The Brennan Baby

The Brennan Baby
Barbara Boswell

MAN of the Month MR. FEBRUARYThe Brennan Man: The very handsome and sexy Dr. Devlin Brennan, expertly skilled in the operating room… and the bedroom.The Brennan Charm: His bedside manner could win over any woman - except Gillian Bailey, the one who really mattered.The Brennan Baby?: Seems Gillian had some serious explaining to do… So Devlin was a daddy!He and Gillian had definitely shared some heated moments. But she'd walked away first - a fact that still rubbed love-'em-and-leave-'em Brennan the wrong way. And now that he knew about his child, he wasn't letting Gillian get away again.Devlin would make sure his baby had his name, and the woman he'd never forgotten would once again share his bed. Even if it meant resorting to… marriage!

Excerpt (#uf95f5fcf-b96f-5984-a3b3-81a56fd1bbdd)Letter to Reader (#u7ad2571b-e0c3-5a7e-af84-c6ae1686c256)About the Author (#u9d7b2151-b55b-5f30-9e3d-c9a8d82ffcb4)Title Page (#u6d42dbc2-4405-56b5-8e55-c6091f411971)Chapter One (#ud48bf881-daf2-55d5-bc1a-f84fe61354f0)Chapter Two (#u4b95ec2a-9cb4-5132-8fff-104cc67ad893)Chapter Three (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)Teaser chapter (#litres_trial_promo)Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

“It’s Time For Us To Have The Discussion We Should Have Had Months Ago, Gillian.”

“It doesn’t matter to me what you want,” she told him. “You are not a part of our lives and you aren’t going to be.”

“Like hell!” Devlin grabbed her, turned her toward him. “Now that I know I have a child, I’m damn well going to be a part of her life. A big part.”

Gillian was trapped, and her fighting instincts surged to the fore. “There is no—”

“I’m Ashley’s father!” Devlin’s voice rose. Hearing the admission from his own lips sent a new surge of shock waves through him. He was a father! He felt a peculiar stirring in his chest and wondered if it was the kindling of that primal patriarchal bond or pure and simple rage at Gillian for her deception.

“Why, Gillian?” he asked. “How could you do this? Do you hate me so much?”

Dear Reader,

February, month of valentines, celebrates lovers—which is what Silhouette Desire does every month of the year. So this month, we have an extraspecial lineup of sensual and emotional page-turners. But how do you choose which exciting book to read first when all six stones are asking Be Mine?

Bestselling author Barbara Boswell delivers February’s MAN OF THE MONTH, a gorgeous doctor who insists on being a full-time father to his newly discovered child, in The Brennan Baby. Bride of the Bad Boy is the wonderful first book m Elizabeth Bevarly’s brand-new BLAME IT ON BOB trilogy. Don’t miss this fun story about a marriage of inconvenience!

Cupid slings an arrow at neighboring ranchers in Her Torrid Temporary Marriage by Sara Orwig. Next, a woman’s thirtieth-birthday wish brings her a supersexy cowboy—and an unexpected pregnancy—in The Texan, by Catherine Lanigan. Carole Buck brings red-hot chemistry to the pages of Three-Alarm Love. And Barbara McCauley’s Courtship in Granite Ridge reunites a single mother with the man she’d always loved.

Have a romantic holiday this month—and every month—with Silhouette Desire. Enjoy!

Melissa Senate

Senior Editor

Please address questions and book requests to:

Silhouette Reader Service

U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

About the Author

BARBARA BOSWELL loves writing about families. “I guess family has been a big influence on my writing,” she says. “I particularly enjoy writing about how my characters’ family relationships affect them.”

When Barbara isn’t writing and reading, she’s spending time with her own family—her husband, three daughters and three cats, whom she concedes are the true bosses of their home! She has lived in Europe, but now makes her home in Pennsylvania. She collects miniatures and holiday ornaments, tries to avoid exercise and has somehow found the time to write over twenty category romances.

The Brennan Baby

Barbara Boswell

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

One

“At least have the grace to admit it, Dev,” said Devlin Brennan’s sister Kylie as she staggered into his new apartment, weighted down by the towering stack of compact discs in her arms. “You knew you’d be moving into your new apartment this weekend and that’s the only reason why you invited Cade and me to visit. To help you move all your stuff!”

