upcoming opening at Memphis Children’s Hospital. He’d already been toying with the idea of relocating to Memphis to be closer to family—for Carrie, the little girl he now had to take care of, to be closer to family. Closer to people who actually knew how to take care of kids. But he couldn’t just step away from his research and career. He wouldn’t.

Maybe he should try to convince his mother to move to Boston, again. He wasn’t sure what he’d have done if she hadn’t been able to stay those first few weeks of Matthew’s unexpected push into fatherhood. She’d been so good with Carrie. Why couldn’t she have stayed longer?

Or maybe he’d resume interviews for a live-in nanny for the precious four-year-old who was now his sole responsibility. Some older woman who’d successfully raised multiple children and could get a child out of bed, have her dressed, fed, looking presentable, and to preschool on time. Something he continued to struggle with on a daily basis. None of the nannies he’d met so far had clicked, but surely there was someone out there he’d trust with Carrie?

His gaze connected with Natalie’s golden one and he let out a long breath. Prior to Carrie’s new role in his life, he’d have gotten her number at the airport and made plans to meet.

Instead, for the first time ever, despite his many previous flights, he’d been sweating getting onto an airplane, his mind filled with all the things that could go wrong—and recently had.

Plus, he had a four-year-old girl to think about.

Pursuing relationships with pretty brunettes wasn’t on the cards. He could barely juggle his current schedule, much less adding someone else to the bedlam. He’d always excelled at everything he’d done. Who’d have thought it would be an adorable little kid who’d have him ready to pull his hair out?

He turned back to the portly gentleman from Shriner’s Hospital, smiled as they exchanged business cards, then heard a voice behind him.

“Why didn’t you tell me who you were?”

Knowing who it was even before their eyes made contact, Matthew turned, his gaze connecting to the brunette’s. He could feel her presence as succinctly as if he had sonar outlining her shapely curves. “Excuse me?”

Her face took on a sheepish expression. “Sorry, I guess there was no reason for you to tell me, but I can’t believe the coincidence that you’d be on my plane.”

Not a coincidence, but there wasn’t a reason to tell her about his meeting with Memphis Children’s Hospital and that the job she was vying for had been offered to him. He’d turned it down when his terms couldn’t be met. Natalie need never know she wasn’t always the top contender.

He smiled, thinking she was even more attractive up close. Her eyes sparkled like sunshine hitting honey. Her skin was smooth and naturally tan with a few light freckles scattered across her nose. Her hair flowed silky and dark to just beneath her shoulders.

She wore a red skirt suit with a crisp white shirt that loosely hugged her curves.

“I see the airline was able to book you another flight.” Perhaps it was wrong to tease, but he couldn’t resist. Something about her made him want to tease, to watch her facial expressions and burn every detail into his memory.

“Too late to make it on time, though,” she mused, her painted red lips curving into a smile. “Thank you for filling in.”

Matthew resisted the urge to loosen his collar. “No problem. I was with the conference coordinator when he was discussing what to do with your time slot. Pediatric heart surgery of any kind is a subject I’m passionate about, so I offered to step in.” He grinned. “He jumped at my offer.”

“I’m sure.” Another flash of those sparkly eyes and dynamic curving of her full lips. “Are you staying for the next presentation?”

At her smile, all his blood traveled south and brain operations came to a halt, making logical thought impossible. Did she have any idea of the power her eyes held to bewitch a man? Absolutely stunning.

“If so, there’s an open seat next to mine,” she continued. “Maybe you’d like to join me?”

Matthew stared at the biggest temptation he’d ever faced, wished the timing of meeting her had been prior to three months ago, when his life hadn’t been in such upheaval. “If not?”

Uncertainty flashed across her face, but then with a determined look, she lifted her chin, stared straight in his eyes, and said, “If not, then maybe we could meet later for the conference opening dinner reception and you could tell me all about your work, because you fascinate me. Your work does, that is.”

CHAPTER TWO

NATALIE WAS WAY outside her comfort zone. But her BFFs would be proud, right? She had walked up to a man she found enthralling on paper, sexy in real life, and she’d expressed her interest in him.

And in his work.

He might think her a fool. For all she knew, he had a girlfriend.

Duh. Of course a man as gorgeous as Matthew had a girlfriend. What had she been thinking? She’d practically been drooling prior to finding out who he was, and after? Well, the man mesmerized.

Not that she’d dreamed in a million years that she might act on their suggestions, but when Suzie and Monica told her to have a fling to put Jonathan out of her mind once and for all, they should have been more specific. As in, making sure who she wanted wasn’t already taken. Yes, she had noted at the airport that he didn’t have a wedding band, but even that didn’t mean anything beyond that he wasn’t wearing a ring. The star-struck look in her eyes had probably terrified the poor man.

Still, he didn’t look the type to easily scare.

“I have a seat.” He turned, gesturing to a spot on the front row.

Ouch. Married, dating, or whatever, she’d been shot down.

Trying not to let her disappointment and embarrassment show, she glanced around and was grateful to see the next speaker at the podium. “Okay, well, it’s time to restart, so...”

Awkward.

