Heart Surgeon to Single Dad

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

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

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

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

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

“Sounds perfect.”

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

Natalie still leaned against the wall and stared at him.

“Exhausted?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Uh-uh. Not at the hospital.”

* * *

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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