“Well, there is that, of course.” Devlin’s blue eyes gleamed.

He and his brother-in-law, Cade Austin, were holding opposite ends of the long slate-gray sofa they’d hauled up four flights of stairs, having bypassed the endless wait for the busy elevator. Many new tenants were moving into the building this weekend, and all the noise and activity gave the place the feel of a college dorm at the beginning of the term.

“But I also wanted to spend some time with you, little sis,” Devlin added. He and Cade set the sofa down in front of the window.

“That’s the same smarmy tone you used to trick me into investing my allowance m your comic book collection back when we were kids,” Kylie said dryly.

Devlin cast an affectionate glance at her. Kylie was not one to be fooled, but he didn’t intend to stop trying. “How about this, then? I hoped the three of us could spend some time, uh, bonding. And what better way to bond with your family than while moving?”

“Feels more like bondage to me,” Cade growled

Devlin ignored him. “I missed you two. After all, I haven’t seen you since your wedding, and that was—what?—a couple months ago?”

“Our wedding was July first and today is September first, so it’s exactly two months ago.” Kylie was precise. “I wish you’d come visit us in Port McClain, Dev. We could bond there just as well as here. No, even better because in Port McClain we wouldn’t have to lug furniture from building to building Our house has—”

“Have I told you how great you both look?” Devlin offered his most winning smile, determined to divert her before she began making plans for his future visit. He was in no hurry to visit Port McClain. The small Ohio town where Kylie and her husband lived was filled with other Brennans—a host of aunts, uncles and cousins—and Devlin didn’t want to get entangled in the sticky web of extended family. “Marriage must agree with you,” he added gallantly.

“Absolutely ” Cade’s eyes met Kylie’s and she smiled at him.

Dev stirred uncomfortably. The smile his sister gave her husband was a private one, of such intimacy and warmth that he felt almost guilty witnessing it. He hoped they weren’t going to launch into an appalling display of mushy marital baby talk. Devlin eyed the door, lining up his possible escape route at the first sounds of it

“Dev, have you given any thought to getting married?” Kylie asked instead, turning her earnest blue eyes on her older brother.

Devlin groaned aloud. He would’ve preferred the romantic gobbledygook to The Question. “Sure. I’ve thought about it. And here’s what I think—I don’t want to get married.”

“Not ever?” Kylie was worried. “You’re just kidding, right? Seriously, Devlin, you do want to settle down sometime and—”

“Jeez, Kylie, you sound like Mom! Since the day of your wedding, she’s been asking when mine will be. Dad’s even starting to get in on the act. The last time I talked to him he actually said, ‘Well, son, met that special girl yet?’” He did a passable imitation of their father’s flat Midwestern tones.

“Well, have you?” Cade drawled.

Looking pained, Dev turned to his brother-in-law. “No offense, Cade, but before Kylie married you, the folks tended to focus their dreams of marriage and grandchildren on her. I was spared. But since Kylie’s taken the plunge, the heat is on me. Suddenly Mom can’t understand why I’m thirty-one and unattached. She worries about me eating right, she worries about me growing old alone. She fears I might follow in the footsteps of our late uncle Gene and turn into an irascible old bachelor. Every Sunday without fail, I get maternal angst long distance from Florida. Those weekly calls to the folks are driving me nuts!”

“Driving others nuts is a Brennan specialty,” Cade murmured. “Uh, present company excluded, of course,” he added when Kylie playfully socked his arm in protest.

“Cade and I aren’t entirely off the hook, Dev,” Kylie confessed. “Mom has let us know in no uncertain terms that she’s ready to be a grandmother and she hopes we won’t make her wait too long.”

“Nine months is about as long as your mother wants to wait for her first grandchild,” Cade added, amused. “But Kylie and I have decided to be a couple for a while, before we become a trio.”

“Good for you!” Devlin offered his endorsement. “I’m definitely not ready to be Uncle Dev yet.”

Him, an uncle! The idea boggled his mind. He pictured uncles as dull, somewhat grouchy older guys like his uncles Guy and Artie and the deceased Gene. No, he was not yet ready to play that role for the next generation. It was hard enough to remember that he was now somebody’s brother-in-law!