The Surgeon's Surprise Twins Read Free Page A

outside experts for insight and news bites. No doubt Jennifer encouraged them, since the publicity would benefit Safe Harbor’s fertility program.
    Just when Bailey thought she was safely rid of him, Dr. T. paused in the doorway and skewered her with a frown. “Miss Wayne, is it your custom to hang around the office barefoot when everyone else has left?”
    â€œI was on my way out.”
    â€œWe’ll wait.”
    Much as she’d have liked to tell him to butt out, she didn’t want to make him or Jennifer suspicious. A doctor’s office contained restricted medications, and even the slightest hint that she might be abusing her position could seriously harm her and Nora. Yielding to the inevitable, Bailey fetched her shoes and purse, and locked the door behind her.
    Once they exited the building, the PR director hustled Dr. T. toward the adjacent hospital. His tall straight body swung along the walkway with a powerful gait, the white coat emphasizing his broad shoulders.
    Full of himself, of course. Bailey never dated doctors because most of them had a God complex, and here was a perfect example.
    Not that she’d had great experiences with any of theother men who’d wandered through her life, either, including the one she’d married and divorced when she was still in college. Maybe someday she’d find true love, but in the meantime she had more pressing matters to deal with.
    Like needing a checkup.
    Although she was tempted to sneak back into the medical center, other offices were now closing and she risked being seen. The money situation was intolerable. She had to talk to Phyllis about it, but that could wait. Tonight, she just wanted to crash, not to mention put her feet up.
    A few minutes later, with a sense of relief, Bailey steered her battle-scarred compact car inland along Safe Harbor Boulevard. She drove through a modest middle-class neighborhood to Morningstar Circle, where, sheltered in a thick cluster of squatty palms and ferns, lay the beach-style house that was her refuge.
    To compensate for asking her to front the money for medical bills, Phyllis had given her a key when the renter moved out last month, and Bailey loved everything about the place, from the tropical ambiance to the open design of the rooms. Here, amid lush greenery, she could relax in the whirlpool bath and enjoy her weekend in blissful solitude.

Chapter Two
    The TV crew had set up in Owen’s office on the hospital’s fifth floor. When he entered with Jennifer, a fortyish man in a sport jacket shook his hand and introduced himself in a deep and important tone as Hayden O’Donnell. Obviously, he expected everyone to recognize him, and Owen did his best to play along.
    Cooperating with the media was important. While some physicians hated this intrusion into their real work, publicity played a vital role in securing funding for technology and research.
    With a wall of medical certificates as a backdrop, Owen assumed a pleasant expression and framed his answers to avoid seeming unduly critical of the doctors who’d handled this particular case. Ethical guidelines called for limiting the number of embryos implanted, and septuplets presented a risk to mother and babies, he explained. However, the patients were doing well, and that was what mattered most.
    As soon as he could, he steered the subject to his program’s grand opening in September and the state-of-the-art facilities they were installing.
    â€œWeren’t you originally supposed to have a separate facility dedicated to your program?” asked O’Donnell.Either he was better informed than most reporters or Jennifer had briefed him in advance.
    â€œIt was our plan to convert a nearby dental building, but the owner went into bankruptcy and matters got tied up in court,” Owen said. “Rather than delay, we’re fitting our facilities into the existing hospital. It’s a challenge, but my staff is rising to