Playboy Doctor (2 page)

"Willow, is it?" he asked in a smoldering British accent.

"Yes," she challenged with a determined tilt of her chin.

"Willow, if you'll stop carrying on for just a moment and look here..." He tilted the opened box and showed her its contents.

Willow peered inside and gasped. "That's a baby!"

"Yes, a baby. Perhaps you can do your job and save the little tyke's life."

* * *

Dr. Shayne Edwards had no recourse but to be firm with the pretty young nurse. After all, a baby's survival was at stake. It didn't help that when he'd first approached, he found himself staring into the most arresting blue eyes he'd ever seen.

He wasn't immune to such beauty, but he had to keep his wits about him. It proved tough since he'd awoken at the crack of dawn, spent the day in surgery, and ultimately attended a fundraiser event this evening.

Just when he thought he'd made it back to the flat to climb out of this monkey suit and hit the mattress hard, he'd found the abandoned baby in a carton on his doorstep.

A quick exam had indicated the newborn to be a boy; his coloring, pale. Shayne had noted the pallor in the dim light illuminating his front door. But the infant's lethargy gave him the greatest concern; he simply didn't cry. He would have examined the baby inside his place if he could have found his keys, which had mysteriously gone missing. His inability to get to his medical equipment had rendered him helpless.

He never dreamed he'd be directing his limousine driver to take him to the ER pronto, although the facility was in walking distance. He'd kept the baby inside the carton for safety, although no injury presented itself. Nevertheless, he worried about the little guy needing urgent care.

The short drive barely gave him time to fathom why someone had left a newborn with him. What kind of person could have left a baby on a doorstep so late into the night? And why him? He'd only been in the country a week on this visit. He couldn't imagine someone knowing him well enough to abandon a baby to him. Then again, could this have been a completely random act?

While he believed he'd have kids of his own one day, a baby left on his doorstep was not what he'd had in mind. Not that a wife and kids were in his future any time soon... not after what happened in London.

He'd come close to marrying a woman who'd slipped in and out of his life over the years. Given his circumstances at the time, he was able to see his future as a husband and family man—only to have the illusion shattered. He had crossed the Atlantic Ocean from London for a teaching appointment at this university hospital in Florida, yet no amount of distance could keep the haunting memories at bay.

But right now, Shayne had to focus on one tiny patient in a box that he presented to the nurse with the distracting blue eyes.

The nurse peeked up from under her fringe of long lashes. She nodded in understanding and her pleasant expression went into all-business mode.

"Let's get that baby a room. Follow me." She took the lead and without hesitation, Shayne followed her past the reception desk overrun with teddy bears, and then past an empty gurney and unused IV stand. He focused on the nurse's trim backside as he maneuvered safely around the medical obstacle course.

"So why do you have a baby in a box?" she asked over her shoulder.

"I came home early from an event and I found him on my doorstep. There was no note. Nothing."

"Someone left an infant in a box at your front door?"

"It looks that way and I am quite sure he doesn't belong in a box."

"And you're the father?"

"No," he snapped. "Nothing could be further from the truth. I would never shirk such a responsibility. I'm a clinical instructor here at the residency program for the semester."

The nurse glanced down at the name that had been handwritten in marker on the flap of the box. "Dr. Edwards?" she asked, the lilt in her voice rising. "That's you? You're Dr. Shayne Edwards?"

"So it seems."

She quickened her pace and led him into a purple exam room with a large, cheery rainbow painted on one wall. Without missing a beat, she pulled her stethoscope wrapped in bright orange ribbon from around her slender neck and laid it across his shoulders. As if on instinct, she took hold of the box and held it low to allow Shayne to reach in and gently take hold of the infant. He loosely wrapped the small blanket that lined the box around the infant to keep him safe and secure.

As he raised him up, the infant let out a small cry. Finally. The best sound he'd heard all night. Although weak, a good sign. He lowered the infant to the exam table. From the corner of his eye, he saw Willow set the box down and immediately return to his side. He grew keenly aware of her nearness and sensed her concern for the tyke.

Before he could even ask, she presented him with a small penlight. He inspected the baby's eyes and ears. Looked clear. The little guy appeared to have a healthy weight and measurements. His breathing? Slow. In the brighter light of the room, he noted the faint blue coloring around the baby's mouth.

"Subtle cyanosis, right here." He pointed along the edge of the baby's lips to show Willow, a habit from teaching.

"Yes, Doctor." As if on cue, Willow set up the oxygen for the blow-by, and then returned to his side.

Suddenly, the baby puckered in a desperate attempt to try and catch his breath. While the symptoms could be any number of conditions, this cyanotic newborn had all the makings of a baby enduring some form of pulmonary duress and suddenly struggled to fight for his life. As a pediatric surgeon, Shayne had seen it plenty of times before. Each time he'd witnessed a struggling child, his raw nerve endings fired off in response.

"This looks to be more complicated than just stress. Hopefully it's just mild pulmonary stenosis that might resolve on its own. But we can't rule out anything more serious."

"A septal defect, maybe," Willow offered as she stepped in to get more oxygen to the patient. Moments later, the struggling infant thankfully calmed. "There, there, sweetie," Willow whispered.

The baby's head turned just so, as if to search for the soft feminine voice. Shayne marveled at the infant's sudden, unexpected strength. He also marveled at how Willow had such an effect on their patient. There was more to this nurse that went beyond the physical. She possessed a rare magical quality when it came to instinct, whether assisting him or pacifying the tiny baby.

With the crisis past, he said, "He'll have to be watched to make sure there is no obstruction to flow."

