St Piran's: Tiny Miracle Twins

St Piran's: Tiny Miracle Twins
Maggie Kingsley

In St Piran’s you should always dare to dream…Devoted neonatal intensive care sister Brianna Flannigan is the best at mending tiny newborn patients. She understands the needs of their parents too – because Brianna’s warm smile hides the memory of her own baby that broke her heart into a million pieces.When Dr Connor Monahan, the only man in the world to share her sadness, walks back into her life he stops at nothing to rescue her the way he simply couldn’t before. In the comfort of his strong, familiar arms Brianna finds that, if you wish hard enough, a miracle really can happen…St Piran’s Hospital Where every drama has a dreamy doctor. . . and a happy ending

Welcome to the world of St Piran’s Hospital—

Next to the rugged shores of Penhally Bay lies the picturesque Cornish town of St Piran, where you’ll find a bustling hospital famed for the dedication, talent and passion of its staff—on and off the wards!

Under the warmth of the Cornish sun Italian doctors, heart surgeons and playboy princes discover that romance blossoms in the most unlikely of places…

You’ll also meet the devilishly handsome Dr Josh O’Hara and the beautiful, fragile Megan Phillips…and discover the secret that tore these star-crossed lovers apart.

Turn the page to step into St Piran’s—where every drama has a dreamy doctor…and a happy ending.

About the Author

MAGGIE KINGSLEY says she can’t remember a time when she didn’t want to be a writer, but she put her dream on hold and decided to ‘be sensible’ and become a teacher instead. Five years at the chalkface was enough to convince her she wasn’t cut out for it, and she ‘escaped’ to work for a major charity. Unfortunately—or fortunately!—a back injury ended her career, and when she and her family moved to a remote cottage in the north of Scotland it was her family who nagged her into attempting to make her dream a reality. Combining a love of romantic fiction with a knowledge of medicine gleaned from the many professionals in her family, Maggie says she can’t now imagine ever being able to have so much fun legally doing anything else!

Dear Reader

Writing is a solitary occupation. Normally it’s just you, your computer, or a pen and notebook for company as you set off on a new journey, a new story, so working as part of a continuity is a novelty—a decidedly nice one. It means you get the chance to ‘talk’ to fellow Medical™ Romance writers, to thrash out ideas, to create great linking characters, and to discover who has drunk the most coffee that day, or eaten the most sticky buns. Well, we writers need inner sustenance as well as imagination!

Being part of the St Piran’s Hospital series has been such a joy—not least because I grew to love both of my characters, even though there were times when I wanted to grab Connor by the lapels of his smart city suit and yell, ‘Talk to Brianna, you idiot! Just tell her how you feel!’

But he can’t talk to Brianna about what broke her heart, and she doesn’t know how to get through to him—until they are thrown together in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of St Piran’s Hospital in Cornwall, and then it’s decision time for both of them. Have they a future together, or will they go their separate ways?

You’ll have to read this book to find out, but I do hope you will enjoy reading about Connor and Brianna as much as I enjoyed writing about them.

Best wishes

Maggie Kingsley

ST PIRAN’S: TINY MIRACLE TWINS

MAGGIE KINGSLEY

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

Dedication

I often wonder how my sister Elizabeth puts up with my many crises of confidence when I’m writing, without ever saying to me, ‘Maggie, get a grip!’ or strangling me, but she does. So thank you, little sister, and this book is dedicated to you, for your patience, forbearance, and all the times you’ve listened to me when I’ve said, ‘OK, do you think this would be better?’ without running screaming from the room.

ST PIRAN’S HOSPITAL

Where every drama has a dreamy doctor…and a happy ending.

In December we gave you the first two St Piran’s stories in one month!

