Sunday Snippet: The How About an Actual Snippet Edition

I named this Sunday post “Sunday Snippet” because I really intended to do that–give you a snippet of a story every Sunday. Obviously, I got off track on that, and I’m not going to apologize because  too many snippets leaves no reason to buy the books. A snippet should be a quick sample…a taste, if you will. So you will continue to get tastes of my books, but you’re also going to get a lot of Nan because…well, because this is my blog and I get to choose what happens here. (I’m not really as bratty as that sounds, truly.)

All that said, guess what! You get a snippet today! Falling for the Doctor, Book 2 in the Lange Brothers series is available for pre-order and I’ve been so focused on promoting Book 1 The Valentine Wager that I haven’t given you much about Book 2, which is Dr. Max Lange’s story. You met Max in The Baby Contract–he was the ER doc when Tierney brought her dad Frank in with… Well, never mind why he was there, you need to read The Baby Contract if you don’t already know. Of course Max was a big secondary character in The Valentine Wager because he’s Ryker’s younger brother.

Max is cutie pie. A sweet beta hero who is kind and gentle and maybe just a little bit innocent for a 30-year-old man. I named Max after the hero in Daphne du Maurier’s novel Rebecca–Maxim–because I’ve always loved that name. He owns, rather proudly, that his mom was reading Rebecca when she was pregnant with him and that’s how he got his name.

Oh and just FYI, there are still a few free e-book ARCs of Falling for the Doctor available over on BookSprout if you want to read the book and review it. I’d sure appreciate it if you did!

Here’s the blurb:

They were in it for the fun, but never expected the storm…

Life for hometown ER physician Dr. Max Lange has always been sweet. He loves his job and is dialed in socially with his family, friends, and community. But lately, something feels like it’s missing. When a visiting doctor pulls him in for a hot kiss and asks him to play along in order to avoid unwanted attention from a hospital administrator, Max knows exactly what he wants and needs—the lovely Dr. Mitchell.

After a tragic error shakes her confidence beyond repair, Dr. Lauren Mitchell has abandoned her career in cardiothoracic surgery and instead works as a lead medical consultant for a top cardiovascular technology company. She enjoys her simple life on the road—hotel rooms, room service, and no emotional entanglements.

When a violent storm throws her into service at St. Mark’s hospital, Max has only a few days to prove to Lauren that they belong together, while she must reevaluate her career…and her life. Will Max’s love be enough to make River’s Edge and Max her home?

And here’s the snippet. This conversation between Max and his boss, Chris, happens right after he’s met Dr. Lauren Mitchell in a meet-cute you don’t want to miss. Enjoy!

Whew. She’s going to meet me!

At least he hoped that was what her farewell meant. With a mental shrug, Max settled back into his chair and scraped the last of the chicken and noodles from the plate in front of him. When he looked up, Chris was staring a hole in him, one brow raised cynically. “Come on, Max.”

“Come on what?” Max took a slug of milk, then swiped his paper napkin across his lips and beard.

“Who is she?”

“We told you. She’s Dr. Lauren Mitchell, cardiothoracic surgeon, currently a consultant for Cardiotronics. We met in Baltimore a few months ago and—”

“Your right eye twitches when you lie, Max.” Chris leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “It has ever since I met you freshman year in Bloomington. I imagine it’s happened your whole life. I could ask your mother. She likes me.”

Max offered a pointed glance and unwrapped his brownie.

Chris continued to stare at him. “I know this is crap because you’ve been in the ER with me for the past four days and I’ve not seen that woman once. Not one time. Plus, I know you. If you’d found that gorgeous creature in Baltimore, you’d have been crowing about it because you don’t date, and if you were dating the good Dr. Mitchell, you wouldn’t be able to resist telling me. And I haven’t heard so much as a peep out of you about her in—what’s it been since the conference?” He counted the months on the fingers of one hand. “February, March, April… It’s almost May. Three months.”

Max sighed. “You’re quite the detective there, Sherlock. Think you could’ve missed your calling?”

Chris chuckled. “Nope. My eight-year-old could’ve doped this one out. I’ll stick to medicine.” He pushed his plate away, set his elbow on the table, and cupped his chin in his palm. “So spill it.”

Max debated, but only briefly. Chris was no hospital gossip. He was his best friend and maybe it wouldn’t hurt to process a bit because, by God, he was darned curious about Dr. Lauren Mitchell. “I’ve never seen her before she threw herself at me”—he peeked at his smart watch—“thirteen minutes ago.”

Chris’s dark eyes widened. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“Daayy-um, I was just taking a shot because you two seemed awkward as heck together.” Chris shook his head. “By the way, your eye doesn’t twitch. I made that up.”

Max gave him a gentle punch on the biceps. “You douche. You had me going because Rye and Beck have always told me I’m a crappy liar.”

“You might be, but it’s not an eye twitch that gives you away. I think it’s that you have an open trustworthy face and anyone who knows you, knows you wouldn’t lie unless you were under duress.” Chris finished his tuna sandwich in two swift bites. “What’d she say to you to make you lay one on her like that?”

“She asked me to please play along.” Max crumpled the plastic wrap from his brownie and tossed it onto Lauren’s half-eaten salad. “She sounded kinda desperate, and when I realized she’d come from Pete’s table, I guessed immediately what the problem was. That guy is so slimy.” He shrugged. “I figured I’d help her out.”

“Are you going to go meet her at the inn tonight? Because if you do, then you’ll have officially gone beyond just helping out a damsel in distress.”

Max considered the question as he chewed the last of his brownie, letting the chocolate warm and melt on his tongue. The sensation was sensual and immediately made him think about Lauren Mitchell’s curvy figure and the gleam of interest in her soft brown eyes. He hadn’t imagined the subtle signs—the head tilt when he invited her to dinner, the ever-so-slight pulling back of her shoulders as she rose from the table. She was…enthralling, and it had been way too long.

He admitted as much to Chris, who simply gazed at him in the inscrutable way Max had come to recognize over the years. It meant his friend was forming a lecture that would probably come out when Max least expected it but needed it the most. His friend’s on-target instincts could often be damned annoying.

Max reached back and grabbed one of the trays from the table behind them. “Look, I know she’s a consultant who isn’t going to be here all that long. So my plan is simply dinner tonight with a beautiful, intelligent woman. What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing at all, except I know you. You’ll fall hard; it’s what you do. And inevitably, it’s always the wrong woman. Then you get your heart broken when she’s too demanding or doesn’t want to deal with your schedule or hates your Jet Ski or hiking or wants to redecorate your apartment to suit her taste. Or in the case of this one, leaving in a few days.”

Max simply shook his head and started piling dishes onto the tray. “God, you make me sound like a high school freshman who’s always crushing on some cheerleader. I’m thirty-one. I’m a doctor, which means I have a modicum of intelligence. I think I can handle one dinner with a lovely woman. Besides”—he tossed over his shoulder as he headed toward the conveyer belt to drop the tray of dirty dishes—“none of that will be an issue, because this woman isn’t going to be staying around long enough for me to fall in love with her.”

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 Stay well, stay safe, send light to Ukraine, wear your mask when you need to, be kind, and most of all, mes amies, stay grateful,