Thursday, August 24, 2023

A Daddy for Her Twins - Scarlet Wilson (HMED #1339 - Sept 2023)

From bachelor doctor to doting dad?
 
As Arthur Fletcher takes up his new post as a pediatrician in Singapore, sparks immediately fly with physiotherapist Madison Koh. Challenging him professionally and personally, she sets his pulse racing! But this widowed mother of twins is out-of-bounds for this commitment-shy doc, whose turbulent upbringing has left him wary of settling down. Yet as he grows closer to Madison and her little family, somehow putting down roots is suddenly very tempting…

 
Sweet story. Fletch is a pediatrician who has come to Singapore on a two-year contract. He's lived there before and is pleased to be there again. His arrival gets off to a rough start because his apartment isn't quite ready yet, and he spends a night in a hotel. The next day, he heads to the hospital where he will work and encounters a harried young mother whom he helps to the hospital daycare. Afterward, she offers to show him around.
 
Madison is widowed and has twin preschoolers. Her work as a physiotherapist is satisfying, and she loves being a mother. She's at her wit's end with her son, Justin, who has not been himself lately, but nothing seems to be obviously wrong with him.
 
There were sparks between Madison and Fletch from the moment they met. This comes as a surprise to Fletch, who is a perennial bachelor. He loves women and is a serial dater who rarely lasts longer than six months in a relationship. He also parts with his girlfriends on good terms, remaining friends long past the end of those relationships. His childhood left him wary of settling down, though he can see it happening sometime in the distant future. But something about Madison appeals like no other woman has.
 
Madison hasn't dated since her husband's death, being too busy with work and kids. But she can't deny her immediate connection with the new doctor. He's upfront about his record, leaving her to decide if she wants to date him. She cautiously accepts, under the condition they keep their relationship under wraps. She doesn't want to hurt her in-laws or raise gossip in the hospital.
 
I enjoyed watching the relationship develop between Madison and Fletch. Fletch is a sweet, understanding, and romantic man. I loved his creativity when he set up their dates and could see the impression that they made on Madison. But things become complicated when Madison takes Justin to Fletch as a doctor. Suddenly, the lines between personal and professional lives are blurred. His relationship with Madison makes his determination to solve the mystery of Justin's illness that much more personal.
 
I loved Madison's trust in Fletch and how she came to depend on him. But that dependence came with complications when Fletch's presence in her life created tension with her late husband's parents. I ached for Madison, whose stress had her questioning everything happening, and for Fletch, who suddenly felt like he was on the outside looking in. I liked the advice Fletch received from one of Madison's friends and what he did with that advice. The ending was terrific, and Fletch's big moment was lovely. The epilogue was a sweet wrap-up for the story.
 
I enjoyed the Singapore setting. The date locations were described so vividly that I felt like I was there. I also liked the realism of the difficulty in diagnosing Justin's illness. The description of symptoms and behavior made it informative without preaching and more likely to be remembered.


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