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🌟 Please join me in welcoming author Heidi Cullinan to Stories That Make You Smile. Heidi is joining us today to celebrate the recent release of the first book in her new Copper Point Medical series, The Doctor’s Secret. Pull up a chair and read on for an exclusive excerpt! 🌟
The Doctor’s Secret by Heidi Cullinan
Where happy ever after is just a heartbeat away.
Series: Copper Point Medical (book #1)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Cover Artist: Kanaxa
Release Date: Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Length: Novel / 89,713 words / 250 pages
Pairing/Genres: M/M Contemporary Romance
About the Series
Copper Point may be known as a small northern Wisconsin town famous for not wanting to change, but things are certainly shaking up at St. Ann’s Medical Center, the city’s quirky, county-run hospital. Secret romances, fake relationships, second chances at love, scandalous liaisons in an elevator—all while longstanding and shockingly deep corruption are exposed. St. Ann’s young new leadership and upstanding team of doctors will lead the way to truth, and to love.
Blurb
The brilliant but brooding new doctor encounters Copper Point’s sunny nurse-next-door… and nothing can stand in the way of this romance.
Dr. Hong-Wei Wu has come to Copper Point, Wisconsin, after the pressures of a high-powered residency burned him out of his career before he started. Ashamed of letting his family down after all they’ve done for him, he plans to live a quiet life as a simple surgeon in this tiny northern town. His plans, however, don’t include his outgoing, kind, and attractive surgical nurse, Simon Lane.
Simon wasn’t ready for the new surgeon to be a handsome charmer who keeps asking him for help getting settled and who woos him with amazing Taiwanese dishes. There’s no question—Dr. Wu is flirting with him, and Simon is flirting back. The problem is, St. Ann’s has a strict no-dating policy between staff, which means their romance is off the table… unless they bend the rules.
But a romance that keeps them—literally—in the closet can’t lead to happy ever after. Simon doesn’t want to stay a secret, and Hong-Wei doesn’t want to keep himself removed from life, not anymore. To secure their happiness, they’ll have to change the administration’s mind. But what other secrets will they uncover along the way, about Copper Point… and about each other?
Excerpt
WuHong-Wei.
The surgeon’s name rang in Simon’s head as he drove home after dropping Hong-Wei off at his condo. Wu Hong-Wei. All night Hong-Wei had spoken perfect English, but when he said his Taiwanese name, his accent came through, and Simon got a ridiculous thrill.
Which Simon reminded himself he shouldn’t have. Setting aside the fact that Dr. Wu—Hong-Wei—the new surgeon—was practically his boss, there was the new policy to bear in mind. Even so, Simon still floated as he parked the car and drifted up the path into the house. He shouldn’t think about the man that way, but for tonight at least, he would allow himself to dream.
Of course, he needed to be careful how he fantasized. Simon had two roommates, Owen Gagnon and Jared Kumpel, his friends from childhood who were also doctors at the hospital. They were also two of the biggest gossips in Copper Point.
Owen and Jared were home, Jared in the kitchen washing dishes, Owen sprawled in the overstuffed chair with one foot on the ottoman and one on the floor as he surfed his laptop. Owen glanced up over the top of his glasses as Simon came in.
“The prodigal returns.” Owen removed his glasses and shut his computer. “So, what’s the verdict on the new surgeon?”
Jared wiped his hands on a towel and waved Simon over. “Come get your dinner first. I held it in the oven for you.”
“Oh, sorry, I already ate.” Simon toed off his shoes and hung up his jacket, determined not to show any signs of embarrassment. If they saw weakness, they would have no mercy. “I took Dr. Wu somewhere because he was hungry.”
Owen rubbed his hands together. “Excellent. This means you got more dish on him. Come on. Spill. Is he an arrogant asshole? I mean, to a degree it’s a given. He’s a surgeon.”
Jared pulled Simon’s plate out of the oven and put the food into a storage container. “I’ve met decent surgeons.”
“Your definition of decent doesn’t count. You are an arrogant asshole.” Owen gestured impatiently at Simon. “Out with it. What’s he like?”
