His Blind Date Bride Read online

  “I think if I’d already met you, then we’d met on board, I would have had to walk back off the ship. Close quarters with you, Ivy Ross, is an exquisite kind of torture. Particularly with a guy who is supposed to be your boss.”

  She licked her lips. “What if I promise never to use that position to my advantage? You judge me on my work and my conduct—” her eyes flickered to the door “—only beyond that door, of course.”

  She watched him bristle at those words. He was so close she could feel his breath on her cheek. His lips brushing against her ear as he spoke. “This could be dangerous.”

  “This could be very dangerous.” Her fingers touched the side of his face. She breathed in, inhaling his scent. Yep. She was smitten. From the smell of his aftershave, to the sensual tension in the room, she would be reliving this moment for the next five years.

  “Who says I kiss on the first date?” she whispered.

  “I do,” he replied as his lips found hers. Warm, soft and with complete determination.

  Dear Reader,

  I wrote this book through one of the busiest periods of my life. My characters tend to have tragic pasts, but this time I asked my lovely editor if I could try something that started a bit lighter because my brain wasn’t quite in the space for tragedy. Thankfully, she was very supportive—thank you, Carly—and I was grateful to write something that took me away to a very different time and place.

  Books often transport me to another world, and I’m aware that’s often what a reader needs. Travis and Ivy’s story is set in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on a naval aircraft carrier. Their first meeting is a shock, as they had previously been flirting via a dating app, and coming face-to-face in a confined space leads to a rapid rise in temperature!

  This was a fun story to write and just what I needed. Hope you enjoy it just as much as I did!

  Love,

  Scarlet Wilson

  His Blind Date Bride

  Scarlet Wilson

  Scarlet Wilson wrote her first story aged eight and has never stopped. She’s worked in the health service for twenty years, having trained as a nurse and a health visitor. Scarlet now works in public health and lives on the West Coast of Scotland with her fiancé and their two sons. Writing medical romances and contemporary romances is a dream come true for her.

  Books by Scarlet Wilson

  Harlequin Medical Romance

  Changing Shifts

  Family for the Children’s Doc

  London Hospital Midwives

  Cinderella and the Surgeon

  The Good Luck Hospital

  Healing the Single Dad’s Heart

  Just Friends to Just Married?

  Locked Down with the Army Doc

  Island Doctor to Royal Bride?

  Tempted by the Hot Highland Doc

  Harlequin Romance

  The Cattaneos’ Christmas Miracles

  Cinderella’s New York Christmas

  The Italian Billionaire’s New Year Bride

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.

  This book is dedicated to all my fellow key personnel who’ve worked throughout the COVID-19 pandemic with me. Here’s hoping by the time this book is out we’ve reached the other side.

  Praise for Scarlet Wilson

  “Charming and oh so passionate, Cinderella and the Surgeon was everything I love about Harlequin Medicals. Author Scarlet Wilson created a flowing story rich with flawed but likable characters and...will be sure to delight readers and have them sighing happily with that sweet ending.”

  —Harlequin Junkie

  Scarlet Wilson won the 2017 RoNA Rose Award for her book Christmas in the Boss’s Castle.

  Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  EPILOGUE

  EXCERPT FROM SECOND CHANCE IN BARCELONA BY FIONA MCARTHUR

  CHAPTER ONE

  IVY ROSS CURLED up on her sofa and sighed at the messages on her phone. It was late, she was in her pyjamas, and her current foster dog, Ruff, was curled up on her lap.

  He was pretending he was sleeping. She could tell, because every now and then he turned his head slightly and gave her the side-eye when she stopped rubbing his belly. He was a scruffy sort—like most of the foster dogs she looked after—and his origins were completely unknown. He looked like some kind of small terrier cross, with his short stature and sandy-coloured fur, and he was definitely a little temperamental.

  But Ivy could deal with temperamental. She’d been Flight Surgeon so often, on a variety of navy vessels with mainly male personnel, that she took it all in her stride.

  Ruff nuzzled into her leg as she lifted her phone again and tried to ignore the ache of loneliness that had settled in her stomach. She’d done it all. Pursued her dream career and made it in a workforce dominated by males. It had been her goal for so long. But it seemed that in her pursuit of her goal she’d lost a little of her life along the way.

  Her phone buzzed again and she looked at the response on the dating app. Being away on regular deployments, often for months at a time, meant relationships were difficult.

  Most guys she’d met—mainly very nice—weren’t interested in a woman who often ended up working thousands of miles away, surrounded by hundreds of other men. And that suited her more than she let on to her friends. Having her heart broken once was enough. Being told she wasn’t enough once was enough. Paul was now a distant memory in her past, but the scar that he’d left had made Ivy reconsider her whole outlook on dating and relationships.

  Ivy had never mixed business with pleasure, and had always refused to date a work colleague. Too complicated. Too much hassle.

  The dating app worked. It kept her friends happy and sometimes amused by the tales she could tell. But it also allowed her to guard her heart from any future hurt. The world could see she was dating, and potentially ‘looking’ for some kind of relationship, whilst secretly it saved her from a lot of awkward questions.