He pulled the stethoscope from around his shoulders and used it to listen to the tiny chest. The moment the small round diaphragm touched the baby's tender skin, he squirmed and winced. But no further cry.

"I know it's a bit cool, little fellow," he offered in a soothing tone. Anything to let the baby know he was safe.

As Shayne got to work, he caught the worried stare of the nurse. He was used to the scrutiny, but this was different. He gave her a reassuring wink. "The good news is he doesn't appear to be a crack baby."

Willow blinked in relief and her slender shoulders sloped as if she could finally relax at his assessment.

He continued to listen intently to the baby's chest. There. A faint but definite whoosh, but he couldn't be sure of the cause. Possibly a heart murmur or worse, Tetralogy of Fallot, which would be a four-pronged problem if it came to that. But it was still too early to tell.

He told Willow what he'd detected, and then ordered maintenance fluids and a blood test. Any elevation in the red blood cell count and hemoglobin would reveal more.

"We'll keep him here for observation before admitting him to the pediatric ICU. He can't be introduced to the other newborns in the nursery. Can't risk respiratory infection. Meanwhile, have them do a chest X-ray and an echo."

Willow pulled out the palm device from her pocket and promptly recorded his orders. Shayne knew ER nurses here were the most highly skilled under dire circumstances. He'd witnessed such nurses in action at the A&E hospitals in the UK and saw the same in Willow as her nimble fingers tapped away on the handheld technology. He also noticed the lack of a wedding band on her left ring finger. Why he noticed, he didn't have time to explore.

Minutes later and confident the baby had stabilized for the time being, Shayne turned to Willow. "I'd like you to keep a close eye on him. Only time will tell if we're dealing with a mild defect, if he needs surgical repair, or worst case, a heart transplant."

Chapter 2

A heart transplant?

Willow stared into the dark-as-chocolate eyes of Dr. Edwards as she let the sobering words sink in. She knew that a surgeon like Dr. Edwards had operated on hearts as small as a strawberry, but surgery always came with its share of danger and risk. Not to mention lifelong medical care as a transplant recipient.

She made a mental note to get the contact information for LifeLink to arrange for the baby to be placed on the waiting list, if needed. Of course, a heart transplant affected two lives. The patient's life and that of the tiny donor, usually a victim of a car accident, drowning, or even shaken baby. Her heart constricted at the thought. She could imagine too well the pain of the parents who'd lost a child, a pain all too familiar. But she had to stay strong. She couldn't let the rush of her own emotional angst interfere with saving the abandoned baby's life. She swallowed hard and continued with her work for the sake of the patient.

She laid a gentle palm to the infant's head. "It's all going to be okay," she cooed.

As she caressed the infant, she watched the doctor continue examining the child, touching him with a remarkable gentleness as he checked for any bone break or sign of pain. This baby was in good hands with Dr. Edwards. She knew that from the moment she'd first heard the command in his tone. She couldn't mistake the years of experience behind this man.

But he looked truly worried about this baby. She couldn't rule out if he'd had some connection to the infant since it was rare for a surgeon to show such sensitivity. Then again, he was out of the usual scrubs. Perhaps the tuxedo allowed his humanity to shine through. And she noticed. Boy how she noticed. She hadn't seen such depth of concern in a man's expression in a long time.

She'd never seen that in her ex-husband. Never once in their marriage, in fact. And especially not following each episode when she'd lost a baby. At the time, she had chalked up his behavior to the stoic strength of a shocked, devastated man taught to never show his emotions.

Until he'd ultimately revealed the cause of his cool façade. A cold statement of truth she had to live with today.

She pushed away the thoughts. Had to dismiss the painful memory and tend to this lethargic infant fighting for his life. She didn't want to lose this one. Not if she could help it.

With the baby stabilized and waiting to be admitted to P-ICU, Willow followed Dr. Edwards to the reception desk to chart the patient. She stole a moment to fully assess the man in the tuxedo.

She knew all about the world-renowned Dr. Shayne Edwards, both on paper and through the rumor mill. Pediatric surgeon extraordinaire. Infamous international playboy who always left a path of destruction when it came to broken hearts. Of course, she didn't even consider any children he may have left behind, much like this abandoned newborn.

Willow stopped her runaway thoughts. Making assumptions wasn't fair, not when she didn't have the whole story. Just because her own husband had left her high and dry and reeling with loss, didn't mean that every other man would do the same.

Then again, she never planned to find out if any other man was capable of such a heartless act.

When it came to Dr. Shayne Edwards, however, she did understand him to be ruthless and uncompromising in his commitment to saving his patients' lives. And even more demanding of residents and staff, who'd burst into a flurry of frantic activity upon his mere arrival. He came to the States often as a clinical instructor to teach improved timesaving surgical techniques, specializing in tiny lives, much to the eagerness—and trepidation—of residents in the university's residency training program.

When a surgeon's reputation both in and out of the hospital spread across the ocean, Willow knew enough to be wary. Of course, this was all hearsay, but the authoritative man who looked like Agent 007 in his formal attire did indeed appear to match the legend.

She remembered a photo of him in a recent news article, but he'd been in scrubs, cap, and a mask dangling below his chin. A look very different from the well-dressed man before her now.

"I'll stay around just to be sure he remains stable," Dr. Edwards said while filling out a form. "And by the way," he grumbled low without taking his eyes off his paperwork, "happy birthday."

Oh, right. Her birthday. She'd forgotten how she'd treated him when he'd first arrived, assuming he'd shown up to entertain her.

"I'm sorry about what happened when you first came in, Dr. Edwards, I didn't recognize you with clothes on."

That statement earned her a sideways glance.