Книга - Convenient Marriage, Surprise Twins

Convenient Marriage, Surprise Twins
Amy Ruttan


One night…When Lana Haole reluctantly agrees to a marriage of convenience to help persuasive and all-too tempting Dr Andrew Tremblay stay in the country, the last thing she expects is to fall for the arrogant playboy’s charms – on their wedding night…Twin consequences!Lana and Andrew agree it was a one-time only deal; until they discover that Lana is pregnant with twins. Andrew won’t walk away from his babies, or his beautiful bride, so he has eight months to convince Lana to stay his wife for ever!







One wedding night...

When Lana Haole reluctantly agrees to a marriage of convenience to help persuasive and all-too-tempting Dr. Andrew Tremblay stay in the country, the last thing she expects is to fall for the arrogant playboy’s charms—on their wedding night...

Twin consequences!

Lana and Andrew agree it was a one-time-only deal...until they discover that Lana is pregnant with twins. Andrew won’t walk away from his babies, or his beautiful bride, so he has eight months to convince Lana to stay his wife forever!


Dear Reader (#ud85dd6c1-96c0-53b9-a918-0bc7b94af740),

Thank you for picking up a copy of Convenient Marriage, Surprise Twins—my 15


Mills and Boon Medical Romance! I can’t believe it’s been fifteen books. It still feels as if I sold my first one yesterday.

This book was so much fun to write because of the characters—I have a soft spot for Canadian heroes—and because of the setting. I’ve never been to Hawaii, but it’s on my bucket list. I had a lot of fun researching Oahu and Waikiki, as well as surfing.

Surfing is fascinating to me. I would never try it, because I’m not the most brilliant swimmer and I’m terrified of sharks, but it was enjoyable living vicariously through my characters.

Dr Lana Haole and I have a lot in common—except the surfing thing—but I share a lot of similarities with Dr Andrew Tremblay as well. These characters are meant for each other, but they’re too stubborn to see it, and sometimes I can be too stubborn to see things too. Just ask my husband…or maybe not!

This book is also special because it was the last book I worked on with my former editor Laura, so it’s a little bittersweet for me. She’s been there for fourteen of my books and has made me a better writer in every way.

I hope you enjoy Lana and Andrew’s story.

I love hearing from readers, so please drop by my website amyruttan.com (http://www.amyruttan.com) or give me a shout on Twitter @ruttanamy (https://twitter.com/ruttanamy?lang=en).

With warmest wishes,

Amy Ruttan


Convenient Marriage, Surprise Twins

Amy Ruttan






www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)


Books by Amy Ruttan

Mills & Boon Medical Romance

Royal Spring Babies

His Pregnant Royal Bride

Hot Latin Docs

Alejandro’s Sexy Secret

The Hollywood Hills Clinic

Perfect Rivals…

Sealed by a Valentine’s Kiss

His Shock Valentine’s Proposal

Craving Her Ex-Army Doc

Visit the Author Profile page

at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk) for more titles.


This book is dedicated to all my readers. Thank you for reading my books and making 15 books possible.

And to Laura, for our last book together. I’ll miss you!


Contents

Cover (#ubf19173d-5c5d-5563-aeb9-14a7acbe33ec)

Back Cover Text (#u4f92714d-c479-5df6-9597-5c1504c11536)

Dear Reader (#ud279faee-6acd-57c7-aa8c-574fb135da08)

Title Page (#uf6ee3c9b-9499-5fea-b35e-c0c9346eb843)

About the Author (#u5531e336-02f6-58d3-b7f5-888f5b012bbb)

Dedication (#u78d6ddb9-462b-5f54-a536-95b62c973b98)

CHAPTER ONE (#ub7112ad4-e0a3-5451-b228-485edecbe7a1)

CHAPTER TWO (#u004b8f14-6699-5347-8ff5-d04f0b1de348)

CHAPTER THREE (#u64f7d270-7eb8-5947-b179-18a08dc7148b)

CHAPTER FOUR (#u14290f65-3842-5090-b93d-033b7887aace)

CHAPTER FIVE (#u880fbbc5-d182-58c3-9e4e-e70659a3eae6)

CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

EPILOGUE (#litres_trial_promo)

Extract (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)


CHAPTER ONE (#ud85dd6c1-96c0-53b9-a918-0bc7b94af740)

“HE’S AN IDIOT. I dislike him. There’s no way in heck I’m going to work with him, let alone marry him!”

What Iolana failed to say was, Dr. Andrew Tremblay may be an ass, but he’s sexy as hell and all I want to do is throw him down and either kiss him or strangle him repeatedly.

Her little brother didn’t need to know that part.

No one did.

Or she’d lose her reputation. The one that she’d painstakingly rebuilt since David had left her heart in tatters two years ago. She needed to keep that reputation intact. It was bad enough that she was the daughter of the Chief of Surgery.

Being the daughter of the Chief of Surgery meant that she had to work even harder to prove herself. That she didn’t get handouts.

“Come on, Lana, he’s the best trainer and sports medicine guy that knows about surfing. He’s going to get me into the championships in a couple of months. I need him.”

“No way, Keaka. There is no way.” Iolana smiled to herself, using her brother Jack’s Hawaiian name, which drove him nuts. Even though he used it when he was surfing.

Jack frowned and crossed his arms as he glared at her.

“There is no point in giving me the death stare, Keaka. I invented that death stare.” Iolana pushed past him. And she had taught him that death stare. She’d practically raised Jack after their mother left.

“Dad would’ve applied for his green card as his employer.”

“No, Dad didn’t want to do that. He sees it as favoritism.” Jack rolled his eyes. Lana didn’t find it hard to believe that her father hadn’t applied for Dr. Tremblay’s green card. That sounded like something her father would do.

Never take responsibility, unless it was his patient or his hospital. Which was why Jack was here, begging her to fix his problem. Like she’d done before. Many times. Lana shouldered a lot of responsibility for her little brother.

“Why didn’t Andrew take care of it? He has time.”

“He got busy. Now it’s too late for him.”

Lana rolled her eyes.

Not surprising.

The moment Andrew had walked through the doors of Kahu Kai Hospital he’d had entitled, irresponsible playboy written all over him. Not irresponsible with his patients, but with everything else in his life.

“Keaka, I love you but I don’t think so.”

“Come on, Lana,” Jack begged. “Andrew Tremblay was the best surfer for years. He dominated the world championships. I need this favor from you.”

Iolana snorted. “A Canadian who was a world champion surfer. Seems highly unlikely.”

“Don’t judge a book by its cover, Lana!” There was a glint in Jack’s eye and Iolana couldn’t help but smile, just a bit, as she sat down on the edge of her desk, crossing her arms the way her little brother had done to give him the death stare.

Jack was younger than her by ten years and he always got what he wanted, being the only son. Lana had shouldered a lot of responsibility since their mother left. Their father was a prominent surgeon in Oahu, claiming that he was a distant descendant from an ancient king who ruled Oahu and didn’t have time to raise little kids. So Lana had raised Keaka “Jack” Jr.

Iolana knew their father, Dr. Keaka Haole Sr., wanted Jack to follow in his footsteps and be a surgeon. Except Jack didn’t want any of that. He wanted to be a world champion surfer. That was Jack’s passion, and it had been Iolana’s too, but there’d been such a gulf between Jack and her father since their mother left that Iolana felt as if she had to constantly work to repair the rift between them.

