Surprise, Doc! You're A Daddy!

889—SURPRISE, DOC! YOU’RE A DADDY!

HARLEQUIN INTRIGUE

435—AND THE BRIDE VANISHES

512—HIS SECRET SON

550—CAPTURED BY A SHEIKH

Dear Reader,

Having babies was both the scariest and the most exciting thing I ever did. Until I was in my late twenties, I wasn’t even sure I wanted kids, but after I got married, the maternal alarm clock went off in a big way.

Creating a family didn’t turn out to be easy but, as for my hero and heroine, it brought my husband and me closer together. A man’s support for his wife and the special bond he forms with his children help to keep love fresh and wonderful over the years.

My heroine knows that, even when her husband disappears, his love for his daughter will someday reunite them. There is nothing stronger in this life than the bond of a parent with a child.

Warmly,

Jacqueline Diamond

Contents

Chapter One (#u9caf9907-36f7-57f1-b23a-35fee20ed7d4)

Chapter Two (#u070469a6-f289-5422-9c0d-2da9973a71bc)

Chapter Three (#u347e7695-b9c3-5ac0-9d60-080b82fd643e)

Chapter Four (#uae77dbe0-1ae8-5f3d-8d8c-64def768dd65)

Chapter Five (#u5a193e2c-3bf7-57a6-84f8-2a471841a373)

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)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter One

Meg Avery twisted in her seat to peek at the baby in the back seat. Cradled in her carrier, tiny Dana slept like an angel.

“Has she grown any more toes in the thirty seconds since the last time you checked?” teased her husband Joe from behind the wheel.

Reassured, Meg settled into place. “Babies can get tangled up, or scared or—well, who knows?” Of course, that hadn’t happened. If it did, she had a feeling Joe would know about it before she did.

He had formed an almost mystical bond with their daughter from the moment of her birth a month ago. Maybe it was because, after Meg suffered pains two weeks early and delayed going to the hospital because she thought it was false labor, Joe had ended up delivering Dana himself.

A doctor couldn’t have done a better job, the paramedics said when they arrived. Ever since, Joe had been the first one to get up and attend to Dana during the night and whenever he was home.

Meg turned her attention to the freeway ahead of her. Through the windshield of her aging sedan, it unrolled for miles as they bypassed downtown Los Angeles, heading north toward her father’s home in Santa Barbara.

Although her dad had had a drinking problem in the past, he was sober now, working as a shoe store manager and eager to meet his first grandchild. Meg looked forward to introducing him to Dana.

She turned around and checked on the baby again. Despite earlier efforts to tame them, wisps of red hair stuck up at odd angles.

“You don’t have to keep checking. There’s no need to worry as long as you follow a few simple precautions,” Joe said, speaking in a formal manner that always puzzled her. For a restaurant worker who, like Meg, had never finished high school, he sometimes talked pretty fancy.

“How would you know? You never had a baby before,” she pointed out.

“I’m not sure how I know.” He rubbed his forehead as if it hurt.

“You’re not getting another headache, are you?” Even though her husband seemed healthy, his recurring headaches made Meg worry that he hadn’t fully recovered from his near fatal accident eighteen months ago. “I can drive if you like.”

“I’m fine, but we are a little low on gas,” Joe said. “I’ll pull over at the next off-ramp.”

“Good idea.” She could rely on Joe to keep track of the gas level the same way he kept track of their finances and every other aspect of their lives. She couldn’t understand how he’d once had a reputation for being irresponsible.

While he watched for an exit sign, Meg indulged herself in admiring the man to whom she’d been married for an incredibly happy year.

From the side, she studied his well-shaped nose and strong jaw. The morning light transformed his blond hair into spun gold and, when he turned his head to smile at her, his deep green eyes glowed like emeralds.

Joe Avery would make a perfect prince in a fairy tale. To Meg, that’s exactly what he was.

Handsome strangers didn’t often wander into Mercy Canyon, the small southern California town where she’d lived most of her life. The few who did paid no attention to waitress Meg O’Flaherty, with her bushy reddish-brown hair and freckled cheeks.

Joe hadn’t had much choice, she reflected with a glint of humor.