Page 3 of Doctor's Surprise Bride

“I’m bored,” he hums. “I’m bored out of my fucking mind, Ford. Ever since I got discharged, I have no idea what to do with my life. I was thinking of opening up the old family pub but I don’t know the first thing about running a business.”

I listen to my cousin’s complaint about being bored out of his mind as I lock the office behind me. I’m never sure if these conversations really amount to anything, but being on the phone keeps people from bothering me as I try to get out the door.

I nod at the nurses as I make my way down the halls. They wave at me before turning back to each other with knowing smiles. I don’t need to stick around to know I’m the topic at hand. After working at the hospital as a Cardiothoracic surgeon for five years, I’m used to the long stares and hushed murmurs that follow me everywhere I go. I don’t care to address them, so long as they don’t interfere with my work.

“Goodnight, Doctor Ford,” the head nurse says as I pass by her station. I wave at her, ignoring the wink she flashes my way. Despite my stone-cold face and no-nonsense attitude, I still find myself drawing attention. It doesn’t matter that I have made it clear several times that I am not interested in starting a relationship with anyone, especially not with anyone who works in the same building as me.

I tune back into Marcus’s monologue as I make my way across the parking lot and to my car.

“… Who would have thought I’d be trying to figure out what to do with my life in my mid-thirties like this?”

“Indeed,” I say, my voice flat as I climb into the driver’s seat and put Marcus on speaker. “I assume you have another reason for calling.”

“I do, actually,” he says, his voice perking up. “Remember how I mentioned I’ve been bored out of my mind?”

“Hard not to.”

“Right. Anyway, I’ve been thinking about what to get my favorite cousin for his birthday.”

“I’m youronlycousin,” I grumble, not for the first time wishing there were more of us so he’d have more people to call about his boredom.

“So, I was thinking about what to get my favorite cousin for his thirty-eighth birthday. I mean, you already have almost everything.”

“And I assume you’re going to tell me what it is I’m missing in my life.”

“Nope, it’s a surprise. You’ll find my gift to you waiting at your place.”

I tune him out when he starts going on about how I am going to love my gift this year but knowing him, it’s another one of his dumb pranks. Last year, he sent me a box filled with all sorts of lube and dozens of socks. I still haven’t figured out how he pulled it off while deployed overseas. I don’t know why I continue to entertain him, but I do.

In no time, I arrive at my building. As I pull into my parking spot, Marcus seems to be wrapping up whatever it is he was talking about. It’s like he knows exactly how much of my time I’ll let him waste.

“Marcus, I’m home. Let’s catch up later,” I say, before hanging up without waiting for a goodbye.

I grab my briefcase and head for the elevator. I have a lot of work I still need to do before I can even consider taking a short nap. One of my patients, a sixty-year-old man, is in need of a second surgery to repair his aorta and I need get additional information on his medical history to avoid complications.

Once I’m inside my apartment, I head straight for the kitchen to start a pot of coffee after dropping my briefcase and pulling out my laptop. I just need to get a little more work done before I can rest; it’s easier to prep for the surgery now rather than let it go until the last minute. Might as well get started as I get the coffee machine brewing. My mind is so wrapped up with work that I’m completely on autopilot.

I pour the hot brew into my mug and sip at it carefully as I focus on the screen. I start doing mental calculations about how long reading through the file will take and whether that means I’ll need to make more coffee at some point. If I drink a cup an hour, then that means—

“Uhm, hi.”

I freeze. Years of working under pressure (and dealing with my cousin’s pranks) have made it hard for me to be startled. This, however, is just unexpected enough that it almost does.

My eyes shoot up to seek out the source of the voice. Standing in the entryway to my kitchen, mere feet away from me, is a woman wearing a short red dress. When I meet her eyes, my heart stutters in my chest. They’re the brightest blue I have ever seen in my life.

I’m transfixed.

I set my mug down and blink at her, just to be sure that I’m not hallucinating. When I open my eyes, she’s still there, watching me in confusion as her fingers twist together.

“Hi,” she whispers again, running a palm over her naked arm as though she’s cold. That can’t be right. Every single bit of me is burning with heat. “I’m Daisy Bennet, from Bride4u.”

I can’t help frowning in confusion. When her eyes grow wide, I fight the urge to lean in and reassure her in some way, but I have no fucking clue what she’s talking about.

“Daisy …” I start softly. For the first time in a long time, I’m robbed of words. I have no idea what to tell her. “How did you get in here?”

Her face flushes red and she looks down before mumbling something I can’t quite make out.

“One more time on that?”

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