Not waiting for a response, she high-tailed it to her back row seat to shrivel up and die of humiliation. So much for going after what she wanted.

Ugh. Could this day possibly get worse?

Later that evening, Natalie stared at her reflection in the hotel room mirror.

For a few insane moments, she had let herself be guided by pure feminine interest and she’d made a fool of herself with Matthew Coleman.

Because he was a sexy beast or because of his surgical skills?

Or both?

He was brilliant. She’d read enough of his articles and research to know the man was a genius. That alone would have had her introducing herself, wanting to discuss his work, pick his brain and soak up everything he said.

That he was utterly gorgeous, well, that was a bonus.

Or could have been, had he been interested. She’d thought she’d seen interest, but she must have been wrong.

He wasn’t. Had shot down her offer. End of story. Major embarrassment and utter failure at her first show of interest in the opposite sex since her and Jonathan’s split, but not the end of the world. The opposite sex wasn’t a priority. Her career was and she had that—so no big deal, right?

Still, the conference wasn’t so big that she wouldn’t bump into Matthew. She’d act as if her invitation had been casual, that she’d only been interested professionally. She was Dr. Natalie Sterling, a pediatric heart surgeon with some pretty fabulous credits to her name, thanks to having met Dr. Luiz during her residency and his having pulled her onto his research team.

No harm done in asking Matthew to dinner. It wasn’t as if she’d verbalized that looking at him made her want to take off his clothes and do wild and crazy things.

With one last look in the hotel bathroom mirror, she applied a fresh coat of lipstick, checked to make sure she didn’t have any smeared on her teeth, and left the safety of her hotel room to go to dinner. Maybe she’d get lucky and she wouldn’t see Matthew this evening.

Or, as her luck for the day would have it, he’d be the first person she saw when she stepped off the elevator.

Seriously, the elevator door slid open and there he was, just outside the elevator bank.

Sometimes life wasn’t fair.

The man’s looks weren’t fair. Those eyes. So unusual. So mesmerizing. So zoned-in on her.

How was she supposed to act professional when he made her giddy as a schoolgirl? Ha. She hadn’t been a giddy schoolgirl. She didn’t recall ever having felt so inferno-hot inside.

His gaze raked over her red heels, up her bare legs to where her red skirt brushed the tops of her knees. His visual perusal continued, up and beyond to where her waist dipped in beneath her white blouse and matching red jacket. The fire burning in his icy blue eyes had her insides battling the urge to run back to the elevator versus leaping into his arms and ripping off his clothes.

He made her feel alive, hot, very female. That scared her. Probably because she wasn’t one for letting her body dictate her actions and he made her body want to act. Logic. That was what dictated her life. Logic, and...

Those wicked blue eyes connected with hers.

Forget logic.

Her breath caught. Her skin prickled with awareness. Her thighs clenched. Any moment her heart was going to pound its way free of her chest. She might spend most of her time locked away in the sterile confines of the hospital, but she wasn’t a fool or oblivious. Desire shone in his eyes and matching want burned within her.

“I was beginning to think you’d changed your mind about dinner.” He smiled, his voice deep, warm, drawing her further under his spell. “I’m glad I waited.”

Natalie’s legs liquefied. She remained upright. Somehow. Matthew had just given her a complete once-over and now he was saying he’d been waiting on her? Had she really awakened from the light nap she’d taken, sitting on her room’s balcony?

“I have a table near the front and asked a couple to save our seats,” he continued. “I hope that was okay.” When she nodded, he placed his hand low on her back and guided her toward the hotel ballroom, where their dinner keynote presentation would take place. “You look lovely, by the way.”

His hand burned through the material of her suit, searing her skin with its warmth and making her feel a little woozy. His actions were familiar, as if he had the right to touch her. Obviously he did, because she wasn’t complaining.

“I looked for you after Dr. Epsteiner’s lecture, but never spotted you, not then or at any other point this afternoon.”

Insides rattled at his admission, Natalie focused on each step she took and prayed she didn’t stumble in her heels. Carefully, she made her way across the room. Why hadn’t she slipped on her trusty flats prior to coming down?

She’d skipped the rest of the afternoon’s sessions to sit on her balcony, eyes closed, listening to the surf, letting the breeze and sun compete against each other to caress her skin, to de-stress from the day’s events. From life.

And to think about Matthew.

“Were you avoiding me?”

She stumbled, but recovered quickly enough that she hoped he hadn’t noticed. She had been avoiding him, but she wasn’t admitting that.

“Why would I avoid you?” Because she’d acted foolish. “I don’t know you.”

He shook his head. “I thought... Never mind. You’re here now.” His lips curved. “Let’s have an enjoyable evening and remedy you not knowing me by our getting to know each other.” Although he was smiling and charming, his face took on that dark and dangerous look that, no doubt, made women fall to their knees to do his bidding, as he added, “A lot better.”

Willing her legs to keep her upright, Natalie gulped, accepting that she was powerless to resist his powers, and that, even if she could, she didn’t want to. He was a fantasy come to life. Never would she have imagined he’d been looking for her.