Which was why she was an orthopedic surgeon at her father’s hospital. Or surfing alongside her brother.

“Why should I marry him?”

“Because he’s my friend, a lot of Hawaiian entrants are counting on him, I’m your brother and...” Jack rubbed the back of his neck. “He’ll be kicked out, Lana. There is no surfing in Canada.”

Iolana cocked an eyebrow. “I believe there is.”

“It’s not the same, which is why he came here and became a legend.” Jack ran his hand through his hair. “Lana, athletes come from all over North America to train with Dr. Andrew Tremblay, which is why Dad let him have hospital privileges here.”

“Don’t remind me,” Iolana griped.

She was all too aware that Dr. Andrew Tremblay was given privileges at her hospital, in her department, no less. The way he strutted around the halls, when he was actually here, drove her bonkers.

So smug. So sure of himself.

She’d always thought Canadians were supposed to be nice.

Jack was right. Andrew brought in a lot of money to their hospital and it would make a significant dent in their hospital profits if he left. And Jack might lose his chance at becoming a champion surfer.

Her dreams had been crushed to keep the peace; she couldn’t let that happen to Jack.

“I think this is fraud,” she said. “I don’t relish jail time.”

“You’ve known Andrew for some time. I think we can pull it off. Besides, isn’t Dad always on your case about settling down?”

Iolana frowned. She hated it when her brother was right and their father had been on at her lately about settling down. And her father respected Andrew and knew what he brought into their hospital.

Her father would approve of her choice.

Would he?

Her father had approved of David and look how that turned out. She’d become the laughingstock of the hospital, falling for a womanizer like David.

Her father had been disappointed instead of consoling when it had ended.

People pitied her.

Poor Dr. Lana Haole.

She hated the pity. Hated that her reputation had been destroyed.

It would just be for a year or two. It wouldn’t be all that horrible to marry him for convenience sake.

Jack was grinning at her, probably because he knew that he was wearing her down and she was going to say yes.

“He has to ask me,” Iolana said. “That’s my condition. If he wants the world to believe that we’re an item and that this marriage is legitimate to protect his keister, he’s going to have to get on one knee with a ring and ask me.”

Jack winced. “A ring?”

“A ring.” Iolana got up and walked to the door of her office, giving her little brother a subtle hint that she wanted him to leave. “And a nice, big, expensive...”

The words died in her throat when she saw that Andrew was on the other side of the door, a hand raised as if he was about to knock. He grinned in that boyish way that simultaneously made her melt and grated on her nerves. How many times had they butted heads on the ER floor? And he always ended arguments with that smile which infuriated her.

“I see Jack’s spoken to you.”

Iolana crossed her arms and glared at him. All he did was grin. “Dr. Tremblay,” she acknowledged.

He slipped his hands into the pockets of his white lab coat and grinned, leaning forward. “You know, if you glare at me like that no one is going to believe that we’re supposed to be getting married.”

Iolana growled as he moved past her and into her office. She shut the door and stood in front of it, glaring both at her brother and Andrew.

Andrew cocked his eyebrow. “You don’t look too happy about this arrangement.”

“And what about this arrangement should I be happy about?” she demanded.

“I get to stay here and work. I get to continue on your brother’s training.”

“And why should that make me happy?” she asked.

“Oh, come now, Dr. Haole. You treasure me and my experience.”

“Well, I’ll leave you two to figure out the details of this arrangement,” Jack said nervously as he walked toward the door. Iolana fixed him with an icy glare as he moved past her and slipped out into the hallway.

“Hey, Keaka, not a word to Dad!” she called out after her brother, before slamming the door again and facing her intended.

“Keaka, eh? You must be ticked off at him.” Andrew didn’t look at her. Instead he wandered around, looking at everything but avoiding eye contact with her. Which was safer for him because she was sure her look would grill him on the spot.

“I’m not happy about this, Dr. Tremblay.” She marched to her desk and took a seat in her chair. She wanted to put something solid between the two of them. She folded her hands on her desk. “There are stipulations to this arrangement.”

He cocked one of those blond eyebrows of his and adjusted his glasses. “Stipulations?”

“You want this to be believable, don’t you? I mean, if Immigration were to find out, our careers and the reputation of this hospital would be at stake. Jail time as well. Besides, I’m not irresponsible. I would’ve dealt with this long ago, so as not to resort to this.”

He nodded, but she could tell by the way his lips were firmly pressed together he didn’t enjoy her lecture. He just tolerated it. “Fair enough. What did you have in mind, Dr. Haole?”

“I want a public proposal,” she said. “And I want a ring.”

“You want a ring?” he asked in disbelief that wiped the haughtiness off his face.

“We have to make this as real as possible.” Iolana couldn’t help but grin. “I’m risking a lot.”

“Is that so?” He leaned over her desk, those blue eyes of his boring into her. “Any particular cut?”

She held out her hand, wiggling her fingers in front of him and grinning, knowing that she was bugging him immensely. “I’m partial to an emerald cut, but I’ll leave that up to you. There has to be some romance in this arrangement.”

Andrew made a face. “Is there anything else?”

“Well, we’re going to have to suss out living arrangements, I suppose. I guess it would make the most sense if you move in with me, and we’ll have to sign a prenuptial agreement.”

“It’s not a real marriage,” he said and then looked highly insulted. “What’s wrong with my place?”

“Don’t you live in an apartment? I have a house. And it is a real marriage—we’re really getting married. It’s not a make-believe marriage. I have to protect my assets.”

“Fine.” He straightened and crossed his arms. “So when am I supposed to make this public announcement of our engagement?”

“I’m not sure. Perhaps at the fund-raiser at the end of the week? That would be a good place for you to get down on one knee and give me a ring.”

“You have this all figured out, and so fast.” Andrew grinned then. “You’re secretly pleased by this, aren’t you? I think there’s more to you than meets the eye.”

Heat bloomed in her cheeks. “I think fast on my feet. That’s all.”

“No, I think you secretly want this. You want me.”

She was seeing red. “I could turn you in.”

“You won’t, though.”

“Won’t I?”

“No, because you’re attracted to me. You just don’t want to admit it.”

She glared at him. “Now I remember why I didn’t want to do this. You’re an arrogant jerk.”

“So why are you doing this if you detest me so?”

“Business. You bring revenue into this hospital.”

“That I can’t deny.” He grinned. “Is that all?”

No.

He was her ticket to have people stop pitying her. Including David.

“I love my brother and he thinks you’ll bring him to the surfing championships.”

Andrew nodded. “Jack is talented and he will get to the finals. He will be a champion.”

Iolana smiled then. “That’s why I’m doing it. Nothing more.”

“It is a lot for you to take on. You must love your brother.”

“I do.”

“Well, I appreciate it.” And she knew that he meant it; just the change in his attitude made her think that he was sincere.

“Are you actually thanking me, Dr. Tremblay? I’m shocked.”

“Don’t get too used to it, Dr. Haole. And I think, because we’re supposed to be intimate, we can drop the formalities and use our first names. I mean, people won’t believe that we’re madly in love if we refer to each other as Dr. Tremblay and Dr. Haole.”

“Fine,” Iolana said. Though the thought of being intimate, of letting her guard down made her stomach twist. David had hurt her so badly that the thought of letting someone else in, no matter how lonely she was, was terrifying indeed. Even if it was fake. It was risky.

