Reunited with the Heart Surgeon
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Janice Lynn
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PROLOGUE
NURSE NATALIE GIFFORD unlocked Dr. Will Forrest’s door and let herself into the luxurious New York City penthouse. She’d never known money had a scent, but the condominium they’d shared the past six months reeked of it. Money. Wealth. Extravagance. The finest of everything.
Just like Will.
But not her. How had she ever thought a girl who’d grown up in a poor North Jersey neighborhood could fit into his life? That they could be a couple and function as equals in their relationship? If nothing else, her birthday party had proved to her that she’d just been fooling herself.
“Rough night?”
Startled, Natalie jumped. She’d expected Will to have left to make early-morning hospital rounds and she hadn’t noticed where he stood by a row of windows overlooking Central Park.
As usual, he’d dressed his six-foot frame impeccably, wearing dark gray pants and a crisp white shirt with the top couple of buttons undone. Perhaps it was because he had grown up as the only child of one of America’s wealthiest blue-blooded families that he had such an air of power and allure. Or it could be his rich dark brown hair and vivid green Harroway eyes which graced the most handsome face she’d ever looked upon that made him so appealing. Even after spending a tearful night at Callie’s, asking herself why she’d had to fall for someone so beyond her world, seeing him made her pulse pound so fast her breath could hardly keep up.
That’s why she’d fallen for him. Despite their many differences, her silly heart had led her to believe they could have a happy-ever-after. That dreams really did come true, and although not quite a Cinderella story, she could have the fairy tale with a real-life Prince Charming.
Despite his silverspoon upbringing, Will worked hard, genuinely cared about others and had completely wowed her when they’d met. Watching the kindness and compassion he showed while interacting with others had stolen her heart from the beginning and still gave her aww moments.
Watching Will stirred her no matter what he was doing. Quite simply, the man took her breath away.
He’d yet to turn toward her, but didn’t question that it was her. The building’s doorman had probably called to let him know she was on her way up before she’d even stepped foot into the elevator. Usually friendly, the doorman had given her messy bun, the ill-fitting jeans borrowed from her best friend, sandals, T-shirt, and the paper bag containing her party dress and heels a disapproving shake of his head. Yes, she had stayed out all night, but not because she’d been up to no good. She’d been nursing a broken heart. How horrible that her surprise twenty-fifth birthday party had ended with her crying on her best friend’s sofa.
“You might say that,” she admitted, pushing a stray auburn hair behind her ear as she stared at his stiff back. Did he regret their fight as much as she did? Was he ready to admit that his mother had intentionally used Natalie’s birthday party to drive home the differences in their socioeconomic backgrounds? Not that Natalie needed any help in recognizing the stark contrast. These days, she felt it more often than not. To put the icing on the cake, Rebecca Harroway Forrest had invited Will’s “perfect for him” ex-girlfriend and kept throwing them together. When Will had given in to his mother’s urging and danced with the woman, Natalie had had enough.
“How about you?” she quipped. “Rough night or did your mother send Stella over to comfort you?” She wouldn’t have put it past Rebecca.
What had Natalie ever done other than love Will? But Rebecca’s issues with her had nothing to do with how Natalie felt about Will and everything to do with the fact Natalie wasn’t good enough for her precious son. Natalie didn’t have the right pedigree or back account.
Will turned and the coolness in his eyes just about undid Natalie. She knew he was mad that she’d left her party without telling him. He’d made that clear during their brief phone exchange which she’d ended by hanging up on him. But she’d been mad, too. Livid. How dare he be so blind to Rebecca’s meddling in their relationship, so tolerant of how she took every opportunity to let Natalie know she wasn’t a welcome part of Will’s life or their upper-crust family?
“Then you agree I was wronged and needed comforting?” His tone matched his gaze. She couldn’t recall having ever seen that particular hue to his eyes before. Who knew green could look so cold?