  She had a one bed, one bath rented apartment on the bay of the island of Coronado, just opposite the city of San Diego. It was beautiful, if a little costly, and thankfully pet friendly, set in a complex with good facilities. The drive across the San Diego-Coronado bridge always gave her a rush of feelings of luck and belonging, to stay in such a beautiful city and be part of such a great organisation.

  But lately coming home to a comfortable, but empty, apartment had left Ivy feeling lonely. Living in a beautiful place like this could be hard. She constantly heard life all around her. On a daily basis she caught glimpses of couples and families going about their everyday lives, all reinforcing the fact that she was on her own.

  It had led her to dog fostering—taking a troublesome character from a local shelter for a few weeks at a time to try and help familiarise them with living in a home again, and hopefully making them more adoptable.

  Ruff was number six. He was proving to be a bit more difficult than the rest, probably because he was older and seemed set in his bad habits, which involved chewing anything at all. His three-week furlough with her was due to end tomorrow and Ivy couldn’t pretend she wasn’t a little sad. But a
pparently the shelter had a family lined up to meet him, so it was all for the best.

  Ivy shook her head as another message popped up in one of the other dating apps. Currently she was registered on three—all under pseudonyms. The last thing she wanted was to be discovered by one of the sailors she served with.

  She frowned and swiped on her screen. The latest match had proved himself tasteless on the first message. Delete.

  In the last month Ivy had become a bit of a master of these apps. She was looking for someone to date—not a five-minute fling or hook-up. She said so in all three of her profiles, but that didn’t stop a few guys with other things on their minds sending her messages. She deleted them all quickly.

  Another message buzzed onto her screen.

  Hi Ali, hope you’re doing well. Which city are you in currently? R x

  She smiled and shifted on her sofa as Ruff gave a low growl at the disturbance. Rob. He was one of the few potential bright sparks on the horizon. They’d exchanged first general, then a few flirty texts for the last two months. Although they were both based in San Diego, both of them had careers that made it difficult to coordinate. Twice they’d planned a date, and twice they’d had to rearrange. Rob was an international banker and frequently flew across the US and to other countries for business. Ali, her alter ego on this app, was a specialist insurance agent who could be gone for weeks at a time.

  Of course it wasn’t true, but she was reluctant to reveal her true name or her true job until she’d got to know someone a little better. She wanted to be honest about being away a lot, so having an alternative job where she could be out of the picture for weeks at a time was handy.

  She’d been texting three separate men for a few weeks now. But Rob was definitely the one who interested her most. He seemed down to earth. Fun. Cheeky and a little flirty.

  Her fingers moved to answer.

  Hi Rob, I’m home right now. Have been for the last three weeks. How about you? A x

  She couldn’t pretend that her stomach didn’t give a little flip-flop.

  Just landed. How about we try and finally have that date?

  Ruff gave a yelp as Ivy sat upright, sending Ruff spilling from her lap. She glanced at her watch. It was late—but not too late.

  Her fingers paused above the screen. If she answered straight away, would she seem too keen?

  She stood up and walked through to her bedroom and pulled open the wardrobe doors. What to wear if she said yes? Ruff nuzzled into her legs, as if trying to remind her that she should be paying attention to him. ‘Sorry, boy,’ she said, biting her bottom lip as she scanned the contents of her wardrobe while trying to decide if she should answer or not.

  She pulled out some jeans and a black strappy top with some scattered sequins across it.

  Her phone gave another buzz and she smiled. He was waiting for her answer.

  Well...?

  Sure. Let’s meet somewhere for a drink.

  She definitely couldn’t pretend her stomach was feeling normal. Ivy sighed as she caught sight of her appearance. Her hair was currently tied in an unruly knot on top of her head. It was clean. Just not styled in any way, shape or form. She pulled it loose and shook it out, flicking the switch at the wall for her straightening iron.

  Her phone buzzed and she almost leapt on it. Rob had named a popular wine bar set right on the bay. It was about a fifteen-minute drive from where she stayed. As she was staring at the message on the app her phone started to ring.

  Her friend Liz. She pressed the screen to chat as she started to get dressed.

  ‘Hey, girl, what you doing?’ asked Liz.

  ‘I’m getting ready for a date,’ replied Ivy as she tugged on her jeans.

  ‘You’re what!’ squealed Liz.

  Ivy grinned. She knew the response would get this kind of reaction. ‘That guy I’ve been messaging.’

  ‘Which one?’ cut in Liz. ‘I can’t keep up.’

  ‘Rob.’

  ‘Ah...’

  Ivy was changing her bra. ‘What does that mean?’ She turned and faced her phone as if Liz was actually in the room.

  ‘He’s the one you actually liked, isn’t he?’

  ‘He could be,’ answered Ivy as she pulled the strappy top over her head.

  ‘Didn’t he cancel on you?’ came the voice.

  ‘Yeah, he did,’ said Ivy, as she pulled a face at the memory. ‘But I had cancelled on him first.’

  ‘So this time it’s for real?’

  ‘Apparently.’ Ivy was standing in front of the mirror, wondering if she’d made the right choice. ‘Hold on,’ she said, picking up her phone and snapping a selfie before sending it to Liz. ‘What do you think? What does it say?’