She wasn’t sure what had changed from his earlier decline of her offer, but now he wasn’t attempting to hide his interest, his intent.

Good. Neither was she. Life was too short for silly games.

Getting to know each other better should have been easy enough during the delicious meal since their chairs were next to each other, but there were six other people at the table. Two couples who’d introduced themselves, and two male pediatricians who had gone to medical school together and met up once a year at a continuing medical education conference for old times’ sake and a catch-up. All six people vied for Matthew’s attention. He included her in the conversation, stopped several times to ask her opinion, but with the others at the table Natalie could barely get a word in edgewise.

Which was okay by her. She sat back, watching and listening in fascination as Matthew discussed his work. Part of her wasn’t quite able to believe she sat next to the Dr. Matthew Coleman she’d quoted in several of her medical school papers. Another part wasn’t able to believe she sat next to the sexiest man she’d ever met. All of her was dazed that both could be the same man, and that when he looked at her his eyes burned with pale blue fire.

Soon after their table had finished the meal, the moderator took the podium and called the room’s attention to the front, silencing conversations around the room. Ending his discussion with the two pediatricians, Matthew turned, caught Natalie watching him—probably with a goofy I want you expression on her face—and grinned. Dark and dangerous had been right, because that grin threatened all her good sense.

Then again, sitting next to him made perfect sense.

Why wouldn’t it? Despite her three-year relationship with Jonathan, they weren’t together any more. With his devotion to his career matching hers, he’d easily fit into her life because he didn’t mind the large amount of time her job ate up. Or so he’d said, right up to the moment he’d defended his sleeping with another woman by pointing out Natalie’s refusal to commit more time to him and marry him.

Fine. Good riddance and thank God she hadn’t been willing to marry a man who’d so readily cheat. She wanted marriage, to connect completely with another person, to someday have a family, but something had held her back from saying yes to Jonathan. Maybe it had been that she was still building her dream career.

No matter. Jonathan was history. She was free to do whatever she chose. With whomever she chose.

Her gaze connected with Matthew’s.

He leaned close to her ear, giving her a waft of his spicy aftershave. “This hasn’t exactly been conducive to getting to know each other.”

The man smelled amazing. She wanted to breathe him in and hold her breath for ever.

“Is that what we’re doing?” she whispered back, knowing her eyes revealed everything she was feeling in case he’d missed it in her husky voice.

“You want to leave?”

Yes!

“And miss the keynote?”

His lips twitched with amusement. “You want to go first and meet in the lobby in fifteen minutes or shall we leave together?”

Whether it was for her privacy or his, she liked that he was giving her the option to choose to leave together, which implied he didn’t mind anyone knowing he was with her, or their leaving separately so no one would be the wiser. It was up to her to decide how they proceeded.

Still, she had a few things to clarify first.

“Are you single?”

Obviously startled at her question, he nodded.

“Then meet me by the fountain in ten.” She pushed back her chair and quietly excused herself from the group at their table.

As she weaved her way through the tables to where she could make her escape, Natalie fought kicking up her high heels with joy. She felt good, light, feminine. And, even though she worried about stumbling, she was glad she had on her heels because they plumped her calves and made her legs look toned. She wanted to look good because Matthew’s gaze was on her. She could feel it as surely as if his hands traced over her skin.

She made it out the door just before a happy giggle bubbled from her lips. This was crazy. She was behaving like a teenager sneaking out of the house to meet a boyfriend. She was a grown woman sneaking out of a conference keynote to meet an attractive man in the lobby.

Despite her bravado at the idea of a short-term affair with Matthew, she hadn’t actually ever had an affair. She and Jonathan had dated for several months prior to their having sex, and she’d cared about him. She’d never had any desire for a physical relationship prior to him. She’d been too busy focusing on her studies, her career, determined to make a difference in pediatric cardiology.

Honestly, despite Monica’s and Suzie’s advice to “get laid” this weekend, she’d had no intention of doing so. Not until she’d seen Matthew at the airport and he’d cast a spell over her mind and body to where she craved him.

Still, what if she couldn’t go through with sex for the sake of sex and Matthew got upset?

She hesitated outside the ballroom door.

Stop it, she scolded herself. Just stop overthinking and go with the flow. Emotional commitment was overrated. Just look at what had happened with her last committed relationship.

Whether it was because of the blow Jonathan’s cheating had done to her ego or because she was hundreds of miles from home, or some unknown reason, she wasn’t going to let her brain get in the way of her having a good time. Excitement surged through every inch of her body. Excitement that she was doing something outside her comfort zone. Excitement that a sexy man looked at her as if he wanted to yank off her clothes and kiss her all over.

For the next three days she’d let whatever happened between her and Matthew happen, and not dwell on the possibility that after the conference ended it was unlikely she’d ever see him again.

Wasn’t that actually perfect? Because she needed to focus on Memphis Children’s Hospital and upping their pediatric cardiology department to the next level. To stepping up to the new role the hospital was going to offer her. She didn’t need Matthew, or anyone else, distracting her.

But at the moment she was in Florida at a gorgeous resort hotel and she was going to enjoy the rest of the evening.