Andrew grinned again. That charming smile. “So Lana, would you like to accompany me to the staff meeting?”

“Of course... Andrew.”

She’d forgotten about the staff meeting with her father. She was in charge of Ortho and sports medicine, but her father was in charge of all the surgeons at Kahu Kai Hospital in Honolulu. Which was why she couldn’t let another scandal rock her. It was bad enough people thought she was where she was because of who her father was.

Her father would be pleased with her choice of fiancé, but she doubted very much he would be pleased with the fact that Keaka, Andrew and her were all pulling a fast one on him. They were doing something illegal to keep Andrew in the country.

And it made her nervous to know that she’d be lying to her father.

That her father had a hold on her.

All because she wanted to keep the peace between him and Keaka.

They were late to the staff meeting. The other surgeons were waiting for them. She could feel her father’s icy-cold stare boring into her as they stumbled in.

“Ah, Iolana and Andrew, thank you for joining us. You’re fifteen minutes late,” her father said, tapping his watch. “We all have schedules to keep.”

Iolana opened her mouth to say something, but Andrew stepped in front of her, taking her hand in his.

“I’m sorry, Dr. Haole, you can lay the blame solely on me.” Then he grinned at her and she had a sinking feeling about what he was going to say next.

No. Don’t you dare.

Only he didn’t seem to get her telepathic message.

“You see, Dr. Haole, I’ve been dating your daughter for some time and we were delayed because I just got down on one knee and asked her to marry me.”

Iolana plastered a fake smile on her face as the rest of the surgeons in the room, including her father, stared at them with their mouths hanging open. Even David was surprised, but then he smirked in disbelief. Which infuriated her.

“Iolana, is this true?” her father asked skeptically. And she knew he was thinking about David as well.

“Yes,” she managed to say without breaking her very wide smile. “Yes. It is. I’m in love with Andrew, but we’ve kept our relationship a secret because of past experiences.” She glared at David, making him uncomfortable because he pulled at his collar.

Good.

Andrew slipped his arm around her and pulled her close. “I don’t have to tell you what her answer is. It’s obvious she said yes, and I know there’s no ring yet, Dr. Haole, but there is one coming. I wanted to ask her to marry me at the fund-raising gala at the end of the week, but I just couldn’t wait. I love your daughter so much.”

“Yes,” Iolana said. “Yes. We’re so in love.”

“You sound like a robot,” Andrew whispered in her ear, but she ignored him.

“Well, let me be the first to congratulate you both,” her father said and Iolana watched him cross the room to shake Andrew’s hand, slapping him on the back before turning to her and hugging her. “You two will be Kahu Kai’s power surgical team. This is fantastic news. I’m so happy. Shocked, but very happy.”

Iolana was still in shock as her other colleagues got up to congratulate them. All she could do was smile as she tried not to telepathically explode Andrew’s head for announcing their farce of a marriage at a staff meeting.

In one fell swoop her reputation for being a bit of an ice queen had come crashing down.

And she wasn’t sure how she was going to survive being Andrew’s wife, let alone his fiancée, because she was pretty sure, given the way she felt now, she was going to kill him.

Andrew winked at her as her father shook his hand again.

Yep. She was going to kill him.


CHAPTER TWO (#ud85dd6c1-96c0-53b9-a918-0bc7b94af740)

ANDREW KNEW THAT he had poked the beast, but he wasn’t in the least bit sorry about it. Lana had been testing him from the moment he’d walked into her office and she’d started making demands. When Jack had suggested that he ask his sister to participate in this marriage of convenience so he could get a green card he’d told Jack that he was nuts. One, because he was pretty sure Lana hated him. Two, they constantly butted heads. Three, he didn’t know what was in it for her to agree to this; no one liked their brother that much. Four, her father was Chief of Surgery and he’d told Dr. Haole that he would take care of this green card issue himself and five, he was attracted to Lana.

So attracted to her.

In his eyes, Lana was not the right choice.

Only Jack had been damn insistent.

And Andrew was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

You’re setting yourself up for a fall again.

He ignored that niggling thought. Whatever came of it came. He deserved whatever he had, good or bad. Even if it meant tempting his willpower in marrying, in name only, an attractive, fiery and passionate woman. Lana was tempting, but Andrew had willpower.

Are you sure?

From the moment he’d met her two years ago he had been enraptured by her. Her long black hair, dark eyes that sparkled in the waning sunlight and luscious lips that he desperately wanted to kiss. She had been standing on the beach at sunset in a wetsuit, holding a board and staring out over the ocean intensely. The way he used to stare at the waves after he surfed.

The way he longingly looked at the big waves because, since his accident, he had been unable to conquer the big waves. The groundswell waves that were generated by storms. The powerful waves that he wanted to conquer again.

Only he couldn’t. And he had no one to blame but himself.

Now he was fake engaged to Lana and he was slightly concerned that she would conquer him in the end.

This is not real. You’re not tying yourself down.

A real marriage and kids was not something he ever wanted. Not after his disaster of a childhood. He was selfish like his father and it was that selfishness which had caused the accident that injured his shoulder and killed his little sister.

He didn’t deserve happiness.

In a year he’d have his green card and this marriage would be over. He’d be free again.

And lonely.

“You’re engaged?” Dr. Keaka Haole asked, interrupting Andrew’s thoughts as he shut the door to the now empty conference room. “After what happened with David, I have to say I’m surprised, Iolana.”

Lana’s expression changed from one of daggers to slight anxiety as she bit her full, pink bottom lip.

“I know, but this isn’t like David. This is real. Which is why I’ve kept it quiet.”

Dr. Haole looked at him shrewdly. “You love my daughter?”

“Yes, sir,” Andrew said confidently. “My apologies for not asking for your blessing, but things kind of happened fast. We fell in love and...”

Dr. Haole put up his hand to silence him and Andrew knew better than to tick off Dr. Keaka Haole Sr. Keaka Haole Jr. might be somewhat of a jovial fellow, but Keaka Sr. was not a man you wanted to trifle with.

Andrew wasn’t terrified of him; he admired him.

The man was one of the best orthopedic surgeons in America. Andrew only wished when his shoulder had shattered that it was Dr. Keaka Haole who had operated on him and not that hack in northern Ontario who had botched his shoulder and ended his career as a surfer. Of course he deserved what he’d got that night.

“I’m not upset. Far from it,” Dr. Haole said, smiling, which was rare for him.

“You’re not?” Lana asked. Andrew couldn’t help but hear the shock in her voice and it was the same sense of shock that he was experiencing.

“Of course not. Dr. Tremblay is an excellent physician and an asset to this hospital. You couldn’t do any better, Iolana. As long as it’s real. I won’t have a repeat of what happened before.”

“Why, thank you, Dr. Haole. Coming from you that means so much.” Andrew tried to turn the conversation. He knew what had happened with David and Lana. Even if it was before his time. Everyone knew about it.

David didn’t deserve her.

And you do?

Only Lana knew this marriage was fake. According to the hospital drums, she’d been in love with David.

Lana glared at him quickly. “Dad, but...”

“Now, Iolana, it’s okay. Usually I don’t like it when you act impulsively, but this is really fantastic news. I’ve been telling you for years to settle down and get married.”

Andrew put his arm around Lana and pulled her closer, beaming. “Well, Dr. Haole, we wanted to keep our relationship private while we were dating. We are professionals, after all.”

