Six More Hot Single Dads!
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About the Authors
MARIE FERRARELLA
This USA TODAY bestselling and RITA® Award-winning author has written more than two hundred books for Mills & Boon Books, some under the name Marie Nicole. Her romances are beloved by fans worldwide. Visit her website at www.marieferrarella.com.
MARION LENNOX is a country girl, born on an Australian dairy farm. She moved on mostly because the cows just weren’t interested in her stories! Married to a “very special doctor,” Marion writes Medical Romances as well as Mills & Boon Romance (she used to write under the name of Trisha David, too). She’s now had more than 80 romance novels published.
In her nonwriting life, Marion cares for kids, cats, dogs, chickens, and goldfish. She travels and she fights her rampant garden (she’s losing) and her house dust (she’s lost).
Having spun in circles for the first part of her life, she’s now stepped back from her “other” career, which was teaching statistics at her local university. Finally, she’s reprioritized her life, figured out what’s important and discovered the joys of deep baths, romance and chocolate. Preferably all at the same time!
Like many authors, CLAIRE BAXTER tried several careers before finding the one she really wanted. She’s worked as a PA, a translator (French), a public relations consultant and a corporate communications manager. She took a break from corporate communications to complete a degree in journalism and, more importantly, to find out whether she could write a romance novel—a childhood dream. Now she can’t stop writing romance. Nor does she plan to give up her fabulous lifestyle for anything. While Claire grew up in Warwickshire, England, she now lives in the beautiful city of Adelaide in South Australia, with her husband, two sons and two dogs. When she’s not writing, she’s either reading or swimming in her backyard pool—another childhood dream—or even reading in the pool. She hasn’t tried writing in the pool yet, but it could happen. Claire loves to hear from readers. If you’d like to contact her, please visit www.clairebaxter.com.
JENNIFER TAYLOR has written for several different Mills & Boon series, but it wasn’t until she ‘discovered’ Medical Romances that she found her true niche. Jennifer loves the blend of modern romance and exciting medical drama. Widowed, she divides her time between homes in Lancashire and the Lake District. Her hobbies include reading, walking, travelling and spending time with her two gorgeous grandchildren.
RACHAEL JOHNS is an English teacher by trade, a mum 24/7, a chronic arachnophobe and a writer the rest of the time. She rarely sleeps and never irons. A lover of romance and women’s fiction, Rachael loves nothing more than sitting in bed with her laptop and electric blanket and imagining her own stories. Rachael has finaled in a number of competitions, including the Australian Romance Readers Awards—Jilted, her first rural romance, won Favourite Contemporary Romance in 2012. She was voted in the top ten of Booktopia’s Australia’s Favourite Author poll in 2013. Rachael lives in the West Australian hills with her hyperactive husband, three mostly gorgeous heroes in training, two fat cats, a cantankerous bird and a very badly behaved dog. Rachael loves to hear from readers and can be contacted via her website, www.rachaeljohns.com. She is also on Facebook and Twitter.
Also by Marie Ferrarella
Diamond in the Rough #1910
The Bride with No Name #1917
Mistletoe and Miracles #1941
Plain Jane and the Playboy #1946
Travis’s Appeal #1958
Loving the Right Brother #1977
The 39-Year-Old Virgin #1983
A Lawman for Christmas #2006
Prescription for Romance #2017
Doctoring the Single Dad #2031
Fixed Up with Mr. Right? #2041
Finding Happily-Ever-After #2060
Unwrapping the Playboy #2084
Fortune’s Just Desserts #2107
A Match for the Doctor #2117
What the Single Dad Wants #2122
A Doctor’s Secret #1503
Secret Agent Affair #1511
Protecting His Witness #1515
Colton’s Secret Service #1528
The Heiress’s 2-Week Affair #1556
Cavanaugh Pride #1571
Becoming a Cavanaugh #1575
The Agent’s Secret Baby #1580
The Cavanaugh Code #1587
In Bed with the Badge #1596
Cavanaugh Judgment #1612
Colton by Marriage #1616
Cavanaugh Reunion #1623
In His Protective Custody #1644
Pocketful of Rainbows #145
The Sheriff’s Christmas Surprise #1329
Ramona and the Renegade #1338
The Doctor’s Forever Family #1346
Also by Kate Hardy
Dr. Cinderella’s Midnight Fling
Once a Playboy...