With Matthew.

Suzie and Monica would be proud.

Unable to drag his gaze from Natalie’s retreating backside, Matthew knew he wasn’t fooling a single person in the room. At the moment he didn’t care.

He should care.

He had a child to think about, so his behavior mattered. He had to set a good example for Carrie.

But Carrie was in Memphis with his mother, as Matthew had signed up for this continuing education conference before he’d known he was going to be raising his god-daughter. He’d started to cancel, but his mother had pushed him not to, saying he needed a weekend to decompress after the past few months. Carrie was better off with his mother than she was with him anyway.

His heart pinched as he thought of Robert and Carolyn. The couple had died much too soon in a small plane crash, leaving their most precious possession to him. Four-year-old Carrie.

What had his best friends been thinking? Although serious in his professional life, he’d been a happy-go-lucky bachelor who knew how to have a good time without the burden of commitment.

Robert had been Matthew’s best friend since grammar school. They’d gone through university then med school together. He’d been there when Carolyn had stolen his friend’s heart, had been best man at their wedding, had been there for Carrie’s birth.

Having been only children to single moms, neither Robert nor Carolyn had had any living family and had asked Matthew to be Carrie’s godfather prior to her birth. Not believing he’d ever actually be raising the little girl, Matthew had agreed. Nothing was supposed to have happened to his friends.

But three months ago, it had. Something horrible that neither he nor Carrie would recover from, when the couple’s small-engine plane had crashed, instantly killing them both.

If only his friends had made better arrangements for their daughter. Surely anything would have been better than him.

Matthew paused outside the ballroom door. What was he doing? His life was in total upheaval. He should not get involved with Natalie or any other woman when his world was so topsy-turvy.

Wasn’t that why he’d hesitated to accept Natalie’s invitation to sit beside her?

To let her think there could be anything between them would be wrong. He had a whole new messed-up life he had to figure out. Until he did, Carrie had to be his priority. Only, so long as he made sure Natalie knew that whatever happened in Miami would end in Miami, there was no reason why they couldn’t enjoy the next few days. He needed the next few days. He’d not had sex in months. Not since before his friends had... Hell, he didn’t want to think of that anymore.

Natalie would likely tell him to kiss her lovely behind when he told her he couldn’t offer more than a few days of fun in the sun. Sure, there had been a rare moment when he’d been at Robert and Carolyn’s that he’d envied their relationship, the closeness they shared. But he had never actively thought about marriage or a long-term relationship for himself. He liked being single, liked being able to do what he wanted when he wanted with whomever he wanted, that if he wanted to stay at the hospital for twenty-four hours straight there was no one to complain or be disappointed that his work meant more than they did.

All that had changed with Carrie. Now, whether he wanted to or not, he had to keep a regular schedule, had to come home at night.

He raked his fingers through his hair. Yeah, he hadn’t been free to do much of anything over the past three months. Instead, he’d been trying to figure out what to do with the sweetest little girl he’d ever known, who was heartbroken over the loss of her parents and who had the unfortunate luck of being in Uncle Matthew’s care.

Uncle Matthew, who was now thrust into the role of Daddy Matthew.

For the next three days he got to just be Matthew, and to do what he wanted.

And what Matthew wanted was Natalie. Naked and beneath him.

There she was, waiting by the fountain, her gaze dancing with seduction and making his head spin. Would it be wrong if he threw her over his shoulder, carried her to his hotel room and took her every way he’d imagined over the course of the day? He couldn’t recall ever wanting a woman more than he wanted Natalie. Had to be the turmoil of the past three months and his need to just...escape. That, and the fact he’d not even thought about a woman or sex since Robert and Carolyn’s death. His reaction to Natalie was probably his subconscious guiding him to take what he could while he could.

He made his way to the fountain, took Natalie’s hand and practically dragged her toward the elevator bank where he’d been waiting for her earlier.

CHAPTER THREE

“I WANT TO make love to you, Natalie,” Matthew told her as the elevator doors slid shut behind them.

Natalie’s breath caught.

“But—” he began.

No! She didn’t want there to be a “but”. Please, the one time she was willing to just let go and have a fling with a man, don’t let him have a reason they couldn’t.

With his free hand he pressed the door-close button rather than a floor number, then continued. “I don’t want to deceive you in any way, and, if we go further without my telling you the truth, that’s what I’d feel I was doing.”

Had he lied to her earlier? Was there someone special in his life?

Please don’t be married or engaged or whatever it is that’s so horrible that you have to confess before having sex.

“You’re a beautiful, intelligent woman and deserve better than anything I’m able to give. Which is why I need to explain all the reasons why you should tell me no.” He took a deep breath, kept those pale blue eyes locked with hers. “Beyond the next three days, I have nothing to offer to you or any woman.”

Natalie’s breath caught, at his words and at his hand still clenching hers.

“I don’t understand,” she admitted, trying to make sense of what he was saying.

“What I’ve wanted from the moment you stepped off this elevator before dinner was to put you right back on it, go to one of our rooms and not come out for hours.”

He watched her as if he half expected her to pull her hand free and slap him.

