Romance With a Dose of Sweet Sugar and a Dash of Steamy Spice!

Romance With a Dose of Sweet Sugar and a Dash of Steamy Spice!
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Thursday, January 23, 2025

Happy Bookiversary to ER DOC'S LAS VEGAS REUNION! (Bonus Scene Inside)

Wishing ER DOC'S LAS VEGAS REUNION a happy one-year bookiversary! 🎉Keep reading for more on the book and a surprise bonus scene...
Will she roll the dice on a second chance when she’s reunited with the man from her past? Find out in Denise N. Wheatley’s Las Vegas–set debut for Harlequin Medical Romance!

Will Her Gamble Pay Off?

The last place straitlaced Dr. Eva Gordon expects to call home is Las Vegas. But when her famous fiancé abruptly ends their engagement, Eva’s desperate to escape her small town and its gossipmongers. Yet, while Fremont General Hospital provides a clean slate, Dr. Clark Malone makes her history impossible to forget…Because Eva’s new colleague was once her best friend, before an evening of passion changed everything. Could her fresh start lead to their second chance?
Meet Amanda Reinhart and Brandi Bennett, Eva's best friends in ER DOC'S LAS VEGAS REUNION. Amanda is a doctor/colleague of Eva's back in Black Willow, and Brandi is an ER nurse at Eva's new place of work, Fremont General Hosptial. These women make navigating the deep waters of dating much easier for our heroine, who's back in the game after a nasty breakup. Here's a bonus scene between Amanda and Eva, when together, they receive some exciting news about Eva's future...

“Eva Gordon, this is absolutely absurd.”

Amanda paced back and forth across the dark hardwood floor of Eva’s chic two-bedroom loft apartment. Eva, who was sitting behind her desk, ignored Amanda while refreshing the email inbox once again.

Hey,” Amanda snapped. “Are you listening to me? This is not okay!”

Eva spun around in her silver ergonomic chair. “I know this is not okay. This is better than okay. It’s great. You know why? Because I’m finally taking control of my life and doing what’s best for me.”

“Running away from your problems instead of facing them head on is not taking control. It’s escaping. There’s a difference.”

“Look, when I invited you here to share that I’d applied for a temp position at Fremont General Hospital, I thought you’d be happy for me. You know, cheering me on while I wait to find out whether the job is mine. But instead, you’re interrogating me as if I did something wrong.”

Ugh,” Amanda groaned, plopping down on a cream chaise lounge. “That’s because this just feels wrong. It’s such an irrational move. Especially for you. You’re a smart, thoughtful planner who always makes good choices. But look at you. Trying to leave your hometown behind, for Vegas of all places, during the biggest crisis of your life. Please help me understand your motivation.” 

“The answer is simple, really. I’m hurt. And humiliated. I don’t have it in me to stay in Black Willow and withstand the scrutiny of this town. Plus, playing it safe is no longer serving me. So I’m choosing to salvage the last bits of dignity that I have left and take a break, away from all the prying eyes and salacious rumors.”

Amanda grabbed a bottle of rosé off the desk and refilled their glasses. “Well, when you put it that way…I guess your relationship was under a microscope. But that’s because everyone was so in awe of you and Kyle. Your wedding was set to be one of the big events that Black Willow had ever seen. It was like a fairytale. Prominent doctor marries future Iowa state senator. And now, the town can’t stop talking about the breakup.”

“My point exactly.” Eva refreshed her inbox yet again. “Fremont General’s administrator was supposed to email me with news about the job over two hours ago. Maybe I didn’t get it.”

Her chest lurched at the thought.

Stop it. Think positive. This position is yours.

Amanda hopped up and began pacing the floor again. “How did you even find out about an opening all the way in Las Vegas?”

“It was fate, really. Like a sign from the universe. The night that Kyle broke up with me, I was in a compete tizzy. I needed to vent. So I came straight home from the restaurant and logged into my online journal. While I was waiting for it to open, an ad popped up, which was weird considering I have my Pop-Up Blocker turned on. The words Are You Looking For A Change? flashed in bright red letters. I thought, hell yeah I’m looking for a change!”