“Not at all,” she corrected. He’d been the one dancing with Stella Von Bosche. Yes, it had only been after Rebecca’s urging, but he should have said no. “It was my night that was ruined.”
His gaze narrowed. “Was something at your birthday party not up to your expectations?”
“A lot. For example, I expected my family and real friends there.” She didn’t attempt to hide her anger at the poor choices he’d made. For such a brilliant man, when it came to his family, he could be so clueless. “Not a bunch of strangers invited to purposely make me feel as if I didn’t belong. And, you dancing with your ex-girlfriend absolutely wasn’t something I expected.”
Guilt flashed across his face, momentarily replacing the ice.
“If I’d realized it would bother you, I wouldn’t have danced with Stella,” he admitted.
Relief rushed through Natalie. His admission was a start in the right direction to soothing the unease she’d been experiencing more and more over the past few weeks. They never fought. Her gut twisted that they were now. Natalie’s nature was to keep the peace, even to her own detriment. But not this time.
“You should have talked to me, not left without a word.”
He wasn’t wrong. She should have talked with him. At the time logic had been beaten down by her own emotions, and her self-doubts worsened by Rebecca’s cooing over how wonderful it was that Stella was back in her son’s life, how much they had in common and how no couple had ever been more perfect for each other. Natalie had had to leave. Either that or she’d have done something she would have regretted—like tell Rebecca what she thought of her.
“Do you know how I felt when I realized you were gone?” Raw emotion harshened Will’s words. “That I had to make excuses at your own party for why you were no longer there?”
Nausea churned the few bites of breakfast she’d forced down at Callie’s insistence. The entire night had been such a mess.
“I dare say you didn’t feel nearly as upset as I did that leaving appealed more than staying at my birthday celebration. Then again, that party wasn’t about me.”
“If you’d stuck around, you’d have realized it was.” Any semblance of calm was gone as he stepped away from the window. “I wanted to spend my night with you, and you left. You left me.”
His reactive, accusatory words both hurt and soothed her inner ache, but not enough to sway her sharp, defensive reply.
“You were barely with me when I was at the party.” She lifted her chin, daring him to say otherwise.
“My father is up for reelection for his Senate seat. Spending a few minutes talking with his supporters shouldn’t have been a problem.” His brow arched. “Mother said you didn’t appreciate—”
“That she invited your ex-girlfriend? That she planned my birthday party that you said was a surprise from you?” Natalie’s anger surged. “Or that while I was listening to her go on and on about how perfect you and Stella were together and she just knew wedding bells were in your future, you were on the dance floor with said ex-girlfriend hanging all over you?”
“Natalie—”
“You seriously think I’m wrong to be upset?” she interrupted, gripping the sack she held tighter and crinkling the paper as her hand fisted. Part of her wanted to whack him with the bag to knock some sense into him.
Stopping to stand just in front of her, Will’s gaze narrowed. “Stella’s family are longtime friends of my family and she’s Mother’s goddaughter. I’ll be cordial to her for that reason, if no other. Have I ever given you reason not to trust me, Natalie?”
He hadn’t. That is, until she’d seen him laughing with Stella and felt the sharpest stab of pain she’d ever known, and all her doubts about their compatibility had exploded within her. After seeing him with Stella and Rebecca’s words ringing in her ear, she’d felt so emotionally defeated she’d begged her only actual friends present, Callie and Brent, to get her out of the pretentious party.
“I don’t appreciate not being trusted,” he continued.
She jutted her chin upward. “I don’t appreciate that your ex-girlfriend was at my birthday party.”
“My mother—”
“Don’t get me started about what I don’t appreciate where that woman is concerned,” she huffed, glaring at him.
Warning flashed in Will’s eyes. “Stop right there, Natalie. You’re treading on thin ice.”
No doubt. Which was why she’d let Rebecca get away with her jabs time and again. Because Will would defend his mother to his dying breath. Why was Natalie bothering? They were so close that Will couldn’t imagine his mother as anything other than Saint Rebecca. If Natalie told him everything the woman said and did, he wouldn’t believe that Rebecca continually insinuated he was just passing the time until Stella returned.