As if.

“You’re not married?”

His look of shock gave answer before his words.

“There’s no other woman in my life, Natalie. It’s just that my life is complicated, and letting you think there could be anything beyond the next three days would be wrong. Whatever happens between us this weekend ends when we leave Miami on Sunday. When deciding what floor this elevator stops on, keep that in mind.”

So neither of them wanted anything beyond the next three days, and time was too precious to waste. She wanted him. He wanted her. They didn’t need to know anything more about each other.

Well, almost nothing more.

“Are you...?” How did she ask this? She’d been a virgin with Jonathan and was screened annually at the hospital, so she hadn’t had to do blood tests or anything of the sort. Trying to convince her it was time for them to take that next step, he’d gone on his own and given her a copy of his lab tests prior to their becoming physically involved. As time and their busy schedules had allowed, they’d fallen into a mutually satisfying relationship.

Or maybe it hadn’t been so mutually satisfying, since he’d been having sex with another woman.

Ugh. No. She was not going to let thoughts of Jonathan’s infidelity creep into this moment. All she needed to know was—how did couples usually bring up a clean bill of health? Or did they? No matter what other couples did. She would ask.

“I mean, do you have...?” She struggled to find the right words.

“I’m clean, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Relief filled her at his answer and at how easily he’d known what she was asking.

“Me, too,” Natalie assured, excitement coursing through her. Excitement and heat. White-hot heat that burned at her very core. She wanted Matthew. More than she’d ever wanted any man. Mentally and physically. She. Wanted. Him.

She reached for his hand. “We both know what we want, and it isn’t a relationship.” There. She’d said it. There could be no confusion. “So, truly, your comments, while gentlemanly, are a waste of valuable time when you could be impressing me in ways I’d appreciate much more.” Her boldness surprised her, but good grief, he seemed intent on being a gentleman when what she wanted was a rogue lover setting her body on fire. “My room is on the eleventh floor.” She reached over and pressed the button. “Are you getting off with me or not?”

* * *

Despite her brave invitation, Natalie’s hands trembled as she slid her card into the key slot. Her heart pounded as the little green lights flashed and she twisted the handle, opening the door to let Matthew into her hotel room.

Even as her feet moved, carrying her inside, she asked herself how this worked. Did she go to the bathroom and freshen up? Did he? Did she just take off her clothes and get into bed, as Jonathan had always preferred?

Once they were inside the room and she heard him secure the lock, she turned to him, hoping to break the silence that had enveloped them on their ascent to her room.

Before she could get a word out, Matthew pushed her back a couple of steps to sandwich her between the wall and his hard body, his mouth covering hers. There was nothing slow, indecisive or gentlemanly in his touch.

Finally, she thought.

His mouth was ravenous. His hands roaming over her body voracious. His lean hips pressing against her belly giving proclamation of just how much he wanted her.

She kissed him, touched him with equal intensity, running her hands over his arms, his shoulders, cupping his face in her hands as his kiss deepened.

One little kiss and they’d gone straight to fast and furious.

Ha. There was nothing little about how Matthew was kissing her. Big. Huge. Gigantic. That was how his kisses felt.

That was how his body felt grinding against her.

Fireworks went off in her head, in her chest, her whole body, at his mouth moving over hers, at his hands sliding over her, tugging her blouse from her skirt and letting in a swoosh of welcome cool air across her sensitized flesh.

“I can’t believe you’re here, that we’re doing this,” she murmured as he traced kisses along her neck, her collarbone. She dug her fingers into his hair.

“You aren’t changing your mind, are you?” he breathed against the indentation at her throat, his tongue darting out to dip into the sensitive flesh.

Natalie quivered.

“No. Never.” She arched against his mouth. “This is what I have played over and over in my mind today.”

What she needed. Crazy, but she did need him—this virtual stranger who was setting her body on fire. His touch, his kiss, his full attention. His body grinding against hers, hard, lean, thrilling.

“Tell me what you want, Natalie,” he coaxed, pushing her blouse off her shoulders and letting the silky material pool around her red heels, revealing her lacy white camisole and matching bra beneath. Cupping her bottom, he bent, kissing the valley between her breasts. “Tell me what you’ve been imagining us doing.”

“That,” she breathed, running her fingers into his thick, inky dark hair and holding him to her breast. “I like that.”

That. That. That, her body screamed.

“Me, too.” Pushing aside her camisole and bra, he took a puckered nipple into his mouth and gave a gentle tug.

Natalie almost died. Or exploded. Or imploded. Or all of the above, so many sensations shot through her electrified body. His hands held urgency as he continued to caress her, his mouth claiming everything in its passionate path. Within breathless minutes he pushed her skirt up her hips to bunch at her waist so he could slide his hands inside her panties to cup her bottom once more.

Yeah, she wanted that, too.

His hands were hot on her skin, electrifying. She wanted him. Desperately. She kissed him with that desperation. Touched him with that desperation. Moved her body against his with that desperation. Her fingers found their way to his waist, to where he strained against his dress pants’ zipper. After a moment’s fumbling, she had his pants to where she could touch him. She explored what she craved to feel deep inside.

