Page 1 of Romancing Melanie
Chapter 1
There are moments in a person’s life that hit with the force of an incoming wave they don’t see coming. The initial impact takes their breath away, and leaves them spluttering, gasping for air as they struggle to right their world. But the ripples that come after the initial shock can affect things even more drastically than the initial wave.
Noah Carlisle found himself standing outside Oakville Memorial Hospital one morning, facing the ripples from the tidal wave that had hit him the night before. A quiet evening, enjoying a beer with his friends, had been upended when a social worker from Portland Child Protective Services had found him at his brother’s pub. She had pulled him away from the group, and after confirming his identity, uttered the words he would never have expected to hear. There was a strong likelihood that he was the biological father of a baby that been abandoned at the hospital just days earlier. Memories of a one-night stand approximately ten months ago, came flooding back when the social worker informed him the mother had left a napkin, branded with The Lucky Strike’s logo, with his name written on the back. That night had been the first and last time Noah had let himself lose his inhibitions thanks to the free beer he enjoyed at The Lucky Strike, the pub owned by his brother and their friend. He’d been feeling morose, watching his brother fall in love with his new fiancée, so when the woman, whose face was nothing more than a fuzzy memory, had suggested they go back to her place, he had followed. And regretted his actions immediately after.
The news that his one transgression had possibly produced a child, led to an explosion of emotion that flooded his heart and mind. His initial sense of disbelief and denial was quickly replaced with abject terror and overwhelm. A baby? How was he meant to take care of a baby, when most days he felt as if he was barely managing to take care of his house plants? A baby, with diapers and bottles and naps and tantrums, was way outside his current comfort zone.
Still, this was what Noah had always wanted out of life; a chance to have a family. A chance to give a child what he and his brother Ryan had never had—a father. Their own dad had abandoned them when Noah was young, leaving his mother, Molly, to raise the two boys by herself. Where this had left his brother jaded and terrified of love and commitment, Noah had decided at a young age to be the opposite of his father. Instead of a womanizer and a cheater, he was a true romantic. He wasn’t satisfied with casual dating and flings—despite the events that had led to this exact moment—he wanted to find his soul mate. The one woman who would be his wife, his partner in life, and eventually, the mother of his future children. Which made the fact that he was potentially the father of a child whose mother he could barely remember, even more difficult to accept.
As he stood there, staring up at the building that potentially held a tiny human capable of changing the course of his entire life, Noah could feel his heart race. Perhaps it was the sleepless night, or the three cups of coffee he had drank in the last two hours. The strange thing was, the pounding in his chest echoed the constant refrain running through his head.
I have a baby. I’m a Dad. I have a baby. I’m a Dad. Baby. Dad. Baby. Dad.
Feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket, Noah snapped out of his distracted thoughts and mounting nerves and opened his text messages.
Mel: Hey, are you at the hospital yet? I’m working today if you need company.
Now his heart was racing for a different reason. Melanie Haynes, hotshot ER doctor, beautiful, sassy, independent, and determined to keep Noah firmly in the friend zone. Over the last several months they had spent plenty of time together, in a purely platonic way, as they both enjoyed long-distance cycling through the hills and flats that surrounded Portland. The others in their close-knit group of friends thought the two of them were crazy, but Mel and Noah loved the sensation of the wind in their faces as they pedaled down winding roads, exploring the state on two wheels. Their favorite route was thirty miles through the Lake Oswego suburb of Portland on the Willamette River Loop, where they always made a stop at a local brewery for a break. Their friendship was full of laughter and easy banter, but Mel had made it abundantly clear from the beginning that she had no interest in a romantic relationship. That didn’t stop Noah’s attraction, however. Not much could, when the woman in question was a stunning brunette, with charisma and confidence infusing her every move. The romantic soul inside Noah longed for more from his relationship with Mel, but he was bound by the limits she set in place. At least, as his friend, she was here, offering to keep him company on the most stressful day of his life. And he would gladly take her up on that.
Quickly, Noah tapped out a reply.
Noah: Yeah, I’m outside, freaking out already. I have to meet the social worker in ten minutes. If you have a break around then, is there any chance you can meet me upstairs in the pediatric wing? I could use someone with me when I hit full panic mode.
