Babies in the Bargain

Kindle Edition

Babies in the Bargain

 Copyright November 2011 - Mona Risk

Kindle Edition, License Notes

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used, reproduced, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Other books by Mona Risk:

NO MORE LIES

RIGHT NAME, WRONG MAN

PRESCRIPTION IN RUSSIAN

TO LOVE A HERO

FRENCH PERIL

OSIRIS’ MISSING PART

REVIEWS for Babies in the Bargain:

BABIES IN THE BARGAIN, voted BEST ROMANCE NOVEL at Preditors & Editors Readers Poll 2009.

BABIES IN THE BARGAIN won 2010 BEST CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE NOVEL at Readers Favorite

Readers Favorite. 5.0 out of 5 stars. “This is Mona Risk at her best. The story will bring tears both sadness and joy. The characters are easy to relate to. The plot is excellent.”

Joyfully Reviewed. 5.0 out of 5 stars. “Babies in the Bargain is an old fashioned, tender romance. Romance blooms amidst tragedy in Babies in the Bargain. It tugs heart strings and stirs emotions.”

The Long and the Short of It Reviews. 5.0 out of 5 stars, Best Book of the Week. “Babies in the Bargain was just amazing! Ms. Risk has done an outstanding job and is a very talented writer who gives the reader what they are after. This one will keep you on your toes and make you beg for more. I can't wait to read more of Ms. Risk's work in the future.”

Romance Junkies. 5 blue ribbons. “Babies in the Bargain is one novel that pulls you into the story and holds you captive to the last page.”

Night Owl Romance. 5.0 out of 5 stars, TOP PICK. “Babies in the Bargain is a sweet and sexy medical romance that will have you cooing and awing while also shedding a few tears.”

WRDF Review. 4.0 out of 5 stars. “This was a great read, romantic and at times bittersweet. Enjoyable from beginning to end, Babies in the Bargain sports believable characters, an ultra romantic story line, and a thoroughly satisfying ending.” 

Got Romance! 4 Diamonds. “This story is both heartwarming and heart wrenching. Ms Risk has created beautifully written, well rounded, realistic characters.”

CHAPTER ONE

“Twin delivery. C-section. Stat.” Dr. Halsdale, the old obstetrician, bellowed.
“Ready?”

Being the senior fellow in Neonatology, Dr. Holly Collier was always ready for a difficult task.

But she wasn’t ready to face Marc Suarez one more time.

Eyeing the imposing back of the anesthesiologist, Holly chewed on her lip, a queasy feeling simmering in her stomach. In med school, falling for the athletic Marc had spread like a virus, resulting in an epidemic that no vaccination could eradicate. Holly had been contaminated too, seven years ago.

The bright Puerto Rican resident had obviously fulfilled his professors’ expectations. He was back at Washington Children’s Hospital as a big-league doctor now and he’d already rattled the hospital’s serenity and her own comfort in the last five weeks.

As usual Marc dominated the scene with his hundred-and-eighty pounds of well-distributed charm and his rugged confidence.

“Twenty-eight-year-old patient. First pregnancy. Thirty-five-week gestation,” Dr. Halsdale said, his eyes scanning his team. One of the residents blinked, his fingers trembling. Holly smiled with sympathy. She’d been there. Dr. Halsdale had once scared the bejeebers out of her, too.

She
turned on the two radiant warmers for
the expected preemies. The delivery room bustled with a
flurry of activity.
Doctors and nurses in surgical garb and masks huddled around the operating table where the patient lay, moaning. Dressed as a medic, the soon-to-be dad hovered near by. His shaky fingers clutching a video camera, he bent and kissed his wife’s forehead.

A few feet away, Marc raised his masked face. His chocolate eyes sparkling with golden flecks, he winked at Holly and resumed his task with unperturbed assurance.

Under the mask, Holly’s mouth fell open. Marc had made it a disturbing habit to wink at her before starting his procedures. A good-luck sign, he’d called it while smiling his infectious grin.

“I’m doing an epidural,” Marc said to the patient, as he helped her turn to a lateral position.
After a sterile prep and draping, he numbed the skin of her back.
His hands steady,
he injected the anesthetics and narcotics via the catheter.
“Done,” he said a moment later,
his striking figure and precise gestures radiating authority.

The man was drop-dead gorgeous and always displayed a cheerful smile. As if he didn’t have a single worry in his life.

Maybe he didn’t. Holly suppressed a grimace of disgust as she struggled to control her breathing. Coping with Marc’s presence in the delivery room had doubled the stress of her difficult job.

Resentment pursed Holly’s lips. Three months of crying and almost flunking her medical exams seven years ago had taught her a bitter lesson. One she wasn’t about to forget. But she
had no time to dwell on the sizzling emotions only Marc could create in her heart.