“Natalie,” he groaned. Or maybe he’d growled.

Either way, she’d never heard her name said as Matthew had just said it. Had never felt the power filling her at how he responded to her slightest touch.

“I like this, too,” she whispered close to his ear, in awe at how free she felt to touch him, at how uninhibited to give and take as she pleased. She’d never felt this freedom with Jonathan. She had always followed his lead rather than blazing a path of her own. “I like touching you and feeling your reaction and knowing I did that.”

He mumbled something against her throat, where his mouth was wreaking havoc on her nervous system, but she didn’t catch his words. They didn’t matter. His body was telling her all she needed to know.

“I like what you’re doing,” she continued, barely recognizing her voice, but further emboldened by the fervor of his kisses. “I like the way you’re touching me, as if you need to touch me.” She’d never felt more desirable than in this moment, than the way his touch made her feel. He made her feel beautiful, desirable, wanton even. Unlike anything she’d ever felt or would possibly ever feel again. The knowledge promised ecstasy.

“That makes two of us,” he assured her, between more ardent kisses.

“I like the way you’re looking at me,” she continued, her voice breathy, her fingers tightening around him. “As if you want to put every detail of me to memory.”

* * *

Matthew didn’t have to put every detail of Natalie to memory.

She was already there.

Every delectable inch of her.

He had no doubt he’d never forget what was happening. She was timeless, beautiful. Unforgettable.

Barely hanging on to his sanity, he took her hands into his, kissed her fingertips, then pressed against her. Eyes locked with his, her fingers moved to his shoulders, kneaded deep into his muscles as he grazed her lips with his teeth.

“More,” she breathed, arching into his touch. “I want more.”

Completely caught between him and the wall, she shifted her hips against him, pressing her upper body against the wall to give added pressure to the sensuous contact between their bodies.

A long leg slid up his, wrapped itself around his waist, pressing her pelvis more fully against where he throbbed.

Heaven help him.

They were barely inside her hotel room door and he was about to rip off her panties and take her like a madman. He’d meant to take her slow, to kiss her all over, and when she was ready, take them both over the edge.

Her body was ready now.

He could feel her damp heat burning into him and that reality undid every good intention he had of slow. Her mouth was against his now, hard and demanding. Her hands tugged at his shirt, managing to pull the material loose. He wasn’t sure if she’d unbuttoned it or popped every button. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was having her.

She made him manic, illogical, driven by physical need in ways he didn’t understand.

“Now,” she urged, her fingernails raking over his back, then gripping his buttocks to pull him tighter against her. “I want you inside me now.”

Matthew didn’t need to be told twice. Supporting her weight between his body and the wall, he reached into his sagging back pocket for his wallet, pulling out a condom.

“I only have one of these,” he confessed, ripping it open and making haste of putting it on. “I have the feeling I’m going to wish I had a dozen more before morning.”

Her eyes molten honey, Natalie kissed his mouth, hard, full of passion, and, keeping her eyes locked with his, she guided him to his own personal heaven.

* * *

Natalie’s boldness shocked her. Her boldness in how she touched Matthew, in how she wrapped both legs around his waist and took him deep inside her body with her skirt bunched at her waist and her panties pushed aside.

Her boldness in the things she said to him, in how vocal she was about what she wanted from him and to do to him.

Even more, she was shocked by how she bit down on his shoulder to keep from crying out as an orgasm rocked her body at his powerful thrusts.

Wave after wave of pleasure ripped through her.

If not for the wall, his strong body against hers, she’d have dropped to the floor to float her way back to the land of mere mortal beings.

She thought he’d climaxed with her, but he must have somehow held back. Rather than relax against her as she’d expected, he kept moving, pounding against her as she peaked in pleasure, then started the cataclysmic climb all over again, leaving her frantically moving against him until she went places she’d never been, to heights she’d never scaled, until she went into a blissful free fall that might go on for days.

Weeks.

Just when her orgasm began to spiral out of control, his willpower broke and her body became unwound with him, every nerve cell inside her zinging to life and exploding with a heated force so amazing she couldn’t believe her body remained intact.

Intact? More like turned inside out and back again.

From her biased, soaring view, this man lost in passion was a glorious thing.

A satisfied Matthew’s damp forehead dropping to rest against hers as he stared into her eyes was splendid. The way her body felt was beautiful. Everything felt so beautiful that Natalie wondered if orgasms were mind-altering.

Her mind had definitely been altered.

“If I’d known this was how it would be, we’d have never made it off the elevator.”

Looking a bit mind-altered himself, Matthew laughed. “You might be right.”

“Might be?” She squeezed her thighs, loving how his eyes darkened instantly in response. He kissed her forehead, and when his gaze met hers there was a contentment in his eyes that puffed up her chest.

She smiled at him with a confidence she didn’t understand, but that felt addictive. Yeah, they’d had amazing sex. This was the after part. Shouldn’t she feel awkward? Embarrassed by her daring?