And now, much to Rebecca’s joy, Stella was back.
Natalie’s stomach lurched. Her belly had been on edge the past few weeks as she’d felt Will’s distraction, knowing he was keeping something from her and had grown withdrawn. Had Stella’s return triggered the change in him, or had he just grown bored with Natalie?
The writing was on the wall. She could cut her losses or she could continue to live on edge, waiting to be tossed aside when Rebecca succeeded in driving a wedge so deep between them that they couldn’t recover. Was that what the night before had been about? His mother smiling so happily as she’d surprised him with Stella’s appearance?
No doubt anyone who’d looked their way would have thought Natalie and Rebecca were having a pleasant conversation as Rebecca smiled at the dancing couple while verbally inserting a knife into Natalie’s heart and twisting it. For all Rebecca’s gouging at her happiness, Natalie blamed Will as much, if not more, than she blamed his mother.
“Fine. I’m on thin ice, but guess what?” she spat back, months of biting her tongue unleashing. “So are you for being blind to the way your mother treats me. Thin, cracked ice.”
“You’re wrong,” he defended, his brows furrowing. “Mother tries to reach out to you, but you’re so biased you don’t see that you push her away. That you let your insecurities about your background be a barrier to your relationship with her.”
“Seriously?” Natalie rolled her eyes. “Is that what she tells you?”
“She asked to help me with your party because she wanted to do something special for you, to introduce you to our friends, and welcome you to the fold to let you know you’re welcome.”
“Of course she did.” Natalie snorted. “And lucky for her that Stella came home to make the night even more welcoming.”
Hands trembling, she turned to go. She really had had enough. If he’d loved her, she’d have been invincible to anything Rebecca tossed her way and would stay forever, but Will had never said he loved her. The one time she’d braved saying those three words out loud to him, he’d feigned being asleep. She should have known right then that they weren’t meant to be.
Maybe she had, because wasn’t that around the time she’d started feeling him pull away from her? Becoming more and more distant the weeks that followed?
She’d been such a fool. Love really was blind.
“Natalie!” Her name came out a bit ragged as he reached for her arm, stopping her from leaving. “You’re behaving childishly.”
Probably. The tears in her eyes certainly made her feel less adultlike.
“I can’t believe you’ve allowed your bias about my mother to ruin your birthday party and lead us to spend a night apart.” He sounded incredulous as he gently turned her to face him. “Nor can I believe we’re fighting over my mother and Stella when there’s no need.”
Battling her tears, Natalie’s heart thundered against her ribcage as he traced his finger over her cheek. Every nerve ending within her sparked to life like a Fourth of July show finale. Lord help her. It was no wonder she was putty in the man’s talented hands. He touched her and she turned to mush. Only, she didn’t want to be mush.
Not anymore. She wanted...
“Surely you know you have nothing to worry about where any woman is concerned?” he continued, his touch gentle as he cradled her face, forcing her to look up at him. He looked sincere, looked upset that they were at odds. Good. It upset her, too.
“How do I know that, Will?” she pressed even as tingles of awareness shot over her body just as they always did when he touched her. One little touch and she instantly wanted to kiss him until they were both breathless. Their chemistry was intense and had been from the moment they’d first met at the hospital when she’d dropped off lunch and a drink for Callie.
Will studied her, seeming surprised by her continued antagonism. “Because I want you.”
Want. She needed more than want. Their explosive attraction was what had gotten her into this mess. One sexy I-want-you smile and conservative, play-it-safe, gonna-have-a-better-life-than-my-parents Natalie had been his for the taking. To be fair, all she’d had to do was give him a flirty look and he’d been hers for the taking, too. That Will had been so smitten had stunned her. When the good-natured cardiac surgeon, who also happened to be the only son of Senator William Forrest Sr. and business icon Rebecca Harroway Forrest, could have anyone, why Natalie?