Simon sat in the corner of the couch and drew his favorite afghan over his legs. How could he describe Hong-Wei without sounding ridiculous? “He’s a little reserved, though he warmed up after I talked to him for a bit.” Though he was slightly aloof in a way Simon hadn’t expected to be so tantalizing. “He didn’t want to go to a fancy restaurant. He wanted to go to a pub-style place.” Simon searched his brain for more information. “He has a sister. He just finished his residency.”
He told me his real name.
Jared glanced at Simon, glass and towel in his hand. “I still don’t know why someone would come to Copper Point from Baylor St. Luke’s. Either he’s terrible, or he’s crazy.”
“Not a chance he’s terrible.” Owen rested his elbow on the armrest and leaned on his hand. “Beckert has been running around bragging about his catch ever since the hire was official.”
Jared snorted. “He might have seen Baylor on the app and lost his common sense.”
Simon thought of Hong-Wei, of the cool, confident way he’d handled himself at the airport, how graceful his hands were when doing something as simple as navigating a fork. “I don’t think Dr. Wu is incompetent.”
“He’s crazy, then.” Jared turned back to the sink. “I guess I don’t care, as long as he gets his work done.”
“You haven’t told us much about what you thought of him, Simon.” Owen pushed his glasses higher and raised his eyebrows at Simon. “You’re being quite cagey, in fact.”
Simon deliberately didn’t meet Owen’s gaze. “I think he’s nice. I mean, obviously I don’t know him well. All I did was have dinner with him and drive him home. He was quiet in the car. He was on his phone for a while, and he slept a little.”
He’d seemed to flirt a few times, but Simon had probably imagined things. At any rate, he wasn’t sharing that.
☆ Exclusive Excerpt ☆
Thanks for having me today! The Doctor’s Secret is a medical romance, full of hospital drama and intrigue, and the biggest one is Simon and Hong-Wei’s forbidden relationship. A highly unpopular hospital rule means if they’re discovered, they could lose their jobs, except Simon knows full well as the nurse he’s the only one on the hook.
It’s hard to resist a sexy surgeon, though. Here’s a little taste of Simon’s struggles.
I hope you enjoy The Doctor’s Secret!
*
Andreas had nearly caught them.
The thought rang through Simon as he fled the cafeteria, wandering aimlessly through the halls on unsteady feet. If Hong-Wei hadn’t been so quick to react and send Simon away, Simon would have stood there looking guilty and terrified as Andreas rounded the corner.
He made his way to the elevator and stumbled toward the nurses’ station, avoiding people who had been to the show. After locking himself in the patient shower area and sitting in the corner, he hugged his legs to his body, drew shuddering breaths, and attempted to calm himself.
It was a sign. He’d considered for two seconds giving in to this, of letting his heart drive instead of his head, and it had nearly ended in disaster.
Except…it had felt so good. He shut his eyes, remembering the moment Hong-Wei had smiled at him, the way he’d drawn him aside. He’d touched Simon’s elbow subconsciously. It hadn’t been him making a move. He had simply reached naturally for Simon.
If it wasn’t for my job, I would leap into this. He knew that now, no question. Fear aside, hesitation be damned. Except Simon did have a job, one he loved. One he needed. If he didn’t work at the hospital, he’d have to apply at the care center or move. Or commute, possibly a crazy distance.
Obviously he wouldn’t quit his job for a relationship, but how was he supposed to work so closely with a man he so desperately wanted to have a relationship with?
Meet the Author
Author of over thirty novels, Midwest-native Heidi Cullinan writes positive-outcome romances for LGBT characters struggling against insurmountable odds because she believes there’s no such thing as too much happy ever after. Heidi is a two-time RITA® finalist and her books have been recommended by Library Journal, USA Today, RT Magazine, and Publisher’s Weekly. When Heidi isn’t writing, she enjoys cooking, reading novels and manga, playing with her cats, and watching too much anime. Find out more at heidicullinan.com.
Praise for Heidi Cullinan
Heartwarming and achingly beautiful —USA Today
Emotionally heartwrenching…with self-deprecating humor. — Romantic Times
Cullinan balances … love-conquers-all romance in a context full of real contemporary challenges. — Publisher’s Weekly
I fell in love with the sheer beauty of the writing. — Dear Author
Cullinan reached inside and pulled out ALL the feelings: fear, guilt, sadness, anticipation, happiness, love, lust, bitterness, loneliness, togetherness, and coming of age. — The Book Pushers