She didn’t. She felt... She searched for a way to describe what she felt. More connected with him than with any person she’d ever known. How could she feel that way with someone she’d just met? Much freer than she’d ever been with Jonathan. She’d enjoyed their sex life, but, compared to what she had just experienced, sex with Jonathan had been boring. And not only because she’d just been pushed up against a wall still half-dressed and ravaged, rather than in bed with calm, intentional acts meant to please.

The way her body had responded was what had been different.

Matthew electrified every nerve ending, making her aware of every cell, every nuance of her body, of his body. She’d never had orgasms like those she’d just experienced. Maybe no woman had ever experienced orgasms like the ones Matthew had just given to her.

Whether it was how she’d admired his mind for years or how his sex appeal had toyed with her psyche from the moment she’d laid eyes on him, everything about this moment felt right. Perfect. For that, she hugged him.

His forehead still against hers, his breathing ragged, he searched her eyes. “What was that for?”

“A token of my appreciation.” Legs feeling a little shaky, she lowered them from his waist to tentatively support her weight. She felt so languid, she might collapse on the floor.

“I’m the one who needs to be expressing my gratitude, and my apologies for not hauling your delectable body up here the moment that first workshop finished.”

“No worries. I have every intention of giving you lots of opportunity to express your, um, gratitude.” Her tone was flirty and it felt good. “And to let you make up for wasting time.”

Had she ever flirted with a man before?

She’d always been focused on school, on her patients, her research, her career. Focusing on a man hadn’t ever been a priority. But she liked flirting with Matthew, liked the quick smile that transformed his handsome face.

Reaching for her skirt, she tugged the wrinkled material down her hips, then pressed a quick kiss to his lips. Aware that his gaze tracked her every move, she walked to the mini-fridge, took out a bottled water, twisted off the lid and took a drink.

“Thirsty?” She offered the bottle.

He took a long swig, then handed it back to her. “Not now.”

His tone implied it hadn’t been the water that had quenched his thirst.

Eyeing him, Natalie placed her lips over where his had been and took another drink, letting the water cool her throat.

“Thank you, Natalie.”

“For?”

“You know.” Winking at her, he went to the bathroom, she assumed to dispose of the used condom, then returned to the room with his pants restored.

That was when she got her first real look at his chest and abdomen. Earlier, she’d been distracted with need and sex, and had been up close to his body, but now... Oh, my.

Matthew without a shirt was a beautiful sight.

She’d touched that chest, kissed that chest, been pressed up against that chest, all hot and sweaty.

Feeling quite smug that she’d just had sex with the hottest man alive, she couldn’t help but smile. “Now what?”

He shrugged. “Not any more of that, unless we make a protection run, I’m sad to say.”

She eyed him curiously. She’d not really considered that they could have a repeat that night. Jonathan had never more than once... Oh, forget Jonathan. “Would you really be able to do that again?”

“Just say the word.”

Surely he was exaggerating, but his answer still stroked her ego. She knew she shouldn’t keep comparing what had just happened to her relationship with her ex, but he’d have rolled over and been asleep already.

Then again, she would have been, too.

Intrigued, and more than a little smug, she asked, “If I said now, you’d want to again tonight?”

He arched a brow. “You have to ask after what we just did? Of course I want to do that again.”

* * *

“One box isn’t enough. Buy two.”

Matthew grinned at the woman tugging at his arm and grabbed another box off the shelf. “Two boxes for three nights? You trying to kill me?”

“You’re the one who bragged you were able to repeat the deed anytime I said the word,” she reminded with a saucy flash of her eyes.

Wondering why he’d ever hesitated in allowing himself this three-day break from reality, Matthew laughed. “You saying the word? If so, I’m sure we can find a vacant corridor.”

Her eyes widened momentarily, but she quickly looked intrigued. So much for his prim and proper impression of her at the airport. Thank God he’d given himself permission to forget the real world and just play for three days. Three days to spend with this surprising woman.

Chuckling, he grabbed her hand. “Come on, Natalie. Let’s go pay for our two boxes.”

They’d opted to walk the beach to a neighboring hotel’s gift shop rather than risk one of their colleagues seeing them stock up at the conference hotel. Matthew had enjoyed the sea air and having Natalie’s hand clasped within his during the nighttime walk, but the fifteen minutes back to their hotel suddenly seemed like a long time.

“How did you get involved with the Libertine robot project?” she asked once they were back on the beach and headed toward their hotel.

“You want to talk shop?” He just wanted to get back to the hotel and get her naked. Completely this time. He had a lot of exploring to do and was looking forward to discovering every nook and cranny.

“The Libertine fascinates me,” she continued, her hand snug in his. “I’ve watched you perform surgery with it, you know.”

He shot a look at her, the moonlight casting just enough light across her face to illuminate her beautiful features. “No, I didn’t know.”

“I couldn’t tell much about you, since you were wearing a surgical mask, glasses and cap and the film clip pretty much only showed the surgery. I guess technically I watched a video of your hands doing miraculous things, because I don’t recall anything of your face and I wouldn’t have forgotten your eyes had I ever seen them.” She smiled sheepishly, then went on. “From how long I’ve been seeing your name quoted in the cardiology world, I had thought you much older.”