The Brooding Doc’s Redemption
A Date with the Ice Princess
Her Real Family Christmas
200 Harley Street: The Soldier Prince
It Started with No Strings...
A Baby to Heal Their Hearts
A Promise...to a Proposal?
Her Playboy’s Proposal
A New Year Marriage Proposal
It Started at a Wedding...
Falling for Mr. December
Billionaire, Boss...Bridegroom?
Holiday with the Best Man
Also by Jennifer Taylor
The Larches Practice
The Boss Who Stole Her Heart
Saving His Little Miracle
One More Night with Her Desert Prince…
Best Friend to Perfect Bride
Miracle Under the Mistletoe
The Greek Doctor’s Secret Son
Reawakened by the Surgeon’s Touch
Also by Rachael Johns
A Dog and a Diamond
Pregnant by Mr. Wrong
The Art of Keeping Secrets
Jilted
The Kissing Season
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.
Six More Hot Single Dads
What the Single Dad Wants
Marie Ferrarella
Capturing the Single Dad’s Heart
Kate Hardy
Misty and the Single Dad
Marion Lennox
The Single Dad’s Patchwork Family
Claire Baxter
Bride for the Single Dad
Jennifer Taylor
The Single Dad’s Family Recipe
Rachael Johns
www.millsandboon.co.uk
ISBN: 978-1-474-08577-9
SIX MORE HOT SINGLE DADS
What the Single Dad Wants © 2011 Marie Rydzynski-Ferrarella Capturing the Single Dad’s Heart © 2016 Pamela Brooks Misty and the Single Dad © 2011 Marion Lennox The Single Dad’s Patchwork Family © 2008 Claire Baxter Bride for the Single Dad © 2017 Jennifer Taylor The Single Dad’s Family Recipe © 2018 Rachael Johns
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.
www.millsandboon.co.uk
Version: 2020-03-02
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Table of Contents
Cover
About the Authors
Booklist
Title Page
Copyright
What the Single Dad Wants
Dear Reader
Dedication
Prologue
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
Chapter Sixteen
Epilogue
Capturing the Single Dad’s Heart
Back Cover Text
Introduction
Dear Reader
Dedication
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
EPILOGUE
Misty and the Single Dad
Dear Reader
Dedication
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
The Single Dad’s Patchwork Family
Dedication
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
EPILOGUE
Bride for the Single Dad
Back Cover Text
Introduction
Dear Reader
Praise
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
The Single Dad’s Family Recipe
Back Cover Text
Dedication
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
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Epilogue
About the Publisher
What the Single Dad Wants
Marie Ferrarella
“I believe when we last saw Isabelle and Brandon, she was in his arms and he was having a difficult time controlling his desire for her.”
Isabelle laughed. “Are you planning on narrating everything that happens between us?” she asked.
“Probably not.” He brushed his lips against each cheek. “Suspense thrillers are my forte, not romantic scenes, remember?”
“Oh, I wouldn’t exactly say that,” she contradicted. “You seem to have a very natural aptitude for romantic scenes.”
“Nice of you to notice,” he told her, continuing to shower her face with tiny, arousing kisses. “I think you should know that no matter what I’m doing, I always try to top whatever I’ve done before.”
“Well then, in the words of the immortal Bette Davis, I guess I’d better fasten my seat belt, because it’s going to be a bumpy night.”
“Don’t bother fastening anything,” he instructed. “I’ll only have to unfasten it.”
Dear Reader,
Brandon Slade is a bestselling author who seems to have it all: looks, money, a sense of humor. He even has a movie icon as a mother. But famous people need loving, too, and Brandon was once married to someone he’d thought was the woman of his dreams, only to have her abandon him and their infant daughter. It made him leery of romantic entanglements and very leery of his own ability to judge a person accurately. All of which makes his mother despair that he will ever get married again.