Lana shrugged out of his embrace when her father’s back was turned and he winked at her. He hadn’t been expecting such easy acceptance from Dr. Haole. Andrew was not the kind of guy who got easy acceptance and approval from parental figures.

And then it hit him. He was deceiving a man he really admired for selfish reasons.

“So when will the wedding be?” Dr. Haole asked.

“As soon as possible,” Lana said. “Just something simple, probably at the city hall or the court house in front of a judge. We just...”

“We just want to get married,” Andrew said, finishing off Lana’s sentence.

“We can do a proper wedding in a week.”

“Father, you don’t have to spend the money,” Lana protested.

“Nonsense. You’re my only daughter and we’re going to do this right. I’ll have your stepmother arrange everything so that it won’t interrupt your surgical schedule.” Dr. Haole stood up. “I’ll call her up now and give her the news.”

“Thank you,” Lana said, but Andrew could tell she was unhappy. Even as her father took her in his arms and hugged her.

“I am so happy you have finally decided to settle down, Iolana. It means so much to me.” Then Dr. Haole shook his hand.

“Thank you, Dr. Haole,” Andrew managed to say, but he felt uneasy about the idea of a big wedding. Even though a big wedding would convince Immigration that it wasn’t a fake wedding.

Only it is.

“Well, I have rounds to make,” Lana said. “I’ll talk to you later, Dad.”

Andrew nodded and followed Lana out of the conference room. She didn’t say anything as she walked quickly back to her office, but she didn’t slam the door in his face either. She allowed him to come into her office and he shut the door.

“Well, you wanted a public proposal. Sorry I didn’t get down on one knee.” It was a halfhearted apology.

“That’s not how I wanted it to happen.” She was flustered. He’d never seen her like this and he felt bad because it was his fault it had been announced like that.

“I know, you mentioned one knee and a ring...”

She glared at him. “I would’ve preferred anything over that!”

“Why? It went well. You were nervous about telling your father. Jack was nervous over the idea of your father finding out. Now he knows and he seems quite thrilled with it.”

She sighed. “Surprisingly. That actually caught me off guard, but then he’s been harping on at me for the last five years to get married.”

“Did you want to plan it?” Andrew asked.

“No,” she snapped. “My stepmother will do a fine job. I really didn’t want this in the first place!”

“I know.”

“If you wanted to stay here you should’ve contacted an Immigration lawyer and done the right thing from the beginning, then we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“I know,” Andrew agreed. “Time slipped away from me. I was training the team and your brother. I kept putting it off...”

“Excuses,” she raged. Then she sat down in her office chair. “You’re a good doctor, but you are so disorganized.”

“Office work is not my forte.” His shoulder started to burn and he winced.

“I’ll say,” she groused and then looked at him as he rolled his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“Just a twinge. Nothing more.”

“Your shoulder hurts?”

“Nothing,” he snapped as the pain hit him. “Look, I’d better go.”

Lana got up and stepped in front of him. “I’m an orthopedic surgeon. I can take a look at your shoulder.”

“I’m a surgeon too,” he said. Although he didn’t practice any more. He kept to the physical therapy side of sports medicine. Since his right shoulder repair had been botched the strength in his arm and hand came and went.

He wouldn’t risk a patient’s life on uncertainty.

“Let me look.”

He sighed. “Anything to get my shirt off, eh?”

“Fine,” she said through gritted teeth. “Be in pain.”

“It’s just a pulled muscle.”

Liar.

He could’ve had Dr. Haole fix it, but again, he hadn’t got around to it. Training Jack to make the World Surfing Championship was all that mattered. He didn’t have the time to go under the knife, recover and then go through physical therapy.

He didn’t have a year or more to waste.

What was done was done. It was a good reminder.

Besides, he didn’t want Lana touching him. If she touched him he knew it would test his control. Since he’d first laid eyes on her he’d thought about her in a way he shouldn’t.

This had to be an uncomplicated marriage.

He had to keep his hands to himself, as much as he didn’t want to.

“Fine,” she snapped.

“I have rounds to make.”

She nodded, avoiding eye contact. “Me too.”

“I guess I’ll see you at this farce of a wedding in a week.”

“I think before then. You want people to believe we’re in love and you just announced it to the whole hospital that we’re getting married.”

“Not the whole hospital.”

“You blabbed it to all the heads and chief residents that were in that meeting. You might as well have told everyone.” Then she smiled a sad smile. “Word gets around fast here.”

He chuckled. “You may be right on that one. So, would you like to go on a date tonight?”

“A date?”

“Yeah, we might as well have one, seeing how we’re getting married and everything.”

“Okay. That sounds...” She was cut off when her phone started ringing. “Dr. Haole speaking. Yes? How far out? Okay, I’ll be down there in five.”

“What was that?” Andrew asked.

“The emergency room. Incoming trauma; they need an orthopedic surgeon and I’m on call. I forgot. We’ll have to do that date another night.”

“I’ll meet you down in the ER. I’ll lend you a hand.”

“You’ve never done an ER rotation since you got here,” she said, astounded. “What about training?”

“The training can wait tonight. Jack will understand.” Jack probably wouldn’t, but Andrew didn’t care. He wanted to be in that ER tonight. Show a united front to their upcoming wedding so it was believable.

He might not have surgical privileges, but he was still a doctor.

He could still help when it came to trauma.


CHAPTER THREE (#ud85dd6c1-96c0-53b9-a918-0bc7b94af740)

LANA RETREATED TO the quiet calm of the operating room to repair a broken femur. She stood by, waiting as the trauma surgeon worked on stopping the blood flow in the major artery. She was just glad it wasn’t David because he’d ply her with questions about Andrew.

Poor, pathetic, heartbroken Lana couldn’t move on from him.

And she remembered how many times David and she had worked in the OR together. He’d been a fellow when she was a fourth year resident. She should’ve known—that was a red flag when he’d paid attention to her—but she’d craved the attention. The love and affection she’d never had.

Yeah, and look where that got you.

She shook her head and focused on the surgery. Once the rate of blood loss was managed she could go in and repair the femur. Piecing one of the strongest bones in the body back together.

As she waited she glanced up into the gallery, where residents were waiting to observe the surgery, and she noticed Andrew standing, watching. His arms were crossed and he looked pensive as he stared down into the OR.

Their eyes met and a small smile played across his face and she felt warmth flood her cheeks, but she was thankful that the surgical mask covered her face. She was still in shock and slightly angry that her father was so happy about the marriage.

Of course he didn’t know it was a marriage of convenience, but after David she’d thought he wouldn’t be so happy. And she was annoyed that her father was elated that she was finally taking his advice to settle down, implying that her life was worthless because she wasn’t married or involved with anyone.

It wasn’t that she repelled love. She’d been blinded by it. Hurt by it. So now her career was her first love. It never let her down.

After David she’d sworn to herself that she was going to get married for only the truest, deepest love. Her parents had married because they’d had to and they’d never been happy, which was why they were divorced.

And the moment her mother had been free from her father, she’d left.

Lana hadn’t seen her mother since the day she’d graduated from medical school. And she doubted that she would see her at her wedding.

No doubt her mother wouldn’t approve of her marriage to Andrew.

It’s not real and you’re not pregnant.

“Dr. Haole, we’re ready for you now,” the scrub nurse said.

“Thank you, Vickie.” Lana took her place next to the trauma surgeon, Dr. Aeolia, who had been working on controlling the blood loss from the shattered femur.

