Wanted: Parents for a Baby!
A Very Special Delivery!Neonatal nurse Cassie Jordan always wanted a baby of her own, but after two heartbreaking miscarriages she’s convinced she’ll never have a family. Until a tiny newborn baby is abandoned at the hospital… in need of a new mum!Also working on baby Emma’s case is handsome widower Dr Ryan Murphy, whose penetrating blue eyes make Cassie’s heart skip a beat! Dating might be off the cards for now but, united in their love for Emma, will Ryan and Cassie end up falling for each other too… ?
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A minute after Cassie had finished applying a light coat of make-up her door buzzer echoed through the apartment.
Her heart stuttered, and her stomach clenched with nerves, but she went over to the intercom to let him in.
He knocked at the door barely a minute later and she looped her purse over her shoulder before walking over to open the door. “Good morning,” she greeted him. “I’m ready.”
His blue eyes swept over her, glinting with approval. “You look amazing, Cassandra,” he murmured.
She licked her suddenly dry lips. “Thanks,” she murmured. “So do you.” Oh, boy, what was wrong with her? She was acting as if this was a date.
His gaze held hers for a long second, as if he were remembering their brief kiss. Or maybe that was just her memory working overtime. He stepped back, giving her room to leave her apartment. She released her pent-up breath and wondered if she was crazy to spend her day off with Ryan.
She liked him too much already. And she couldn’t bear the thought of giving him the power to hurt her.
No, she couldn’t allow herself to become emotionally involved with Ryan. The nurses called him The Heartbreaker for a reason.
As many of you know, I am a nurse by background and still work full-time at our local hospital.
Recently I was involved in a ‘Safe Haven’ baby situation. A young woman who gave birth at our hospital decided she couldn’t be a good mother and wanted to give her baby up for adoption. So far the State of Wisconsin has had eighty-four Safe Haven babies since the law was passed in 1994.
The situation I was involved in was very different from the one I describe in this story, Wanted: Parents for a Baby!, but the idea of writing my own Medical Romance about a Safe Haven baby kept popping into my head, nagging at me, until I simply had to sit down and put my ideas on paper. In some ways I think this book wrote itself!
I hope you enjoy Ryan and Cassie’s story as much as I do—and please drop by to visit my website at www.lauraiding.com if you have a moment. I always enjoy hearing from my readers.
Happy reading!
Laura Iding
LAURA IDING loved reading as a child, and when she ran out of books she readily made up her own, completing a little detective mini-series when she was twelve. But when her parents insisted she get a ‘real’ career she turned to nursing—another truly rewarding job. After thirty years of experience in trauma/critical care, she’s thrilled to combine her career and her hobby into one—writing Medical Romances™ for Mills & Boon>®. Laura lives in the northern part of the United States with her husband of nearly thirty years, and spends her time reading, writing and biking.
This book is dedicated to Michelle Lahey Reed, an amazing woman who opened her heart and her home to foster twin babies in need. You are truly an inspiration!
Table of Contents
“CASSIE?” ALICE, THE neonatal intensive care unit clerk, called across the unit. “The ER is asking you to come down with the emergency warmer.”
“Really?” Neonatal nurse Cassandra Jordan glanced up from her computer in surprise. This was an interesting way to start her shift, and it was only Thursday. The unusual stuff mostly happened on the weekends. “Is there a pregnant woman waiting?”
“Not sure, but they asked you to hurry.”
Cassie nodded and quickly abandoned her charting, heading over to where they kept the portable warmer stocked with emergency equipment. “What about a physician?” she asked as she wheeled the warmer toward the door.
“Already paged him. Dr. Ryan should be there soon.”
Cassie’s stomach clenched with a mixture of dread and anticipation even as she tipped her head to indicate she understood. After wheeling the infant warmer into the hallway, she pushed the button for the elevator, relieved when the doors immediately opened.
Dr. Ryan Murphy was one of the best neonatal intensivists she’d ever worked with. Unfortunately, he was far too tall, dark and handsome for her peace of mind. Not to mention single. Widowed, to be exact. According to the gossip mill, he wasn’t interested in dating, much to the dismay of the single nurses working throughout the hospital.
To be fair, she wasn’t particularly interested in dating either—one deep betrayal and subsequent failed marriage had been enough to put her off men for a long time. But somehow in the six months that she’d been in Cedar Bluff, her body hadn’t seemed to get the message. Every time Dr. Ryan’s penetrating blue eyes met hers, her stomach did a series of backward flips and she blushed like a fool. She mentally cursed her fair skin for constantly betraying her.
The elevator doors dinged and opened on the ground level, so she wheeled the warmer out and quickly jogged down the hall to Cedar Bluff’s ER. There was a crowd of people gathered around the triage desk and, of course, Dr. Ryan’s dark head, clearly visible above the crowd, drew her gaze like a magnet. Even wearing blue scrubs and long white lab coat, he was distinctly noticeable.