Noah winced to himself. Did that sound too wimpy? Too needy? Too touchy-feely? When he was a child, Noah’s mom often said he was very sensitive and empathic. As an adult, he struggled to keep his emotions and sensitivity in check, to not appear weak. Although he had always believed that was a load of crap. Since when was showing emotion a sign of weakness? Why couldn’t a guy have feelings? Noah knew that some of his ideas and goals in life weren’t typical for a man, but he could never bring himself to care.
But he had to admit that here, in this moment, he needed a friend by his side. Someone who could help him stay calm, someone who was good under pressure, someone who could handle high stress situations. Most importantly, someone he trusted. So, when a reply from Mel came in, tension that he hadn’t even realized he was holding released from Noah’s shoulders.
Mel: Of course I’ll be there, you silly man. This is a big deal for you, and I don’t think you should face it alone. See you soon.
Just knowing she would be there with him, made him feel substantially more prepared for what lay ahead. Noah squared his shoulders, and walked through the front entrance of the hospital, ready to face his future.
He rode the elevator up to the pediatric floor and waited outside the locked doors of the unit for Mel to arrive. While he stood there, he let the cover on his feelings toward Mel, that he normally kept locked tight, loose. For just a second, he let himself imagine what it would be like if things were different between them. If she was coming as his girlfriend, not just his cycling partner.
They would kiss and walk into the meeting hand in hand, love emanating from them just like it did from Ryan and Anna, and their friends: Jake and his wife Callie, and Chase and Reagan. Yes, Noah was surrounded by happy couples, with Mel being the only other single friend left in their group. Which only made it sting even more when she joked about embracing her permanent single status.
When Melanie walked out of the stairwell, he watched as she strode toward him, her long, shiny, chocolate colored hair braided down her back and a set of navy-blue scrubs hugging her curves.
“Hey, buddy, let’s go and see your baby.”
Buddy. That’s what he was, her buddy. Funny how one word could pop a fantasy in an instant. Because Melanie was the polar opposite to his romantic soul. She was vocal about being anti-relationships, anti-commitment, even anti-romance, ever since her divorce several years ago. And nothing was going to change that, apparently. That didn’t stop Noah wishing he could be the one to change her mind.
* * *
Melanie took a deep breath in just before she reached Noah. He was so handsome, it almost hurt to look at him. If she’d been asked to describe her ideal type, it was Noah. Tall, slender yet muscular, darker hair than his brother, who had the ginger hair that revealed their Irish roots, and twinkling eyes that were always smiling. He had a natural way of putting everyone around him at ease, with an affectionate, comforting way that felt personal to each and every person. Mel loved her friendship with Noah, it was exactly what she wanted. No romantic messiness, just an easy friendship built around common interests. The fact that his brother owned a bar with a guy who was married to one of her closest friends was merely a bonus. Jake and Callie had introduced Noah and Melanie, but it was their mutual enjoyment of biking and obsession with the Portland foodie scene that had cemented their connection. Their friendship was important to her, which meant she was constantly having to push away the nuisance of her growing sexual attraction to him. Given Mel’s history with relationships, namely an asshole ex-husband, a relationship was out of the question with Noah, or anyone else for that matter.
All of this meant, that when Noah had received the life-altering news that he might be the biological father of an abandoned newborn baby, Mel knew she would jump to help him in any way she could. If that meant spending her coffee break with him at his meeting with the CPS social worker, so be it. Even if being around babies stirred up memories and emotions for Melanie that she would really rather avoid, especially around the perceptive and sensitive Noah.
She took in the nervous look on Noah’s face and knew he was still having a hard time wrapping his head around everything. That realization made any of her issues fly away. Time to use her compartmentalization skills that came in so handy in the ER. She needed to forget her own battle scars and be there for her friend. Which meant teasing him into finding his confidence.
“Okay, Dad, are you ready for this?”
Noah gave her a terrified grimace of a smile. “Honestly? I have no idea. I’m freaking out, Mel.”
“Well, suck it up, buttercup, and let’s figure this all out. You’ll be fine, no matter what.”
Mel took his hand and plastered the most confident smile she could manage, then with a flash of her ID, they walked through the doors of the pediatric ward.
A few moments later, Noah’s knees were bouncing with nervous excitement and he was clutching Melanie’s hand in a death grip. The hospital’s social worker, Betty, explained that the baby’s mother, a woman who registered at the hospital under the name Georgia Winters, had given birth and then abandoned the baby with a note that simply stated Noah’s name, and to find him at The Lucky Strike. This had happened four days ago, three days before Joanne, the woman from Child Protective Services, had come to find Noah at the pub.