“I hear congratulations are in order,” Dr. Aeolia said as she began to formulate her game plan for repairing the femur in her head.

“Pardon?” Lana asked, not really listening to what Dr. Aeolia had to say.

“Your engagement. I was in the conference room when Dr. Tremblay announced it.”

Oh, God.

This was exactly the kind of thing she wished she could avoid. She didn’t like to be singled out, to have the attention drawn to her and as the words slipped out of Dr. Aeolia’s mouth she could feel the gaze from all of those in the operating room fixed on her. Just like when David had dumped her. Humiliating her.

“How can you possibly think I love you? You have no spine. No fire and you’re not as brilliant as your father thinks you are. This was purely a business move. I thought you knew that. I thought you knew that it would benefit us both!”

Lana shook David’s cruel words from her head.

“Right,” Lana said. “Thank you. Vickie, can you bring me my surgical tray?”

Vickie had been an orthopedic scrub nurse for years. She was her father’s scrub nurse and knew exactly what surgical screws and plates would be needed to fix a broken femur.

“You don’t sound happy about it,” Dr. Aeolia said and Lana could sense the censure in her voice. Or maybe it wasn’t censure, but jealousy.

She knew Dr. Aeolia lusted after Andrew, like most women did. Andrew was a playboy. A love ’em and leave ’em reputation that probably would hurt their story if they didn’t play their cards right.

“I am, but right now I’m focused on fixing this patient’s femur. Perhaps later we can discuss wedding arrangements, but not now.” Lana’s voice rose and as she glanced up into the gallery she could see Andrew grinning at her, giving her a subtle nod.

“Fine,” Dr. Aeolia said with annoyance. “Since my job is making sure the patient is stabilized and will survive, I guess I can let you continue on with picking up the pieces. You’re quite good at that, if I recall.”

It was a jab that was laced with sarcasm, which Lana didn’t care much for, but was used to. As the daughter of the Chief of Surgery she was used to people treating her like this. She knew very well that they all thought she was a spoiled princess. That she was Daddy’s girl and got preferential treatment because of it.

When that was far from the truth.

She was not a princess. Everything she’d earned she’d worked hard for.

“You’re right, Dr. Aeolia, your job here is done. Thank you; kindly leave my OR. I have it from here.”

Dr. Aeolia glared at her over the surgical mask and Lana shook her head in annoyance as she continued to work on stabilizing and preparing the femur.

She didn’t have many friends in this hospital and she tried to tell herself she didn’t care, but she did. She was alone.

It was why she was known as a bit of an ice queen.

And she was fine with letting them think that. It was easier on her heart.

Lana knew who she really was.

Do you?

And as she glanced back up at the gallery she saw that Andrew had left. She breathed an inward sigh of relief and continued on her repair of the femur. She was glad he was gone because he was a distraction and that was the last thing she needed in her life.

* * *

Just go home. You don’t need to wait for her.

Only Andrew was waiting for her in the main lobby. Just like a dutiful fiancé would. He had been so impressed with the way Lana had handled herself in the operating room under the scrutiny of Dr. Aeolia, who was a big gossip and who had been hitting on him since he’d first arrived, but he had no interest in her.

Now, he wanted to show the rest of them this was for real.

Except it’s not.

He rolled his stiff shoulder and then got up from where he’d been sitting in an uncomfortable lobby chair and began to pace as he waited for Lana. Her surgery on the femur had been done hours ago and it was the middle of the night, but there was a diner where a twenty-four-hour breakfast was served. He could at least treat her to some kind of meal and then maybe they could talk.

Get their stories straight so they could present a united front.

As he rolled his stiff shoulder he saw her on the breezeway, in her street clothes, walking down he steps to the main lobby. She looked tired, but that still didn’t detract from her grace and beauty. The Ice Queen of Oahu.

Which was an unfair name, because even though she tried to put up an appearance of being frosty he knew there was a warmth about her when she dealt with patients and her younger brother Jack. A caring side, even if she didn’t want to admit to it.

She looked up at him, her dark eyes widening in shock. “Dr....Andrew, what’re you doing here still? It’s three in the morning!”

“I went home and had a sleep, but thought I would come back and take you out for a bite to eat.”

“It’s three in the morning,” she repeated.

“I know, but the Kahuna Café on the north shore is open twenty-four hours and their specialty is breakfast.”

She wrinkled her nose. “That place looks like a dive.”

“It’s not a dive. Are you telling me that you’ve never been to the Kahuna Café?”

“No, it was never somewhere my parents took us.”

“Jack likes it,” Andrew teased.

Lana smirked. “Jack would eat his own hat if it was deep fried.”

Andrew chuckled. “True. Come on, what do you say? Come have some early breakfast with me and then I’ll take you home.”

“Fine.”

“Hey, it’s not a punishment, you know,” he teased.

“What?” she asked as she fell into step beside him.

“Going out to eat breakfast with me. I’m not a monster.”

A smile played on her lips. “I never said you were. Perhaps I’m the monster. I am considered a bit of a...”

“You don’t have to say it. I’ve heard it,” he teased. “What I’m saying is that appearances can be deceiving and you, of all people, should understand that.”

“Sorry,” she said.

“No problem, sweetie.”

Lana wrinkled her nose. “Ugh, don’t call me sweetie.”

“Pookie?”

“Nope.”

“Polkaroo?”

“What?” she asked, confused.

He chuckled at his subtle Canadian joke that he knew that she would never get. “Never mind. You don’t want an endearment nickname?”

“No, thank you. Just Lana is fine by me.”

“Okay.” Then he picked up her hand and she snatched it back as if he were on fire.

“What’re you doing?” she said under her breath.

“There are people watching,” he whispered.

Lana took his hand grudgingly. He’d never really held a woman’s hand before. He wasn’t a touchy-feely guy—well, he was never one for public displays of affection, because public displays of affection meant something more. It meant permanence, romance and he wasn’t a permanent sort of guy. But holding Lana’s hand felt right.

And that made him nervous.

It’s because people are watching. It doesn’t mean anything.

And then tension settled between them. It was completely awkward and no one in their right mind would believe that they were in love and the marriage was for real unless he eased this tension.

“How did surgery go?” He winced because it was a dumb question. He knew how it had gone. Lana was a brilliant surgeon and he knew the patient had pulled through.

There were good odds he was going to make it, although there would be a long road to recovery. Andrew knew firsthand the pain of physical therapy.

“It went well,” Lana said and he could tell by her tone she thought it was a weird question too.

He let go of her hand and opened the passenger side door to his car. When he shut the door he rolled his eyes. Annoyed with himself.

Why had he thought this was going to be easy?

When had anything in life been simple?

Never.

Lana and Jack might be siblings but they were complete opposites. Jack was so warm and open. Lana was closed off and cold. He had heard the term ice queen bounced around about Lana and he got it. There was a social awkwardness there at the very least.

Yet, in her office, talking about the terms of their engagement she’d been warm and funny. Feisty even. And he was sure that was the real her, but she was suppressing it and he didn’t know why.

The drive to the Kahuna Café was laced with quiet tension, but when they pulled into the parking lot a smile crept across her face.

“That’s a lot of Tiki masks,” she teased.

Andrew chuckled. The place was a bit kitschy and totally catered to tourists, but he loved it. The food was simple and good. It reminded him of the small diner outside the east gate of Algonquin Park in the town he’d grown up in.