He got that a lot. He’d been fortunate to become involved with the Libertine from early in its inception as a surgical tool. Near the end of med school, his passion had shifted his interest to surgical advances being made in treating congenital defects in utero. Robert had followed suit.

Working for a robotics company, Carolyn had been one of the key design engineers on the Libertine. It was how they’d all met. He and Robert had been practically inseparable since grade school. Carolyn had changed that somewhat, but Matthew had felt more as if they’d added a third player to their team, rather than their friendship losing anything, when his best friend married the brilliant engineer.

He missed them so much. Three months and it didn’t seem real that he’d never see them again, never discuss the Libertine, or difficult cases. Never catch another football game while Carolyn laughed at their long-term rivalry of the Cowboys against the Steelers. Never again—

“You okay?” Natalie’s voice broke into Matthew’s memories.

Fighting back the hollow ache in his gut, he clenched his teeth. How had he let such depressing thoughts in tonight when he felt alive, truly alive, for the first time since before he’d gotten the call that Robert and Carolyn’s plane had gone down?

“Just got lost in thought.” He flashed a smile that wasn’t as real as he’d like, but there wasn’t enough light that she’d likely be able to tell. “How old do you think I am?”

She glanced his way a few moments, making him wonder if perhaps she saw better in the low light than he’d given her credit for, but she seemed to make the decision not to push. Maybe because she didn’t want to know what he’d really been thinking about.

“Uh-uh.” Her smile was wide, bright, not so over-the-top as to come across as completely fake. “I’m not guessing your age. If I go too high you might be offended. If I go too low, you’ll accuse me of robbing the cradle.”

Her voice was light, but her grip on his hand had tightened, offering a comfort he soaked up and was amazed at how much better her smile and touch left him feeling.

He chuckled. “No chance you robbed the cradle, Natalie. That would be me. I’m probably a good ten years older than you.”

“I seriously doubt it.” She told him her age.

“Eight years older,” he corrected. “I’m the one who robbed the cradle, it seems.”

“Eight years isn’t that much,” she assured. “You’re barely into your forties.”

A memory of his fortieth birthday, spent with Robert and Carolyn, popped into his head. They’d rented out their favorite restaurant’s back room, invited a ton of mutual friends and acquaintances and surprised him with a birthday bash.

“Hey—you okay?” she asked again.

Why had his friends popped back into his head so quickly when he’d just scolded himself for letting them in on a night meant to drown them out?

His gaze cut to Natalie. Why did he find himself wanting to tell her about them?

“You quit walking,” she pointed out. “And you’re squeezing my hand as if you’re afraid if you let go the wind might carry me out to sea.”

Matthew forced his fingers to pry loose from hers, raked them through his hair. “Sorry.”

“That sensitive about your age, huh? I’ll keep that in mind and be sure not to make any more age references.”

Pushing thoughts of his friends from his mind yet again, Matthew shook his head and gave in to Natalie’s teasing. “I’ve no problem with being called an old man.”

“Old man?” Natalie laughed, took his hand back into hers and gave him a little squeeze. “You aren’t an old man. Admittedly, it’s a bit kinky, but I’d be happy to oblige if that’s what you want me to call you.”

His smile was real. “As long as you’re calling me, I won’t complain.”

Her gaze searched his. “For the rest of the weekend, right?”

“Right,” Matthew agreed, but suddenly found it difficult to keep his smile in place. “For the next three days, I’m all yours.”

Then he’d fly back to Memphis, stay at his mother’s for a night, then he and Carrie would drive back to Boston because the little girl was terrified of the thought of getting on a plane, and he hadn’t forced the issue.

Back to trying to figure out life without Robert and Carolyn.

Back to him struggling to raise their precious daughter in a way that wouldn’t disappoint them, which seemed impossible for a sworn bachelor who still couldn’t even put Carrie’s hair up without missing handfuls of it from the bun.

Too bad the position in Memphis hadn’t worked out so his family would be close to shower Carrie in their love and guide him in the right direction as he got this parenting thing all wrong time and again.

What did he know about raising a kid?

Nothing. His friends had been foolish leaving Carrie’s upbringing to him. Robert had known Matthew had no plans to marry or have children. Truly, they couldn’t have chosen a worse guardian for Carrie.

“Your hand is getting tight again,” Natalie warned.

He loosened his hold. “Sorry.”

“Want to talk about whatever keeps bothering you?”

He couldn’t blame Natalie for asking. She’d let it go more than once, but he kept going back to places he didn’t need to let his brain go.

“It’s not important.” Which was a lie. Everything about Robert and Carolyn was important. How he was going to handle fatherhood was important. Part of him wanted to tell Natalie, to spill everything out to her, to tell her what a screw-up step-in parent he’d been so far and that he wished he could give Carrie to a couple who knew what they were doing so the kid wouldn’t turn out messed up. But losing his best friends, and his failed parenthood, weren’t decent conversation for a three-day affair.

For the next three days, he was just Matthew. The dedicated heart surgeon and researcher, the fun-loving man, the devoted short-term lover.

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