Maybe that’s why it was so easy for Rebecca’s barbs to dig in.
Most days Natalie barely believed one of the city’s most eligible bachelors wanted ordinary her.
“I’m tired of doubting myself, feeling as if I don’t belong here, in your apartment, and in your life. I’m not willing to live like this, questioning myself all the time, questioning us, anymore. I deserve better.”
“Questioning us?” He frowned. “I’m sorry you misunderstood about Stella, but if you’d stayed, you and I would have had an amazing night celebrating your birthday rather than a miserable one.”
Natalie’s insides shook. She might have misunderstood his dance with Stella, but there was nothing to misunderstand about what Rebecca had bluntly said. Nor the fact that Will refused to acknowledge that his mother had never approved of their relationship.
“I was miserable long before your dance with Stella,” she admitted, realizing it was true and wondering how a person who made her so happy could also leave her feeling so unsure of herself. “It just took seeing you with her for me to admit to myself that I’d had enough.”
To say he looked stunned was an understatement, and Natalie just stared as he asked, “You were miserable with me?”
Natalie put her hands on her hips as anger, frustration and so many emotions batted for pole position within her. Disgusted with herself, she flipped her hair back and spoke with more bravado than she actually felt.
“In case your memory is foggy, I wasn’t with you,” she pointed out, refusing to back down as all the things she’d been holding in poured from her. “I haven’t been with you in weeks. Longer. You’ve been so busy and distracted that, other than at the hospital or at the Cancer Society for Children committee meetings, we’ve barely seen each other. You come home tired and distracted and won’t talk to me about what’s bothering you, even though I know something is. I feel the change in you and want to help and yet, you shut me out. Do you think I’m incapable of understanding? Or that I haven’t felt the changes in our relationship? You and me—” she gestured to his chest, then her own “—we don’t fit. I thought we did, but I was wrong.”
The words gushed from her and, deep down, maybe she’d always known they were true. Maybe that’s why she hadn’t interrupted his dance or rebutted Rebecca’s barbs, but had retreated to lick her wounds. Because part of her had always acknowledged Will would never be hers long term.
His face losing color, he took a step back. When his mouth opened, likely to remind her just how well they did fit together physically, she continued.
“At least, not outside the bedroom, we don’t.” Because there was no denying how perfectly their bodies melded. Maybe that’s all it had ever been, phenomenal sexual attraction and she’d been too naive to see the truth. “I thought we did—” oh, how she’d believed that “—but your mother was right and I was only fooling myself that we ever could. Whatever was between us is over. I’m done with trying to fit into your world and pretending that I ever could.”
The skin on his face pulled tight, his cheeks flushing to an angry red.
Before he could tell her to get out, she said, “I’ll pack a bag to take to Callie’s and be back for the rest of my things.”
Tell me not to go. Tell me you want me to stay. Tell me your mother will eventually approve of me despite my lack of pedigree and hefty bank account and that someday we can be a family. Tell me you love me.
He said none of those things.
What did she say to the man she loved when she didn’t want to go, but when even on the verge of goodbye, he couldn’t find words to convince her to stay?
Natalie sighed as she battled with the surrealness of what was happening. She was leaving Will. He was letting her go. They were ending. How could her fairy-tale romance have turned into a nightmare heartache?
“I’ll have your other things delivered to Callie’s later today.”
“Okay,” she choked out. “Thank you.”
Heart breaking, she headed to the door.
“Natalie?”
Thank you, God.
She turned back, hoping he was going to tell her not to leave, that he’d make his mother understand how important she was, that he couldn’t imagine his life without her, and then she’d run into his arms, they’d kiss and figure this out. They couldn’t be ending.
They just couldn’t.
Her gaze connected to his. His usual polished persona faltered and she got a brief glimpse that he wasn’t as calm about her leaving as he’d appeared, but his next words shattered that illusion.
“Goodbye, Natalie. Have a nice life.”