He hadn’t been back to north-eastern Ontario in several years. There was nothing for him there, but there were moments when he missed things and the Kahuna Café, a world away from Whitney, Ontario, brought back just a piece of home.

And when he thought about home, he thought about his sister, Meghan, which made his heart hurt. God, he missed her. And it had been a while since he’d really thought about her.

“You killed her! It’s all your fault, Andrew! You killed your sister. How could you be so reckless?”

“This is why I’ve never been here,” Lana teased, interrupting the memory of that horrible night from his mind.

“Why? Because of the Tiki masks?”

“My dad would never come here.”

“Well, your dad isn’t here, so what do you think?” he asked.

She bit her lip in concentration as she slid out of the car. “I’ll let you know after I taste the food.”

Andrew grinned and opened the door to the café and they walked in to an almost empty diner. There were a few people, farmers and tourists alike, but the diner was mostly empty. Another reason he liked this place so much.

They slid into a booth and the waitress brought them coffee.

“Mahalo.” Lana thanked the waitress, who nodded. “So what would you like to talk about?”

“Well, our wedding for starters,” he said.

“I don’t think we really have to discuss much with respect to plans.”

“Oh?” Andrew asked.

“My stepmother loves to plan parties. She’ll take care of everything. She is the top wedding planner in Waikiki.”

“How over-the-top is this thing going to be?” he asked suddenly, dreading a crazy fiasco.

Lana grinned. “Over. Way over.”

Andrew groaned. “Well, at least it will be convincing.”

“They don’t know that...” Lana trailed off. “It’s real as far as they’re concerned.”

“True. Okay, but what about after?” It was hard for him to talk about after. He never had relationships, just flings. There was never an after. It was weird to talk about after when this wasn’t a real marriage.

“After?” she asked.

“Living arrangements. I remember that you suggested my moving in with you, but we didn’t actually decide, did we?”

* * *

Lana tried not to choke on her coffee.

Living arrangements?

The waitress came over. “Are you ready to order?”

“Just some toast,” Lana said because she didn’t really feel like eating all of a sudden.

“Nothing for me,” Andrew said. “Coffee is fine.”

The waitress left and Lana found the words that were struggling to come out. The reality of ‘married’ life was becoming all too clear.

“To sell our marriage to Immigration, we will have to live under the same roof. For at least a year.”

He sounded just as freaked out as she was.

Andrew was right, but the thought of sharing her home with him, a man who simultaneously drove her bonkers and who she was wildly attracted to, was scary.

How could she live under the same roof as him?

“It does make sense if you move in with me.” She looked reluctant, though. “I mean, I don’t even know exactly where your apartment is.”

He grinned, that sly mischievous grin which caused a dimple to appear in his cheek.

Dang, his teeth were so white and perfect.

“That’s pretty bad that you don’t even know where your husband lives.”

Heat bloomed in her cheeks. “You’re not my husband yet.”

Andrew laughed, and she liked it when he laughed. She wasn’t used to this. Usually he was so serious around her. She’d watched him be charming to others from afar.

But he was never this way with her.

She liked this.

Don’t get carried away. This isn’t real.

“So, your place, then?” he asked.

“Well, my house is near the hospital and the beach. I have three bedrooms and a pool.”

Andrew raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Really?”

“Now who doesn’t know where the other lives?” she teased.

“Since I’m in a bachelor apartment I guess I’ll move in with you.”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” she said. “I’m sure it’s not a hardship.”

“Oh, but it is.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not moving in with you.” The waitress set down the toast and poured more coffee.

“My bachelor pad is nice. Sparse but nice.”

“Sparse but nice?” she teased. “I don’t do sparse. I like neat and organized, but sparse? That’s just sad.”

They laughed together and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed like this. She’d never laughed like this with David. Not even with her father.

“Don’t be so silly, Iolana. Act your age. Be respectable.”

“I like this,” he said.

“What, toast and coffee at three in the morning?” she asked.

“Yeah, but also this side of you. Why do you keep this side of you locked away?”

Lana felt her cheeks heat again and she cleared her throat to regain composure. She couldn’t let him in. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He frowned. “Fine.”

She felt bad for throwing up a wall, but it was her best form of defense. And now the toast was like gravel in her mouth; she could barely choke it down.

“So when do you want to move in?” she asked, changing the subject.

“How about after we’re married? I think your dad is a traditional sort of guy.”

“That’s true. He is.” She sighed. “I’m exhausted. I really should get home and get some rest.”

Andrew nodded. “I’ll take you home.”

“Just back to the hospital is fine. I have to get my car.”

“Right.”

They both threw down some money for breakfast and then walked out to his car. Lana was nervous, as if she were on a date—one that ended badly.

Only she wasn’t on a date. This wasn’t real. They had just been formulating an intricate ruse.

And she had to keep telling herself that.


CHAPTER FOUR (#ud85dd6c1-96c0-53b9-a918-0bc7b94af740)

LANA MANAGED TO avoid Andrew for the rest of the week. Even though the wedding was creeping up fast, she was actively avoiding him. He’d made her feel things at the Kahuna Café that she wasn’t comfortable with. Things that she’d hidden for so long because it was expected of her. Her father had certain expectations, but there was a part of her deep down that was like her mother.

And it was that side she hid because it was too painful for her father.

When her mother had left, shortly after Jack was born, she’d assumed the mantle of mother.

And since she wanted Jack and her father happy, she’d buried the feelings of grief, anger and loss well. Only one other person had got through her icy shell and that had been David.

David had made her feel things she’d never thought possible and look how well that had turned out.

Then there was the constant butting of heads between her brother and father. So Lana had learned to adapt to smooth things over between the two of them. She was the mediator and the peacekeeper. So, to make sure everyone was happy she’d do almost anything.

Even wear a wedding dress that slightly horrified her.

“It’s so dreamy,” Sophie, her stepmother, gushed, running her manicured hand over the fabric as if it were one of the fluffy poodles she showed. “Isn’t it, Lana?”

You expect me to wear that?

Only she didn’t say that.

Keep the peace. Keep the peace.

“Sure.”

There wasn’t anything inherently wrong with the dress. It was just...she wasn’t used to dresses. They weren’t something she was used to wearing. Especially one that was lace-covered, form-fitting, backless, ivory-colored and scattered with pearls.

That wasn’t her idea of nice clothing.

She’d missed her prom because her father had been at a medical conference and someone had to watch Jack. Maybe she was the only girl who didn’t dream of being Cinderella.

Give her scrubs, slacks or a wetsuit any day.

Oh, come on. You dreamt of wedding dresses when you were with David.

And she hated herself for letting that thought in.

Sophie frowned. “You hate it, don’t you?”

“No, no,” Lana apologized quickly. “It’s just overwhelming. I hadn’t planned on...”

Getting married after David had crushed her heart. Having a wedding. Getting married to Andrew ever.

“I hadn’t planned on a wedding.” Which wasn’t a lie. “We just wanted to go down to City Hall. Do it quietly.”

Sophie smiled. “Which is why I’m planning it. I am the best wedding planner on the island.”

“I know.” Lana smiled. Sophie wasn’t her mother, but she was the closest she’d had to one for the last fifteen years. Sophie had stepped in when Lana had gone to school in California. And she sometimes couldn’t help but wonder if her father had remarried just so there was someone to take care of Jack when she was away. But then that made her wonder: had he only let her go because she was following in his footsteps?

