Dear Reader,
This book is the first Iâve written as part of a continuity, and it was fun and challenging. I really enjoyed the way the editors came up with story ideas and connected the different books. It would have been hard to choose which hunky hero I wanted to write about, so Iâm thrilled I was given sexy Aaron Cartwright to fall in love with in my story.
The other authors in the series set up an online chat so we could discuss the storylines and ask questions of each other. A thank-you shout-out to Louisa George, Scarlet Wilson and Tina Beckett for their helpâparticularly Scarlet who, as the only author in our group currently living in the UK, was always happy to answer the numerous questions I had about medicine and midwives in England as compared to the US ⦠and there were plenty of surprising differences.
Aaron and Hope share an attraction theyâve felt just from noticing one another in the hospital corridors even before they officially meet. When they finally do, itâs zing with a capital Z! But both have baggage from their pasts that make a relationship impossible. Not to mention Hopeâs secret plans to have a baby on her own through IVF very soonâa decision that rips open Aaronâs old wounds when he finds out. But a fling isnât a relationship, right? Or so they think â¦! :)
I hope you enjoy Hope and Aaronâs story, and the way they both come to see that the things theyâve always believed about themselves arenât necessarily true. Learning this isnât easy, and it takes falling in love with one another to see it.
Iâd love to know what you think of this story! You can email me at [email protected], find me on my website, RobinGianna.com, or look me up on Facebook.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Robin xoxo
After completing a degree in journalism, working in the advertising industry, then becoming a stay-at-home mum, ROBIN GIANNA had what she calls her âmid-life awakeningâ. She decided she wanted to write the romance novels sheâd loved since her teens, and embarked on that quest by joining RWA, Central Ohio Fiction Writers, and working hard at learning the craft. She loves sharing the journey with her characters, helping them through obstacles and problems to find their own happily-ever-afters. When not writing, Robin likes to create in her kitchen, dig in the dirt, and enjoy life with her tolerant husband, three great kids, drooling bulldog and grouchy Siamese cat. To learn more about her work visit her website: RobinGianna.com.
This one is for you, Flora Torralba!
Thanks so much for your steady willingness to help in any way, for tolerating my nuttiness, and for keeping me sane.
I donât know what Iâd do without youâyouâre the best! xoxo
CHAPTER ONE
âHELLO, KATE? ITâS just me.â Hope Sanders gently knocked on the door and stepped inside her patientâs room. âLetâs check and see how itâs going, shall we?â
Kate kept sucking on her ice cube and just stared, apparently so exhausted she couldnât conjure up any kind of response. Hope gave her a positive smile, sending up a silent prayer that, this time, the poor woman would finally be ready to deliver. After thirty-six hours of labor, any soon-to-be mother was beyond ready, mentally and emotionally, but sometimes her body and her baby just wouldnât cooperate the way everyone wished they would.
âAre you feeling all right?â Hope asked as she washed her hands and snapped on green examination gloves. âContractions any worse or more frequent?â
âIâm not sure. I just want the baby out. Why canât you get it out?â Kate asked in a tearful voice.
âI know. Itâs been a long time, hasnât it?â Hope gave Kateâs huge belly a gentle pat. âAnd youâve been so tough throughout all these hours. But youâre making good progress, so the doctor and I are pretty positive we can avoid a C-section. Maybe youâre there now, so letâs see.â
âIâm sorry,â Kate said, sniffing back her tears as Hope began an internal exam. âI shouldnât snap at you like that. Why on earth did you want to become a midwife and have to deal with cranky women like me?â
âFirst, youâre not cranky, believe me. Youâve been very brave and stoic all this time.â And the truth of that made Hope smile as she thought of the many mums whoâd been so far past cranky during labor that there wasnât a word for it. âI enjoy helping mums through the difficulty of labor and delivery, and on to the joy of getting to hold their newborns for the first time. Thereâs nothing as beautiful as a baby, is there? Thatâs exactly why I became a midwife.â
As she said the words the truth of that statement, and the emotion that came with it, closed her throat. Was she really, hopefully, about to have a baby of her very own? What sheâd dreamed of when sheâd first studied midwifery? When sheâd thought she had all the time in the world to establish her career before having children, never imagining sheâd still be alone at thirty-four?