JUDY DUARTE
always knew there was a book inside her, but since English was her least favourite subject in school, she never considered herself a writer. An avid reader who enjoys a happy ending, Judy couldnât shake the dream of creating a book of her own.
Her dream became a reality in March of 2002, when Cherish released her first book. Since then, she has sold nineteen more novels.
Her stories have touched the hearts of readers around the world. And in July of 2005 Judy won a prestigious Readersâ Choice Award for TheRich Manâs Son.
Judy makes her home near the beach in Southern California. When sheâs not cooped up in her writing cave, sheâs spending time with her somewhat enormous, but delightfully close, family.
Chapter One
Simone Garner studied the home pregnancy test kit sitting on the white tile countertop in her bathroom and waited as one long second stretched into another.
She was thirty-seven years old and a nurse at Walnut River General Hospital, so she certainly should have known better than to let something like this happen.
Butâ¦she had let it happen, and there was no one to blame but herself.
Two months ago, at a cocktail party Dr. Peter Wilder hosted to celebrate the rechristening of the hospital library in honor of his late father, a waiter holding a tray of champagne approached Simone and offered her a glass.
A teetotaler by nature, she nearly declined, but the festive mood had been contagious.
At first, the champagne hadnât done much for her except to tickle her nose and throat, but sheâd soon acquired a taste for it, as well as a mind-numbing buzz.
So when Mike OâRourke, an attractive medic sheâd known for a while, volunteered to drive her home, sheâd agreed. Then, while he opened the door to let her into his Jeep, sheâd let him kiss her.
Or maybe sheâd been the instigator.
Looking back, she wasnât entirely sure whoâd actually made the first move. All she knew was that the star-spinning, knee-weakening kiss had happened.
After they arrived at her place, she should have thanked him for the ride and let it go at that, but for some reason, she felt compelled to invite him in. Sheâd given him a tour of the house sheâd remodeled, then turned on her new stereo system and played a soft, suggestive love song.
âDo you want to dance?â
Her boldness had been so out of character that, in retrospect, sheâd blamed her newfound self-confidence on the alcohol, as well as the sleek black cocktail dress sheâd purchased for the occasion and the cute but impractical heels sheâd probably only wear once.
With her senses still reeling from both the champagne and Mikeâs charm, Simone had slipped into his embrace, quickly relishing his musky, mountain-fresh scent and the faint bristle of his cheek against hers.
Theyâd swayed to the soul-stirring melody, hearts beating and bodies moving as oneâuntil sheâd stumbled.
Sheâd grabbed on to Mike for balance, and theyâd shared a laugh, followed by a heated look, a lingering touch.
One thing had led to another, and theyâd kissed again.
Oh, Lordy, how theyâd kissed.
Then, for some crazy reasonâthe heat of the moment, she supposedâsheâd led him to her bedroom.
Waking up in Mikeâs arms and then sending him on his way would have been a lot easier to do if their lovemaking had only been so-so. In that case, he would have understood why sheâd ended things.
But the entire experience had been off the charts.
And now she feared that if great sex had anything to do with sperm motility or fertility, sheâd be having septuplets.
Oh, God, no. Please, no.
Just the thought of what a pink dot on the testing apparatus meant made her nauseous, even though sheâd already had the dry heaves earlier this morning.
At first, sheâd told herself that stress from work had caused her period to be delayed. After all, there had been some allegations of insurance fraud at Walnut River General, and the timing couldnât be worse, with the hospital in danger of being taken over by Northeastern HealthCare.
And to top it off, someone was leaking financial information and other sensitive data to the conglomerate, putting the hospital at a significant disadvantage for negotiations.
But Simone hadnât been able to explain away her symptoms any longer. So she got up from her seat on the commode and stood before the test, while her future and the pale yellow walls of the small bathroom seemed to close in on her.