Don’t think like that. Dad loves Sophie and so do you. It killed Lana to be lying to her on so many levels. “I do love it. Truly.”

“I knew it.” Sophie clapped her hands and put the dress back in its garment bag before swinging around with another garment bag. “I have your gala dress ready too.”

Lana groaned inwardly. Right. The gala fund-raiser was the night before her wedding. Two fancy dresses in the span of twenty-four hours. This would be brutal.

Lana braced herself, but as Sophie pulled out a royal blue, long ball gown, also backless and covered in lace, she relaxed because it was completely stunning. This dress she really did love. Royal blue was one of her favorite colors.

“I can see by the way your eyes lit up you like this one more,” Sophie teased.

“I do.” Lana touched the dress. “Can’t I get married in this?”

“No, no. It’s ivory for a sunset wedding on the beach. It’s traditional and your father wants traditional.” Sophie took the gala dress and zipped it back up in its garment bag before handing it over to Lana. “I’ll keep the wedding gown at the house, but since the gala is tomorrow night I’ll leave this dress with you.”

“Thanks, Sophie.” And she truly did mean it. She would be lost without her stepmother. This whole thing was so out of her league.

Sophie kissed her cheek. “Any time.”

Lana walked her out and then once the door was shut she sank down in her office chair, trying not to let this farce of a marriage overwhelm her.

Too late.

There was a knock and, before she could say Don’t come in, Andrew came barging in. She startled at seeing him. In the past week she’d seen him in the halls when he wasn’t training Jack, but she’d kept her nose down in whatever she was doing to ignore him and avoid him. In her office there was no escaping him. She was trapped. He took one look at her and he frowned.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as he shut the door.

“Nothing.”

“You looked like you were about explode.” He crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing as he assessed her.

Because I am.

“I’m fine. Just busy. What can I do for you?”

“I have a patient I need a consult on.”

She was taken aback. Andrew always went to her father when it came to consults. Never her. Which was a slap in the face. Her father might be Chief of Surgery but she was Head of Ortho. Her father was so busy with administration he didn’t clock as many hours in the operating room any more. She was clocking more hours, but other surgeons rarely sought her opinion. “Is my father unavailable?”

“No, but I’d like your opinion.”

“Why?” she asked cautiously.

“Why not?” He gave her a questioning look. “Why are you so uncomfortable about this?”

“I’m not uncomfortable.”

His eyes narrowed. “You totally are.”

“You’ve never wanted my opinion on your patients before... You always went to my father.”

“I never saw you operate before and when I observed you for that femur repair and how you did that surgery I was impressed.”

“How gracious of you to notice.”

Andrew rolled his eyes. “Fine. I want your opinion because it would look good. You’ve been distant this past week; people are noticing. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

“Fine.” She grinned sweetly at him. “I just wanted the truth.”

“You’re so infuriating! I told you the truth. You’re an impressive surgeon.”

“If I’m so impressive why don’t you let me look at your shoulder? You seem to roll it or wince a lot. Does it bother you?”

That caught him off guard. Instead of annoyance, a cold firmness set in his jaw. The twinkle went out of his eyes. “I’m fine. A little tension, nothing a good massage won’t fix.”

“I think...”

“I said I’m fine,” he snapped and she knew that she was pushing him too far.

“Let’s go see your patient,” she said, exasperated.

Andrew nodded, but wouldn’t look her in the eye. She felt bad for pushing him, but she couldn’t help but wonder why he was so sensitive about his shoulder. It could be a simple fix if it was injured. That was if it was more than a little tension. It might not even require surgery but physiotherapy, but it was as if he’d given up on it.

Can’t you relate?

Hadn’t she given up on a lot of things? Things that she really didn’t want to discuss because they too were a sore spot. It wasn’t any of her business, because she didn’t want people prying into her life. After David she was tired of being under the microscope and it was apparent by the way Andrew threw up a wall so fast that he didn’t want her to pry into his life either.

“So what seems to be the problem?” Lana asked as they walked side by side down the hall. She wanted to change the subject. “What do you need me to look at?”

“The patient came in with what appeared to be a simple shoulder dislocation, but the X-rays are unclear. I think he’ll need surgery because if I try to pop that shoulder back into the socket I think it’s just going to pop right back out or it’ll puncture his lung if I try to put it back into place manually.”

“Did he say how he did it?”

“Golfing,” Andrew remarked. “He’s a tourist. He’s also French.”

“Does he speak English?”

Andrew grinned and waggled his eyebrows playfully. “Well, he did until we gave him sedation. He’s been saying a bunch of interesting things now.”

Lana groaned. No wonder he hadn’t asked her father to do this.

Andrew wanted to torture her. As soon as they entered the room the patient grinned at her.

“Monsieur, Je vous presenté mon collègue, le Dr Haole, voir votre bras.”

The patient just grinned. “Ah, quelle belle femme!”

“What did he say?” Lana asked under her breath.

“He said what a beautiful woman.”

“Clearly he’s drugged up,” she muttered as she pulled on a trauma gown and gloves so she could inspect the patient more closely.

“Why would you imply that?” Andrew asked, puzzled.

“Imply what?” she said, distracted.

“That the compliment really isn’t a compliment because the patient is drugged up. You’re very attractive, Lana, and, sedated or not, I believe he’s speaking the truth. You are very beautiful.”

Andrew’s declaration made her heart skip a beat. Warmth flooded her cheeks.

“Lana, you’re beautiful. Sexy. And we look good together. We’ll be a power couple. Why do we need love? Isn’t that enough?”

Hollow compliments. That’s all David ever paid her.

Andrew was just a playboy. It was just probably part of the act of seduction.

She cleared her throat. “Get him to lift his arm, would you?”

* * *

Andrew didn’t know why she’d brushed off their patient’s compliment, as if only a sedated man would find her attractive. The notion was preposterous.

Lana was attractive.

Which was why the proposition of entering into this marriage of convenience with her was a scary thought indeed.

Only because he wasn’t so sure being alone with her outside this hospital was a good idea. He wasn’t sure he would be able to keep his hands off her.

And he respected her as a colleague too much to ruin her life, but he was too deep into this charade to change course now.

She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, which was why being around her was so dangerous for him. When he was around her it was an internal struggle not to pull her into his arms and kiss her, but she was completely off limits.

Of course that complicated matters, as they were getting married in a couple of days.

He just wasn’t a relationship kind of guy and he wouldn’t hurt Lana. She deserved more than he could offer her.

Which was nothing. He could offer her nothing.

What she was doing for him—there was no way that he could ever make up for that. Except keep his distance, no matter how much he wanted to bridge the gap between the two of them. His blood heated just thinking about taking her in his arms, running his fingers through her long, silky black hair and kissing those soft pink lips.

A scream shook him out of his dangerous thoughts.

“Zut, zut, zut...” the patient slurred through sedation.

“Donc désolé, monsieur. Il sera bientôt fini,” he quickly apologized as the man writhed in pain.

Lana winced as she held the man down to stop him from injuring himself more. “I take it that’s not a pleasant word.”

“See, you understand French perfectly,” Andrew teased as he tried to calm their patient down with a shot of morphine.

“The examination’s all done,” Lana said.

Andrew translated and the patient visibly relaxed. “Well, what’s the verdict?”

