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      This book is for you, Olga, because you’ve been such a wonderful friend.

      Dear Reader

      Welcome to Cedar Bluff Hospital, located in a small Wisconsin town overlooking the beautiful rocky shores of Lake Michigan. THE SURGEON’S NEW-YEAR WEDDING WISH is the third book in my new miniseries. I really hope you enjoy reading about Quinn and Leila as much as I enjoyed writing about them.

      When Leila first meets Quinn in the trauma room, she thinks he’s nothing more than an arrogant jerk. But a hidden sorrow in his eyes convinces her there’s more to the Emergency Department physician than anyone realises. And when Leila meets Danny, Quinn’s mute son, she understands the physician’s aloofness is nothing more than a way to keep people from getting too close.

      A terrible tragedy has robbed his son of the ability to talk, but Quinn is determined that the family-like atmosphere of Cedar Bluff is the best environment to help cure his son. Spending time with beautiful, exotic trauma surgeon Leila Ross isn’t part of his plan. But his fierce attraction for Leila is hard to dismiss. What starts out as a sexy fling quickly turns into something far more complex.

      The last thing Quinn wants is a wife. Until both he and his son Danny fall head over heels in love with Leila. A new year means new beginnings. Can he convince beautiful Leila to become a part of his family for ever?

      I hope you enjoy THE SURGEON’S NEW-YEAR WEDDING WISH. And if you’ve enjoyed my Cedar Bluff mini-series let me know, so I can convince my editor to let me write stories about more Cedar Bluff Hospital characters.

      Happy Reading!

       Laura

      Chapter One

      “WHAT do you have for me?” Leila Ross asked, entering the emergency department of Cedar Bluff’s hospital. As the trauma surgeon on call, she’d been summoned from her home late on Saturday night, Christmas Day night, in fact—not that she’d made any special plans, aside from a date with her bed, and the sound of her pager had jerked her from a restful sleep.

      When she saw the tall, dark-haired ED attending physician standing in the center of the arena, her smile faded and her muscles knotted with tension, starting in her shoulders and moving all the way up her neck.

      “Twenty-year-old male with acute abdominal pain in his right lower quadrant,” Dr. Quinn Torres said in his lyrical, East Coast voice. If he were any other man, his deep tone and sensual accent might have been attractive. “Elevated white count and acute nausea indicates appendicitis. He’s in room eleven.”

      Despite his Boston accent, Quinn Torres looked Italian with his black hair and olive-toned skin, but his dark eyes made her think maybe his genes had come from Spain or Portugal. Her interest in his heritage was nothing more than pure curiosity, since his face was creased in its usual deep, perpetual scowl.

      “Okay, I’ll take a look.” Leila swept her long straight hair back into a rubber band and quickly washed her hands before approaching the patient. She glanced at his chart. “Jimmy? My name is Dr. Leila Ross and I’m here to evaluate you for possible surgery.”

      Jimmy Lawton glanced up at her, his green eyes full of pain and an unmistakable hint of fear. “Doc, you have to help me. My stomach hurts so bad I can hardly stand it.”

      “I will,” she promised gently, placing a reassuring hand on his arm and scanning his vital signs before sending Quinn Torres a sharp glance. “Has he been given anything for pain recently?”

      “Of course.” His haughty voice grated on her nerves. Torres was the newest ED physician on staff, having recently replaced Edward Cagney, who’d retired a few months ago. “He was given 8 milligrams of morphine forty minutes ago.”

      “I think we’d better give him another dose,” she said, tempering her response with an effort. She didn’t like Quinn Torres. He was rude, arrogant, aloof and couldn’t have been more of an opposite from the rest of the staff at Cedar Bluff, who all radiated warmth and friendliness. He clearly didn’t belong here. Even now, the way he stood in the middle of the trauma room, like a king holding court over his subjects, made her want to poke his inflated arrogance with the tip of her scalpel. Why on earth was he here in Cedar Bluff, when a more prestigious hospital was obviously more his style?

      She didn’t know and didn’t really care enough to ask. Liking or disliking Dr. Torres didn’t matter, as she was required to work with him regardless. So far, she couldn’t fault the quality of his medical care, even if he did have the personality of a toad. He was meticulous about everything he did, a trait she reluctantly admired since she was very much the same way.

      Quinn gave the nurse a nod and she proceeded to give Jimmy another dose of pain medication. Leila tried to ignore Quinn’s dark, intense gaze as she continued to examine her patient.

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