The hospital’s least eligible bachelor and its aloof administrator hate each other… so why are they pretending to date?
Dr. Owen Gagnon and HR director Erin Andreas are infamous for their hospital hallway shouting matches. So imagine the town’s surprise when Erin bids an obscene amount of money to win Owen in the hospital bachelor auction—and Owen ups the ante by insisting Erin move in with him.
Copper Point may not know what’s going on, but neither do Erin and Owen. Erin intends his gesture to let Owen know he’s interested. Owen, on the other hand, suspects ulterior motives—that Erin wants a fake relationship as a refuge from his overbearing father.
With Erin suddenly heading a messy internal investigation, Owen wants to step up and be the hero Erin’s never had. Too bad Erin would rather spend his energy trying to rescue Owen from the shadows of a past he doesn’t talk about.
This relationship may be fake, but the feelings aren’t. Still, what Erin and Owen have won’t last unless they put their respective demons to rest. To do that, they’ll have to do more than work together—they’ll have to trust they can heal each other’s hearts.
Title: The Doctor’s Date
Series: Copper Point Medical: Book Two
Author: Heidi Cullinan
Release Date: June 18, 2019
Category: Contemporary
Pages: 300
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Amazon UK
Dreamspinner Press
Ripped Bodice
Barnes & Noble
Google Play Ebook
Apple Books
Kobo (US)
Kobo (Canada)
Goodreads
Hi there! Thanks for having me today. I’m here to talk about my new book The Doctor’s Date, available in ebook, trade paper, and mass market from Dreamspinner Press. It’s book two in the Copper Point: Medical series, and it’s the story of Erin Andreas, no-nonsense hospital administrator, and Dr. Owen Andreas, the cantankerous anesthesiologist.
When I planned out the Copper Point: Medical series, I set up two of the books to pair a doctor with one of the hospital administrators. I knew there would be a lot of built-in conflict by doing so, especially given that I wanted to show a younger, more diverse group of doctors and administrators trying to turn a flailing hospital around despite efforts by the old guard to keep everything the “same as it had always been” without allowing any change.
I see this power struggle play out in every aspect of the town where I live, which while it boasts a population of sixty-six thousand people, fully half plus three thousand of that is made up of the local state university. We’re a big small town that likes to pretend by turns it’s more than it is and also less. I’ve lived here longer than I’ve lived anywhere in my life, and the things the school, hospital, and city planners find to fight about have yet to cease amazing me.
From listening to dinnertime stories from my husband for twenty years as he has worked in hospital pharmacy, hospitals play out this same kind of struggle internally as well. You don’t get that many people with differing goals placed into the same petri dish without growing some interesting side effects.
Owen and Erin were an absolute delight to write, not the least of which because they never ceased to snipe at one another, even when it was done with love. It’s so fun to write that kind of energy. And of course, a lot of that struggle plays out as they deal with each other at work.
I hope you enjoy The Doctor’s Date and the other books in the Copper Point: Medical series. May you have as great a time as I did exploring Erin and Owen’s adventure!
Owen had what Simon had said as well as what Erin had said ringing in his head all the rest of the day.
He was so agitated. He needed to blow off some steam.
He decided to look for Erin.
Owen moved on autopilot. He wanted a fight. He wondered if he’d get one. He wondered if he should get one. As he rode the elevator to the third floor, he fidgeted, unsure of what he was going to do or say when he arrived.
Maybe he shouldn’t go.
Probably he shouldn’t go.
When the elevator doors opened, he didn’t exit, allowing the three other passengers who had ridden with him to get off, and he remained on. Two new people got on, and the doors were starting to close to take him downstairs again when at the last second someone slipped inside—it was Erin, holding too many binders. On instinct, Owen reached for the stack.
Erin shifted and moved them farther away.
Owen glared at him.
“Would you press the first floor for me?” Erin asked.
Owen did, glancing at the stack. “You carry too much.”
Erin pursed his lips. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not. You’re clearly straining. You’re going to get a hernia.”
The two women in the back of the elevator exchanged a knowing look. Owen thought one of them hid a smile behind her hand.
The woman closest to Owen turned toward him, and before she opened her mouth, he could tell what she was going to say by the look in her eye. He froze, ready for impact.
“Dr. Gagnon, the other night, when you played the violin—”
Stepping in front of her, Erin thrust the stack of binders at Owen. “Fine. Take them, if it will stop your nagging.”
Stunned, Owen moved cautiously to accept the folders. He was more surprised when Erin’s gaze lingered on him.
That had been on purpose. Erin had cut her off so she couldn’t comment on his playing.
He’d just been rescued.
Goddamn if Owen wasn’t about to blush.
After reading book 1, I had two thoughts. 1. I need more Owen and 2. Why is Erin named Erin and not Aaron? Usually in a series, the “bad boy” or super closed off one, or whatever you want to call him is book 3. So I was super happy to get Owen’s story this time. Sorry, Jared, you have to wait for book 3.
Owen is the lone anesthesiologist at the small town hospital. He has 2 life long friends he loves fiercely. And seems to hate everyone else. But Erin fell in love with Owen when he was 13. And now that they are working together, Erin hopes to get to know Owen better, but Owen just bickers and fights with him.
It’s obvious to all of us that the bickering and fighting is straight up flirting to Owen. But poor Erin has zero game. Or social skills. So he ends up bidding a ridiculous amount on Owen at a fundraiser bachelor auction. Erin just wants a date. But Owen thinks he wants protection from his over bearing father.
It was pretty funny because Owen and Erin were actually honest and truthful with each other. They just weren’t listening. After a few missteps, Erin says he wanted a date. But Owen needs to protect Erin. Because that is what he does.
Add in a ridiculously overbearing father, more missing money from the hospital, sexual tension and nosy friends and you get a good story! There was a bit of whodunit with the embezzlement from the hospital. Which was a little anticlimactic because there was embezzlement from the hospital in book 1.
But with that story line mixed in with Erin’s parental issues and Owen’s parental issues gave us a lot of story meat to sink our teeth into.
And I just loved Owen. I knew I would. The way he takes care of Erin, without taking over his life, is just the sweetest thing. He checks in with him, never once mocking him about anything- inexperience, clumsiness, shyness, etc. He never rushed him and never pressured him. He was just swoony.
There are a few sex scenes, but nothing over the top. This is definitely more story and character driven than sex driven. Which is fine by me. I love a good sex scene, but I hate when they are filler.
Bring on book 3!
4 pieces of eye candy