“Wait, so you applied for a job that you found through some random pop-up add? Come on, Eva. You’re smarter than that. This is not a good idea!”

Eva sipped her wine while waving Amanda off. “Look, the agency that ran the ad is totally legit. I did do my research before applying. Plus, I’ve already done three virtual interviews with the hospital executives. Trust me, this opportunity is the real deal.”

“And yet I’m just now hearing about it. I still cannot believe this. My best friend is leaving me for the west coast. With no notice whatsoever. All because of a man who she’s probably going to end up marrying anyway.”

“I’m ignoring you.”

Eva’s inbox pinged. She spun around so quickly that she almost toppled over.

Darting toward the desk, Amanda stammered, “Whwho it is? The hospital? What’d they say?” She peered at the screen. “Who’s Louise? Someone from Fremont General?” 

“No,” Eva mumbled, a slight quiver in her voice. “She’s the florist who was going to make the arrangements for the wedding.”

“Oh, no. I’m so sorry, friend.” Amanda wrapped her arm around Eva. “You know what? I think that taking a break from Black Willow is exactly what you need. I wouldn’t want to be either here if I were you, dealing with all the scrutiny and judgement. So I’ll quit with all my whining and cheer you on instead.”

“Thanks. I appreciate that.”

The pair fell silent. Amanda’s eyes darted back and forth between Eva and the floor. She took a deep breath. “Maybe breaking up with Kyle wasn’t such a bad thing.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Do you want my honest opinion?”

Eva’s eyebrows furrowed. “Of course.”

“I never sensed any real passion when you’d talk about Kyle. Contentment? Maybe. But there was no spark. No thrill. You know what I mean?”

Eva shrugged. “Maybe…”

“Kyle seemed more like a colleague than a loving fiancé. A partner who looked good on paper. You deserve more than that, Eva. You’re an amazing woman. You deserve it all.”

Eva turned away from Amanda’s steely gaze, not wanting to admit that she was absolutely right. “You might be on to something. But my relationship with Kyle just—it just worked. Until it didn’t, obviously.”

“I think it worked for both of your images. What else was there beyond that? Where was the emotional connection? The depth? The…” Amanda paused.

“The what?”

“The type of connection you had with a certain someone back when we were in medical school.”

Eva threw up her hand. “Stop right there. I know you’re not about to bring up my very brief fling with Clark Malone from all those years ago.”

“Yes I am—”

Amanda was interrupted when the computer pinged again.

Frantically double-clicking on her inbox, Eva muttered, “This had better be Fremont General.”

A new message appeared.

“Human Resources Administrator, Fremont General Hospital,” Amanda read aloud. “It’s them!” she shrieked, bopping around so wildly that she spilled wine on her lavender cardigan. “Open it. Open it!”

Eva’s fingers trembled as she clicked on the email.

Dear Dr. Gordon,

We are pleased to extend this offer letter of employment for the temporary position of emergency room physician with Fremont General Hospital. Please review the attached terms and conditions, along with the benefits package.

Should you accept this offer, we would like for your start date to begin as soon as possible, and end three months from that date. The hospital has a designated relocation service that can assist with your moving needs.

Please accept this offer by responding to this message. We look forward to you joining our team.

Sincerely,

Danielle Riske, Human Resources Administrator

Every nerve in Eva’s body trembled with joy. She reread the two more times, just to make sure she’d made no mistake.

“You got the job,” Amanda exclaimed, shaking her shoulders. “You got the job!”

“I did, didn’t I?” Eva continued to stare at the computer screen, as if in a daze. I’m going to escape Black Willow and all its drama… She jumped up and embraced Amanda.

“Las Vegas, here I come!”

The two friends hopped around in circles for several moments before Eva stopped abruptly.

Amanda pulled away. “What’s wrong?”

“I just remembered. I have to tell my parents.”

For more on ER DOC'S LAS VEGAS REUNION, CLICK HERE

As always, thanks so much for stopping by! I'll see you next month, when I'll be celebrating the release of Mia Heintzelman's latest rom-com, ONE NIGHT CRUSH!


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