Their Little Princess

Their Little Princess
Susan Mallery

After a devastating heartbreak, Dr. Kelly Hall had given up all hope of family and happiness.Then single father Tanner Malone breached her lonely existence with a magnetic virility that was hard to resist. His charming smiles and come-hither glances drew her like a moth to a flame, and watching Tanner cradle his infant daughter had her yearning for what she'd been missing from her life.But Kelly could never let down her defenses, especially since she harbored a secret that she'd risk all to hide. Nonetheless, she wished that Tanner's little princess was THEIR little princess, and that she could call father and daughter her own….

Despite her best intentions, Kelly felt her heart opening to both this man and this child.

Tanner was the kind of man women dreamed about. Not just because he was handsome, but because he was strong and kind and caring. He’d taken Lia, even knowing he was going to be a single father. He’d lacked both skills and practical knowledge. He’d been terrified, but he’d done it anyway.

And somehow, when she wasn’t paying attention, Kelly had intertwined both her life and her heart with the pair and she didn’t know how to separate them.

She was in no position to get involved with anyone right now.

Still, she knew that she’d found an incredibly special man. And although she wasn’t ready, if she wanted to keep him in her life, she was going to have to do something about getting ready.

Their Little Princess

Susan Mallery

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

To Christine Flynn and Christine Rimmer,

for letting me “ride along” a second time.

This was great fun and I hope we can do it again real soon.

And to my editor, Karen Taylor Richman,

who believed in this project

from the beginning.

SUSAN MALLERY

is the bestselling author of over thirty books for Silhouette. Always a fan of romance novels, Susan finds herself in the unique position of living out her own personal romantic fantasy with the new man in her life. Susan lives in sunny California with her handsome hero husband and her two adorable but not-bright cats.

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

A Note From the Author

Chapter One

“You’re going to tell me that I’m crazy,” Tanner Malone said as he paced the length of his brother’s office. “Maybe I am. Maybe I’ve been working too hard, or maybe it’s because I’m going to be forty in three years. I don’t know why I have to do this, I just know that I do.”

He paused in the center of the office and stared at his brother, Ryan, who sat behind his large wooden desk. “You’re not saying anything,” Tanner told him. “Don’t you want to talk me out of this?”

Ryan gave an easy, familiar smile. “I’ve got three kids already, and another one on the way. Who am I to advise anyone against fatherhood? You might find that you like it.”

Tanner nodded once, then collapsed into the leather chair opposite Ryan’s. “Fatherhood,” he muttered under his breath. “I am crazy. What do I know about being a father?”

“You’re a great uncle, if that helps. My kids adore you. All kids adore you. For that matter, women seem to find you irresistible. I’ll bet that puppies and kittens follow you around, too.”

Tanner didn’t have to glance at his older brother’s face to know that Ryan was kidding him. “This is serious,” he said. “I have to make a decision.”

“I know you do, and I’ll give you whatever information you want, it’s just…” Ryan shrugged. “I can’t help it, Tanner. For years you made fun of my boring married life, all the while being the carefree bachelor. You’ve gone through girlfriends like most guys go through a six pack of beer over Super Bowl weekend. You gave it a good race, but someone finally caught you.”

“So what you’re saying is I’m due.” Tanner didn’t like the sound of that, but he wasn’t sure his brother was wrong. He’d avoided paying for his lifestyle for a long time. But in the next twenty-four hours, that was all going to change.

“I’m pointing out that it’s taken you a long time to come to the place where you have to make some difficult choices,” Ryan said. “Most men have already gone through this by the time they’re your age.”

Tanner leaned back in his chair. He knew Ryan was right—about a lot of things. What his older brother wasn’t saying was that Tanner had occasionally needed to fall on his butt before life or circumstances or whatever got his attention. Well, he was paying attention now. The problem was what to do?

“I don’t know how to be a good father,” Tanner said as the knot in his stomach went from the size of a baseball to that of a basketball. He felt as if he’d taken a tumble from one of his high-rises and while the fall hadn’t killed him, it had sure shaken him up some.

“No one knows anything at the beginning,” Ryan said. “You learn by doing.”

“What if I mess him up? I don’t want my son suffering just because his old man couldn’t get the hang of parenting.”