  She stared at her reflection critically, all the while wondering if she could actually pull her hair into some kind of shape before she had to leave.

  Liz paused at the other end of the phone. ‘It’s good,’ she said finally. ‘It’s “Look what I can throw on and look spectacular in”. But please tell me you’re going to do something with your hair.’

  Ivy laughed as she tugged a comb through her blonde tangles, which objected to being tamed.

  ‘What can I ever do with this hair?’ she asked.

  ‘Let your natural curls take over,’ said Liz promptly. ‘It only gets in that state when you’ve been straightening it too much.’ There was a loud sniff through the phone. ‘In fact, I can tell, I can smell the burning. You’ve switched them on already. Put them off. Spritz your hair with some water and get your diffuser out instead. Anyway, where are you meeting this guy? Somewhere central? Somewhere safe?’

  Ivy smiled—knowing that if the shoe were on the other foot she’d be saying exactly the same things. Trust Liz. ‘We’re going to Gino’s in Old Town,’ she replied.

  ‘Hmm, nice,’ said Liz. ‘Central enough, with some cosy booths and good wine. Does he know the place?’

  ‘I take it he must,’ said Ivy as she dotted some foundation on her face. ‘He’s from San Diego, but I’m not sure where he lives.’

  ‘You haven’t told him where you live, have you?’ said Liz immediately, her tone wary.

  ‘Of course not.’ Ivy laughed. ‘I’m feeling kind of bad. He doesn’t even know my real name, or what I do yet.’

  ‘Nothing wrong with that,’ said Liz quickly. ‘Make sure you’re at least ten minutes late,’ she added. ‘That way you’ll have time to scan the bar and make sure he’s not actually one of your workmates.’

  Ivy shuddered as she applied some eye make-up. ‘Don’t even say that. Not even funny. We’ve got a whole bunch of new marines who think they are fantastic. Please don’t let it be one of them. That would be a disaster.’

  She shook her head as she took out her mascara. ‘No, I think Rob is who he says he is.’

  ‘Have you done an internet search on him?’

  Her hand froze. Of course she had. But she hadn’t found him.

  The silence gave way to a shriek from Liz that sent Ruff jumping in the air in fright.

  ‘You have, haven’t you? Ooh, you didn’t find anything, did you? Well, that’s weird, isn’t it? Because if he’s really an international banker he has to have an online presence somewhere, doesn’t he?’ There was another minuscule pause. ‘Hey, want me to come along? Just in case he’s not what you think?’ Caution laced her words.

  ‘Hey, boy,’ said Ivy softly, as she took a few steps and bent down to pet Ruff. ‘Didn’t mean you to get a scare.’ She rubbed both sides of his face as he scowled at her.

  A tiny part of the shine about this date was starting to wear off as worry threaded its way through her head. Maybe she should be more cautious?

  ‘Ivy? You still there?’

  She gave Ruff another pat. ‘Yes, I’m here,’ she said as she stood up again and caught sight of her hair. Her
hand went automatically to the straightening wand and she made a few half-hearted attempts to pull it through her stubborn natural curls.

  She was watching her reflection in the mirror the whole time, but her eyes caught sight of the clock on the wall behind her. ‘Darn it, I’ll need to run. There’s a trolley in a few minutes.’

  ‘You’re getting the Old Town trolley?’

  Ivy nodded as she gave up on her hair. ‘Why not?’

  ‘Tourists,’ said Liz with a shudder.

  ‘I like the tourists. Plus, I always get a discount. And Elvis is usually on this shift,’ she said. The green and orange Old Town trolleys covered a twenty-five-mile loop of the city.

  Elvis was one of her favourite trolley drivers. A little eccentric, he dressed as Elvis every day while working, sometimes doing a little singalong while telling the tourists about the history of the city.

  She grabbed her phone and her bag. ‘Okay, wish me luck. I’d better go.’

  ‘Message me,’ said Liz quickly. ‘And leave immediately if you think he’s a creep.’

  Ivy laughed. ‘Liz, I’m not fifteen, and I can take care of myself.’

  Liz sighed. ‘I know you can, but I feel obliged to say it. Have fun!’

  Ruff followed her to the door, looking hopeful. She leaned down and gave him a big hug. ‘Sorry, honey.’ She rubbed his coat. Truth was, she was going to miss him when she had to hand him back tomorrow, but having a dog on a permanent basis with a job like hers just wasn’t on. She looked into his big brown eyes. ‘Some family is just going to love you to pieces,’ she said as she blinked back a stray tear and stood up again. Ruff realised at this point that she wasn’t actually taking him for a walk, shot her a look of disgust and trotted off to a corner.

  Ivy took a deep breath, slid her feet into a pair of gold flats, glanced at her watch and bolted out the door.

  * * *

  What had he done? Travis King shook his head as he strode along the street to Gino’s. It was only a ten-minute walk from his apartment, and the Old Town was busy as usual. It didn’t matter what night of the week it was, this part of San Diego always had a buzz in the air and jostling crowds.