Triplets For The Doctor

CHAPTER 1

J O E L

Taking

a

deep

breath,

I

looked

at

myself

in

the

car’s

mirror. “Remember. You’re one of the best.”

Closing the mirror, I reached for the door handle—then paused. I flipped open the mirror again. “No. You’re the best.”

The words did nothing. Affirmations were bull.

Snapping the mirror closed, I got out of my car and slammed the door. My chest twisted as I stalked across the parking lot and entered the clinic.

“Good morning,” the receptionist, Abigail, said.

I grunted in response, and her lips pursed as she looked away.

Sure, I knew I was being a jerk, but could you really blame me? With a ten- hour surgery ahead, all my muscles were bunched up tight.

“I just came to check in on some things.” I turned for my office, in the opposite direction of the waiting room.

I was due at the hospital in thirty minutes, but I had correspondence to catch up on until then.

“About that,” Abigail said.

My lips turned down. “What about it?” “The anesthesiologist called. She’s sick.”

I shrugged. “Okay. So they’re finding a stand-in?”

She slowly shook her head. “There’s no one available.” I bit back a curse.

In all honesty, I didn’t like performing these day-long surgeries. At the start of my career, there had been a sense of relief and accomplishment afterward, but lately that had been waning.

And the hours preceding the surgeries always made me feel like a wild animal in a cage.

Still. If the surgery was postponed, that just meant I had more time to wait around for it.

I sighed and raked my fingers through my hair. “All right. You have my calendar. Reschedule it for me, please.”

“I already did. There’s an anesthesiologist available tomorrow.” “Great. Thank you.”

With that, I went into my office and powered up the computer. Getting through my emails took only about fifteen minutes, and then I was left staring at the screen.

Sure, I could have written the emails on my phone, from anywhere. Driving into the office had been a nice distraction, though.

Now here I was, with the rest of the day ahead of me.

Luckily, I always kept my gym bag in the car, packed with clean clothes.

The energy that had been rushing through me since before sunrise was still there. For some reason, my brain hadn’t gotten the memo that the surgery was off.

A good hour or two in the gym would take care of that. I would work out until I was too tired to go anymore, then maybe drive to my favorite breakfast diner.

After that…

I didn’t want to think about what came after that. Empty days were my least favorite thing.

There had to be someone I could call. One of my friends from the hospital, or a girl.

The latter thought made me grimace. The last few dates I’d been on had been awful. The women had been so bland, so one-dimensional.

No matter that they were all good-looking. Here in Los Angeles, pretty faces were a dime a dozen. What good was beauty if you didn’t have something to back it up with?

Striding out the clinic’s front door, I unlocked my car from a distance. Going to a bar to meet people was off the table. I hadn’t hung out in a bar since… never.

“Excuse me,” a voice said.

I stopped and took off my sunglasses. A petite woman with long, strawberry hair stood in the shade in front of the clinic. She was dressed in jeans and one of those blouses with puffy sleeves, and she blinked big blue eyes at me.

I stopped my mouth from falling open just in time. Man, this girl was gorgeous.

“Yes?” I asked.

She took a timid step toward me. “Are you Doctor Joel Galvin?” “That’s me. What did I do wrong?”

Though I said it like it was a joke, I was also half serious. I may not have frequented bars, but I wasn’t exactly an angel. Did I know this woman? Had we run into each other before?

No. I would have remembered her. A face like that you didn’t forget.

“No.” Her laugh was light. “Nothing wrong. I’m sorry for interrupting your morning, but I…” She wrung her hands.

I cocked my head. “Are you all right? Do you need some help?”

Alarm spread across her face. “Oh, no. It’s nothing like that. I came here to thank you.”

“Thank me?” The words sounded strange.

She nodded. “We’ve never met, but you performed a lung transplant on my mother five years ago. Lillian Rogan. I know you probably don’t remember her—”

“I remember her.”

The girl dropped her hands. “You do?”

“Yes.” I remembered most of my patients. Even the surgeries that were inconsequential. I still wasn’t sure why.

She nodded her head. “Yeah. She, uh, she lived another five years after that.” Her eyes filled with tears. “Another really good five years. I came here to thank you for that.”

The sight of her crying made my chest hurt. I wanted to reach out my hand and comfort her, but even though she knew my name, we were still strangers. She probably wouldn’t have welcomed the touch.

“That’s good to hear.” My smile was tight, my throat on fire.

The girl sniffed. “She died earlier this year, but we really got some good times before that. I’m sorry.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a tissue. “I didn’t plan on coming over here and crying all over the place.”

I shook my head. “It’s fine. Really. I have to say, people don’t usually come to thank me in person. Usually, they send a card or a fruit basket.”

Her face froze in horror. “Should I have done that instead?”

“No,” I rushed to say. “I wasn’t suggesting that. I’m glad you came. It was… I appreciate it.”

Her shoulders dropped in relief. “It was her birthday yesterday, so that had me thinking about everything, and I just wanted you to know how grateful my whole family is.”

“I’m glad you came.”

She put the tissue back in her purse. “I’m sorry. I should let you go. It looked like you were in a rush to get somewhere.”

I glanced at my car. “Not really. My surgery for today has been rescheduled.”

“Oh. In that case, can I buy you a cup of coffee? It’s not a fruit basket, but maybe they’ll have a banana there.”

I chuckled. “The fruit baskets aren’t all they’re made out to be, anyway. Usually the fruit isn’t ripe.”

She smiled, and the day became twice as sunny. “I don’t know if I believe you or not, but thank you. That makes me feel a little better.” She stuck out her hand. “I’m Katie, by the way. Katie Rogan.”

I shook her hand, which was small and soft. “Joel Galvin.” “I know.”

“Right.” I let her hand go, even though I didn’t want to.

“Anyway.” She adjusted the purse strap on her shoulder. “I really don’t want to take up your time if—”

“Coffee sounds great.”

Her smile returned. “Okay. Awesome.”

“There’s a spot just around the corner from here. With orange umbrellas. Have you been?”

“No. I don’t really come to this neighborhood much.” “Maybe I should show you around, then.”

“You seem to be an expert.”

I shrugged. “I don’t want to brag… but sure, why not?” She bit into her smile, and my pulse picked up.

This girl was gorgeous and funny. And she’d dropped right out of the sky on an empty morning that I wanted to escape from.

I needed a distraction, and lucky for me it looked like she could provide exactly that.