“Scrub.” Dr. Halsdale’s gruff order broke the silence. A nurse cleansed the patient’s protruding belly. The pungent smell of antiseptic and alcohol vapors permeated the sterile room. “Scalpel.”

The nurse placed the surgical knife in the obstetrician’s open palm. From her distant position, Holly watched as he made the incision, then pulled a tiny body from its mother’s womb and cut the umbilical cord. “A girl. All yours, Dr. Collier.”

Holly received the blue-tinged newborn in a blanket. After drying her, she suctioned her mouth and nose, and deposited her on a radiant warmer bed to inspect her. As she pumped oxygen into the baby’s lungs, the discoloration gave way to a healthier pink hue.

“Baby B.” The attending surgeon extracted a second little body from the gaping belly. “Another pretty one.”

The young father brushed a tear and sniffled. “Oh, my God, we have two beautiful daughters. Darling, did you hear that?” he said to his exhausted wife.

Holly glanced at the nervous father and smiled. The happiness of the new parents rewarded her efforts more than compliments. “Stacey, switch with me,” Holly said to the nurse. “I have Baby B. Take the vitals on Baby A.”

Raising his head, Marc watched Holly perform the resuscitation procedure on the second preemie. Damn, but she was good. In a matter of minutes, the newborn skin colored a healthy pink.

Marc’s gaze rested on Holly’s curved back and slender neck. He remembered her as a shy student working in the library until the wee hours of the morning, a delicate beauty with huge, greenish-blue eyes and long blond hair. He’d helped her with a couple of difficult questions and wondered if she’d have the tenacity to finish the arduous medical studies.

She did. Brilliantly.

“Done.” She exhaled and straightened. “They should make it.” The nurses dressed the babies in diapers, laid them in incubators, and took them to the NICU.

Dr. Halsdale finished stitching his patient and then Marc removed the respiratory tube and replaced it with an oxygen mask. “Take her to Recovery.” The nurses wheeled the trolley out and the young father followed, a wide smile on his face and his eye glued on his camera.

Marc turned toward Holly. “Well done.” He’d sincerely enjoyed her expert performance and wouldn’t hesitate to reinforce a young doctor’s confidence. “Your resuscitation procedure was a pleasure to watch.”

She threw him a glance. A fleeting smile cracked her serious expression.

Good start. She’d given him the cold shoulder since his first day at Washington Children’s Hospital five weeks ago. Maybe she’d be more receptive today. He searched for a neutral topic and stifled a smile. His sister-in-law’s pregnancy. “Thank you for reassuring Lydia. With her family history of miscarriages and early deliveries, she was terrified about the baby.”

“You’re welcome. But it’s between Lydia and me now.”

In other words, she wouldn’t allow him to show his gratitude. Why was she so wary of him? Did he deserve such distrust?

“Well, it’s good to see her relaxed. She and Carlos are celebrating their fifth anniversary tonight.”

“I know. Lydia asked me if she could go out. I said yes. She’s reached thirty weeks. Her baby is viable, even if she delivers at this very moment.”

 His brother and sister-in-law had bonded with Holly in a couple of visits, while he was still struggling to have an amicable conversation with her. His jaw tensed as he wondered how to pierce through the icy sheath she’d wrapped around herself.

“I’d better get going.” She peeled off her gloves, mask and cap, and tossed them into a wastebasket. Her hair pulled in a ponytail emphasized her smooth forehead and lovely, straight nose. She was more attractive now, more challenging, and she’d lost her innocent look of the sweet girl who expected too many promises too soon.

Everyone knew back then he didn’t do fidelity or commitment. But an unforgettable night, followed by several more had changed his outlook on life. The impossible hope had sprouted that maybe he and Holly...

The family scandal in San Juan had smothered his dreams under an avalanche of responsibilities. Yet, while strolling along the Puerto Rican seashore, he’d often thought about his lovely Holly, the third-year medical student with turquoise eyes, so similar in color to his Caribbean sea.

Right now, mauve shadows underlined those beautiful eyes. “You must be exhausted.”

She shrugged and walked toward the door. “Probably no more than you are.”

“I’m sure we could both use a strong cup of coffee.”

She shook her head. “No thanks. I’m too tired.”

“I can understand that.” He frowned, assessing her taut features. “When did you start your shift?”

She sighed. “Yesterday morning.”

Marc winced, all too familiar with the barbaric hours of medical training. “And you won’t leave until tonight.” He’d never hesitated to subject the young residents to the strict discipline that had honed his expertise, but her fragile appearance struck a soft chord.

 A surge of protectiveness overwhelmed him as he held the door open for her and followed her down the hallway. “How about dinner tomorrow?”

“I can’t. I have to study after work.”

“Maybe a short break and drink at the Mango Bar?” The hospital gang hung out there every Friday. He’d been told Holly used to go when not on call. Except he hadn’t seen her at Mango a single time since he’d started at WCH.