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me know when you think the transport with your patient will be arriving and I’ll meet her.”

      “Will do. Thanks, Emily.”

      Emily disconnected the call and then groaned, burying her head in her hands.

       This can’t be happening.

      After the debacle with Robert, when he hadn’t been able to handle her promotion and her acceptance as a pediatric attending, she’d sworn she would never open her heart to a fellow surgeon again. She didn’t want to deal with professional jealousy in her personal life.

      It was awful.

      For five years she’d managed not to date anyone. She didn’t trust men. Until that conference in Vegas when Ryan had swept her off her feet. She had been a weak fool and he’d been, oh, so charming.

      When Ryan hadn’t responded to her messages about the baby she’d mentally kicked herself for falling into that trap again.

      It had hurt to know that she’d been used like that, but she’d moved on. She wasn’t going to wallow in self-pity, she had her work and this baby. She was going to make sure that she was a strong role model for her child, even if it scared her senseless to do this on her own.

      Now he was on his way here and there was no hiding her pregnancy.

      At least with him in Seattle she could finally get him to sign the divorce papers.

       You’re a professional, Emily. You’ve got this.

      She took a deep, cleansing breath. This would be no different than dealing with the angry, pushy parents who screamed at her staff because their child’s elective surgery had been canceled because a child with traumatic injuries was being rushed to the hospital.

      She could deal with those people with grace, decorum and a firm hand, so she could deal with Ryan and his arrogance.

      He might be a neurosurgeon, and he was one of the best in the world, but she was a more than competent pediatric surgeon, who had carried out the most successful separations of conjoined twins on the western seaboard.

      She could handle Ryan for a short period of time for the sake of a patient.

       Can you?

      She could deal with patients and their parents because it was her job. When it came to her relationships, things went downhill fast.

      Robert had often belittled her near the end of their relationship. He’d made fun of what she lacked. Differences between herself and others she’d fought hard to understand her whole life.

      That moment she’d met Ryan in Vegas it had become personal and she wasn’t sure she could handle him. She was afraid he’d see what she lacked.

      He’d see her vulnerabilities.

      Her pager went off. The air ambulance was coming in.

      Her heart did a flip-flop.

      Deep breath. You’ve got this.

      Emily picked up her pager and placed it in the pocket of her white lab coat. She stood up and stretched. Her baby did a little scramble across her belly and she couldn’t help but smile.

      Yeah. She could do this.

      She’d faced a lot worse, a lot more adversity, dealing with her mild form of high-functioning Asperger’s, which meant she’d never quite fitted in. But she could handle this.

      Slipping her stethoscope around her neck, she left her office and headed straight for the elevator that would take her to the helipad on top of the SMFPC.

      “Teal, you’re with me,” she said, speaking to Dr. Amanda Teal, a surgical intern who was hovering around the nurses’ station, working on her charts. “Bring a gurney and meet me on the helipad, stat.”

      “Of course, Dr. West.” Teal ran off. The doors to the elevator dinged as they opened and Emily got on, pushing the button and code for the roof. Her nerves were shot. She stepped into the alcove and waited. It was a sunny day, and from her vantage point on the roof of Seattle Maternal Fetal Pediatric Center she could see Puget Sound clearly and the ferries on the water.

      She closed her eyes and drank in the peace and quiet of a late spring morning. Then she heard the distant whirr of the helicopter and she could see the bright orange of the medical helicopter coming across the Seattle skyline.

      Her heart skipped a beat.

       Get a grip.

      In response, she crossed her arms and bit on her bottom lip as she grounded herself to deal with facing Ryan again.

      This was just about work. This was about saving lives. Children’s lives, and that was a job she took seriously. There were going to be no pleasantries. Nothing.

      As the helicopter came closer, getting ready to land, she moved back to the shelter of the elevator alcove, her short blonde hair being tossed out of the neat and tidy angled bob as the wind picked up.

      Dr. Teal was waiting in the alcove with a gurney.

      Emily nodded to her, because it was no use talking to her over the roar of the chopper blades as the medical helicopter gently landed on the roof.

      Once the helicopter had landed, the blades of the chopper began to slow and the doors of the helicopter opened.

      “Come on,” Emily shouted to Dr. Teal as the engines began to power down.

      They ducked and ran toward the open door. The paramedics were in action, getting ready to transfer the child to her care.

      As she approached the helicopter, she caught sight of Ryan and her heart did a flip-flop again. He hadn’t changed much in the last six months. He was just as handsome as ever. He took her breath away. His light brown hair was perfectly tousled, those stunning blue eyes focused on the patient and paramedics. Ryan still had the scruff on his strong jaw, but it didn’t hide the delectable cleft in his chin.

       Get a grip.

      And just as she was telling herself that, his gaze went from the patient to her. His blue eyes widened in shock, but only for a moment. It was if he was surprised to see her, like he hadn’t expected her to be here, but she found that hard to believe. She looked away and moved toward the paramedic as she and Dr. Teal stepped up to take over care of the patient.

      The only way she was going to survive this was to treat him like every other surgeon she dealt with, at a distance and professionally.

      Which was what she should’ve done six months ago in Vegas, instead of letting down her guard and letting him sweep her off her feet.

       Maybe because you needed that?

      Emily shook that thought away.

      “Patient is male, ten years old and sustained a spinal injury while riding an ATV. Patient suffered a break in his spine between C7 and T3. Dr. Gary has induced a state of medically induced coma and hypothermia,” the paramedic said as they slid the stretcher out of the helicopter onto the gurney.

      “Hypothermia?” Emily asked.

      “To preserve the spinal cord so maybe he can walk again,” Ryan said from across the stretcher as he helped load the patient onto the gurney.

      Emily didn’t say anything to him.

      “We’ve got it from here,” she said to the paramedic.

      The paramedic nodded and handed her the chart. Emily placed it on the end of the gurney and began to wheel the patient toward the elevator. She could feel that Ryan was looking at her but she didn’t care. They had to get this patient to the ICU and stabilized. The only things she wanted to discuss with Ryan was work and signing the divorce papers.

      That was it.

      And now was not the time to discuss the divorce.

      Dr.

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