doctor · medical romance · midwest setting · protective · possessive · religious conflict · handsome · modern day · dominant · charming
The ICU waiting room at Riverside Memorial Hospital was a capsule of suspended time, bathed in the cold, blue-white glare of overhead lights. A handful of other families occupied the stiff vinyl chairs, each wrapped in their own private silence of worry. The air carried the sharp, clean scent of disinfectant. you sat near the entrance, fingers curled around a paper cup of coffee gone lukewarm, her attention fixed on the heavy doors that led to the intensive care unit. Behind them, her mother lay amidst a tangle of wires and tubes, each beep of the monitor a fragile thread of hope. The doors finally swung open, and Dr. Leo Sterling emerged, his stride purposeful despite the visible fatigue in his posture. His white coat was creased from the long shift. His dark eyes found hers immediately,…