Although he knew. The way the man had screamed. This wasn’t just a simple run-of-the-mill dislocated shoulder. This was something more.

“He’s going to need surgery,” she said as she peeled off her gloves. “I’ll go prep the OR and if you could run all the pre-operative labs and make sure his next of kin is notified that would be helpful.”

“Can do,” Andrew said quickly. “Is there anything else I can do to assist you, Lana?”

“You could come into the OR with me. You have surgical training. You could advise me.”

It wasn’t an unreasonable request. This man was his patient, he did have a surgical license, but he didn’t practice here for a very good reason. He didn’t trust himself to hold a scalpel. And he didn’t trust his reaction walking into that OR. The memories of what had happened to him, his crushed hopes and dreams, all because of a foolish mistake which had cost him his dreams of becoming a world champion surfer. Cost his sister her life.

And the OR, a place that he used to love, was now a place he loathed.

“I don’t have surgical privileges at this hospital,” he said and he hoped that would be enough to deter her. It was usually enough to deter other surgeons who asked him questions that he wasn’t comfortable answering.

“I’m not asking you to assist, but this is your patient too.”

She was right, but he just couldn’t go in there. Even though he missed it. Even though he had been a damn good surgeon before his shoulder had been destroyed. When his hands could grip properly.

When his back wasn’t so marred with scars from a surgery that had been botched.

The OR had been a place he loved. A chance to do the work he loved. It was exciting and challenging yet it grounded him. Almost as much as surfing. There was a thrill in the operating room, just like when he was on a board and shredding the nar.

And now he couldn’t do either.

At least he could coach Jack in surfing. At least he could be there as Jack’s sports medicine physician and get him to the world championships. Provided Lana and he were able to pull off this farce of a marriage.

“I’m sorry, Lana, but I can’t. I have other patients to see. I am the orthopedic doctor on call tonight. I diagnose them, you operate on them.”

She looked as if she was going to say more, but instead she nodded. “Okay, well, just make sure his labs get done and his family is notified. I’ll send a resident to come fetch him when it’s time to go to the OR. Start him on some antibiotics as well.”

I know.

“Will do.”

Lana nodded and left him. Andrew gripped the clipboard, his one good arm holding it tightly but his other arm shaking because it was weak and for that he hated himself a bit.

* * *

The surgery was almost textbook. Several times Lana looked up in the gallery to see if Andrew was up there, like he had been before, but he wasn’t. He was so afraid of the operating room.

What had happened?

She knew he had been a surgeon up in Canada. And she knew that he’d been a successful one. A sought-after surgeon who was innovative and ground-breaking. So why had he given it up?

Her father would grant Andrew surgical privileges in a heartbeat if Andrew gave any indication that he wanted to get back into the operating room. It actually made her a bit nervous when he did watch her.

Andrew had developed a bone flap method known as the Tremblay that was being used widely in Canada and across most states. Yet he had never offered to show anyone that technique. She’d always thought he just wanted to keep it to himself for job security, but now that he kept refusing to go into the operating room, and didn’t ask for surgical privileges, she couldn’t help but wonder more.

And she wondered if it had something to do with the shoulder and arm that seemed to grieve him the most.

Muscle tension, my ass!

Once she’d made sure their tourist patient was comfortable, out of the recovery room and in the care of a nurse that spoke French fluently she was able to finally go home for the night.

As she was gathering up her stuff, including the garment bag which held the dress for the gala tomorrow night, she passed by the Attending lounge. Drawn by the flicker of the television screen, she peered in the door.

Andrew was in there; he was leaned over, staring intently at the screen. He was watching a surfing semifinal, but she didn’t know from what year and it was too far away to make out who the surfer was.

When the surfer, riding on an enormous wave, fell off the board she winced.

That had to be a hard fall.

Andrew flicked off the television and then leaned over, his face buried in his hands, but only for a moment as he dragged his hands through his hair. She could see him mouthing curse words through the window.

She backed away from the Attending lounge because she didn’t want him to see her standing there, staring at him.

It was bad enough that when he was around she had a hard time focusing. He made her hot under the collar. He was dangerous to be around.

She’d had her heart broken by a cad before. Ever since then she’d learned not to allow herself near men like Andrew Tremblay.

Except you’re marrying him in forty-eight hours.

Lana shook her head. She had to get out of here.

Tomorrow was her day off, thankfully. All she wanted to do was get home, shower and get a good night’s sleep. And tomorrow morning she’d hit the beach with her board and just forget everything for a while.

It had been a long time since she’d surfed. Usually she was too busy, but tomorrow was a good time to burn off some steam. Some frustration and some sexual tension that she was experiencing lately since she had to deal with Andrew Tremblay on a regular basis.

She only hoped the weather cooperated or she might do something she’d regret the next morning.

And the thing was, she was going to have to stay married to her possible regret for a year.

There would be no escape. No easy out if she decided to walk down that uneasy path. She was too far down the rabbit hole now; there were too many people she’d disappoint if she backed out of the marriage of convenience now.

She was just going to do everything in her power not to fall prey to Andrew Tremblay’s charms.

Easier said than done.


CHAPTER FIVE (#ud85dd6c1-96c0-53b9-a918-0bc7b94af740)

TODAY WAS A perfect day to surf. The sea, the sun and the breeze. The water was dappled like diamonds in the brilliant sun.

The only shadow on the day and his plans was his bum shoulder and the fact tonight he had to attend a gala with Lana.

Andrew cursed himself inwardly for giving Jack the day off from training when he saw how ripe the waves were. He’d thought he was doing himself a favor by giving Jack the day off so he could just spend the day collecting his thoughts.

Last night, after he’d walked away from yet another surgery, he’d gone and watched surfing on television. Something he hadn’t done well since his accident. It was a video of his days before the accident. When he had been carefree and Meghan had been alive. From the days when he was still a surgeon and not the half man he’d become. When the whole world had been his for the taking. Now he deserved none of it.

He didn’t know what had compelled him to watch it.

You’re sick and twisted. That’s why.

Now, he was torturing himself further by walking on the beach in the early morning and watching choice waves roll in from the Pacific. This was not going to calm him down in time to escort Lana to the gala tonight. In fact it made him more agitated and he wanted to call it all off, but he couldn’t. He was in too deep.

The gala would be their first real test since announcing their engagement, proving to the world that they were a real couple.

He didn’t know what he was thinking, coming to the beach. As he longingly watched the waves, his hands jammed into his pockets, he spotted a surfer paddling to the shore and then hefting her bright turquoise board out of the water.

Oh, holy heck.

He’d come down here to collect his thoughts and prepare himself for the charade tonight. To steel himself against doing something crazy impulsive with Lana. And now here she was, coming out of the waves, just like the first time he’d seen her.

The short sleeve wetsuit clinging to her curves, her black hair slicked back from the water. The ocean glistening off her exposed skin like diamonds. It took him back to that day a couple of years ago when he’d first seen her. When he was first enticed by her and then realized she was Jack’s sister and therefore off limits.

Pull yourself together.

As if she knew that he was staring at her, Lana looked up, her dark eyes widening in surprise when she saw him.

“Andrew?”

There was no backing out and running the opposite way. He waved and walked over toward her, but keeping a safe distance so he wouldn’t act impulsively.

“Good morning, Lana. A very nice day, isn’t it?”

A very nice day, isn’t it? You idiot.

What, was he in junior high again? At least his voice didn’t crack this time.





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