Nick Tremayne and Kate Althorp finally got their happy-ever-after in: ST PIRAN’S: THE WEDDING OF THE YEAR by Caroline Anderson

Dr Izzy Bailey was swept off her feet by sexy Spaniard Diego Ramirez: ST PIRAN’S: RESCUING PREGNANT CINDERELLA by Carol Marinelli

In January the arrival of sizzlingly hot Italian neurosurgeon Giovanni Corezzi was enough to make any woman forget the cold! ST PIRAN’S: ITALIAN SURGEON, FORBIDDEN BRIDE by Margaret McDonagh

In February daredevil doc William MacNeil unexpectedly discovered he was a father in: ST PIRAN’S: DAREDEVIL, DOCTOR…DAD! by Anne Fraser

March saw a new heart surgeon who had everyone’s pulses racing in: ST PIRAN’S: THE BROODING HEART SURGEON by Alison Roberts

Last month fireman Tom Nicholson stole Flora Loveday’s heart in: ST PIRAN’S: THE FIREMAN AND NURSE LOVEDAY by Kate Hardy

This month, newborn twins could just bring a marriage miracle for Brianna and Connor ST PIRAN’S: TINY MIRACLE TWINS by Maggie Kingsley

And playboy Prince Alessandro Cavalieri honours St Piran’s with a visit in June ST PIRAN’S: PRINCE ON THE CHILDREN’S WARD by Sarah Morgan

CHAPTER ONE

People say time heals everything but it doesn’t, not completely, never totally. Sometimes all it takes is the overheard fragment of a song, a whispered comment, or an unexpected meeting, and the scab that time has so carefully placed over the old wound begins to come apart, leaving the pain just as acute as it ever was, just as raw.

‘SO, the rumours are true, then,’ Sister Brianna Flannigan observed as she sipped her coffee in the canteen of St Piran’s. ‘A troubleshooter really is coming to the hospital to see which departments should be closed?’

‘And not just coming, I’m afraid.’ Megan Phillips sighed. ‘He’s actually arriving some time today if the grapevine is correct.’

‘But this is a good hospital,’ Brianna protested. ‘The staff are dedicated, the quality of surgery is second to none, and it provides a much-needed medical resource for the people who live in this part of Cornwall.’

‘Agreed.’ Jess Corezzi nodded glumly. ‘But, according to the board, we’re leaking money like a sieve, and…’ She held up her hands and made pretend speech marks. ‘“Something Has to be Done”.’

‘But surely that doesn’t have to mean ward or—heaven forbid—complete department closures? ‘ Brianna demanded. ‘There must be some other way to save money.’

‘Canning my job will probably be the first thing on this auditor’s list,’ Jess said ruefully. ‘Counselling patients, and their families, as I do…’ She shook her head. ‘I can’t see him regarding that as necessary.’

‘But your job is vitally important,’ Brianna protested, her large brown eyes troubled. ‘The parents of my babies in NICU need you—’

‘As do the parents, and kids in Paeds,’ Megan chipped in, but Jess didn’t look convinced, and Brianna could understand why.

If the auditor had been drafted in to make economies he was bound to look at the non-nursing staff first, and though she and Megan might think Jess’s counselling role essential she had a horrible suspicion this money man would not.

‘What does Gio think?’ Brianna asked, thinking of Jess’s handsome Italian husband, a neurosurgeon who had arrived at St Piran’s the previous autumn and swept her friend off her feet.

‘He thinks like you, that the auditor will recognise how valuable my work is and recommend shelving the new specialist paediatric burns unit instead, but frankly…’ Jess shrugged. ‘I can’t see that happening. There is a need for that unit, plus the building is almost complete, and Admin have already asked that foreign prince to perform the grand opening in a couple of months.’

Brianna didn’t think Gio’s suggestion likely, either, and neither did Megan, judging by her expression.

‘At least both your departments will be safe,’ Jess continued bracingly. ‘No one in their right mind would shut down a neonatal intensive care unit or a paediatric ward.’

Brianna could think of one man who would. One man to whom statistics and efficiency had always been more important than people, and she shivered involuntarily.

‘You OK?’ Megan asked with a slight frown, and Brianna forced a smile.

‘I just don’t like all this talk of department closures. This hospital has been my…’ She came to a halt. She had been about to say ‘refuge’, but though she, Jess and Megan had become friends during the two years she’d been at St Piran’s there were areas of her life that were strictly off limits, and her past was one of them. ‘I’ve been so very happy here,’ she said instead.