The Doctor's Little Secret

The Doctor's Little Secret
Jacqueline Diamond

Straight-Arrow M.D. Meets Shoot-From-The-Hip Lady CopAnd they are so wrong for each other!Russ McKenzie knows it the first time he runs afoul of Rachel Byers and stares down the barrel of her gun. But when the town's new doctor needs a temporary fiancеe to gain custody of the daughter he's kept secret for the past five years, he's sure the shapely policewoman's chutzpah will compensate for what she lacks in feminine wiles.As they become enmeshed in the dicey charade, however, he starts to fall for Rachel and her refreshingly frank ways. Pretty soon he's wishing he had his own set of handcuffs, to guarantee that she stays where she belongs–with his little girl, and of course with him!

“The problem is…”

He stopped.

Rachel waited for him to gather his thoughts. No hurry. Besides, she was enjoying the electricity in the air and the guy’s low-key yet unmistakable masculinity—a refreshing change from the macho specimens she knew.

“Lauren’s mother insists that she belongs in a family,” Russ explained. “She remembers me the way I was five years ago, not remotely ready for parenting.”

“How did you change her mind?” This ought to be interesting.

He cleared his throat. “I told her I was engaged.”

That was weird. “To who?”

“Well…you.”

Dear Reader,

The story of Russ and Rachel launches a new series about police officers and children. It actually began as two separate ideas.

First I pictured a woman who had survived a terrible car crash and was finally getting her life on track ten years later. She and her two closest friends volunteered at a homework center and became involved in the lives of needy children. At age thirty, they’d almost given up on love.

The second idea concerned three police officers (originally all male) who were reassessing their lives after narrowly escaping death. Each had to tackle an issue concerning children—perhaps a child given up for adoption, or a desire to have a child—now that life had given him a second chance.

These two ideas mingled in my mind until I realized that they belonged together. In the course of working out the stories, one of the officers became a woman—Rachel—and the man who’d given up a child for adoption became a doctor.

Subsequent stories concern Rachel’s friend Connie and her next-door nemesis, Hale; and Marta—the accident survivor—and the department’s Romeo, Derek. I hope you enjoy them!

Best,

Jacqueline Diamond

The Doctor’s Little Secret

Jacqueline Diamond

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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A former Associated Press reporter, Jacqueline Diamond has written more than sixty novels and received a Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times BOOKreviews. Jackie lives in Southern California with her husband, two sons and two cats. You can e-mail her at jdiamondfriends@aol.com (mailto:jdiamondfriends@aol.com) or visit her Web site at www.jacquelinediamond.com (http://www.jacquelinediamond.com).

Books by Jacqueline Diamond

HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE

913—THE IMPROPERLY PREGNANT PRINCESS

962—DIAGNOSIS: EXPECTING BOSS’S BABY

971—PRESCRIPTION: MARRY HER IMMEDIATELY

978—PROGNOSIS: A BABY? MAYBE

1046—THE BABY’S BODYGUARD

1075—THE BABY SCHEME

1094—THE POLICE CHIEF’S LADY* (#litres_trial_promo)

1101—NINE-MONTH SURPRISE* (#litres_trial_promo)

1109—A FAMILY AT LAST* (#litres_trial_promo)

1118—DAD BY DEFAULT* (#litres_trial_promo)

1130—THE DOCTOR + FOUR* (#litres_trial_promo)

As always, for Kurt

Contents

Chapter One (#u53b3936a-c67a-58db-8bb8-0534bfa3a4c4)

Chapter Two (#uc1ad3f79-ba24-5be3-a11e-a31a4cdd61cb)

Chapter Three (#uaa5aca97-8ddc-5b92-8070-7872a88742fd)

Chapter Four (#uc00c2c75-7bc0-5cf7-87f4-45df263123c8)

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)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)