As for Isabelle Sinclair, she’s decided that she’s perfectly happy dedicating herself to “fixing broken people.” She’s a physical therapist who thrives on challenges and brings her own personal brand of enthusiasm to her work. She’s in business with her older sister, Zoe, who, like Brandon’s mother, worries that Isabelle will never know the joy of having her own family. But once Zoe and Brandon’s mother make their fears known to Cecilia Parnell, one third of our Matchmaking Mamas, all they have to do is sit back and wait for the magic to happen. Because it does.
As ever, I thank you for reading, and from the bottom of my heart I wish you someone to love who loves you back.
With love,
Marie
To Patience Smith,
who keeps letting me
continue
spinning my stories
in the
school yard
Prologue
Maizie Sommers raised her eyes from the five fanned out cards she held in her hand and slowly scanned the faces of her two very best, lifelong friends, Theresa Manetti and Cecilia Parnell. They were playing poker. The weekly game was the excuse they used in order to take a temporary break from their thriving businesses. They would get together to catch up, share and gossip, although Theresa preferred to call it “a review of local news.”
Lately, of equal importance was their continuing passion for matchmaking. And they were good at it.
“So, ladies, any prospects or projects in the offing?” Maizie asked hopefully. Her lively eyes shifted from one face to the other. Faces she knew as well as, if not better than, her own.
The past few weeks had gone by without any of them calling the others, excitedly stating that their services—those outside of the real estate business that Maizie ran, the high-end cleaning service that belonged to Cecilia or the popular catering business that had initially begun in Theresa’s kitchen—were once more required.
Cecilia frowned at the hand she had been dealt and separated four of the five cards she held, disdainfully putting them face down on the table.
“Well, I don’t know if this constitutes a ‘project,’” she began offhandedly, “But Anastasia Del Vecchio was carrying on again about her son’s single status. The last time I was overseeing the cleaning crew at her mausoleum of a house, she told me that she would be going on tour in this revival for the next six months. She would really love to leave him and her granddaughter in good hands.”
Maizie paused, thinking. Remembering. “Her son’s that writer, isn’t he? The one who writes those bestselling thrillers, right?”
“Brandon Slade.” Cecilia supplied the author’s name. “I clean both their houses.” She leaned slightly forward, sharing a confidence. “Brandon is rather organized for a man. As for her, Anastasia couldn’t pick up after herself if her life depended on it.”
“She’s an actress. It’s not part of her repertoire,” Maizie commented with a soft laugh. “As for hoping to leave her son in ‘good hands,’ I’m sure someone as famous and successful as Brandon Slade never lacks for female companionship.”
“There’s a difference between ‘female companionship’ and a woman of substance, the kind a man could spend the rest of his life with,” Theresa interjected with a knowing expression.
The others knew she was referring to what would have, until recently, described her son Kullen’s situation. The highly successful, handsome young lawyer had once had a different woman on his arm every week. They had arranged things so that he reconnected with the only woman who had ever meant anything to him. A woman, thanks to them, he would soon marry.
Maizie stopped pretending that the cards had any sort of a hold on her attention and placed them all face down on the card table. She slanted a look at Theresa.
“I know that tone. You have someone in mind for Anastasia’s son, don’t you?”
Theresa smiled. Of the three of them, she was the shyest. But her convictions and loyalties were just as fierce as those her friends harbored.
“Let’s just say I have someone who needs to be led to water,” Theresa admitted subtly.
“Give,” Cecilia ordered, shifting to the edge of her seat and looking at her friend expectantly.
“I catered a lunch for Healing Hands—it’s a private physical therapy organization,” Theresa explained, answering the silent quizzical looks she saw on Cecilia’s and Maizie’s faces. “The owner, Zoe Sinclair, said she was worried about her younger sister, Isabelle. She said Isabelle was entirely too dedicated, which was good for the company, but bad for Isabelle’s love life—something Zoe said that, as far as she knew, her sister hadn’t had in at least a couple of years. Maybe more.”
Cecilia sighed. “I know how that is,” the woman murmured.
The truth was all three of them did. Friends since the third grade, they had cheered one another on through courtships, marriages and children. And grieved as, one by one, they found themselves sharing yet something else: widowhood.
Eternally optimistic, they believed firmly in romance, which had first caused them to dabble in their daughters’ lives, then in Theresa’s son’s situation. Hooked on the challenge, they were eager to branch out, to help friends and clients who sought to have their children or their siblings find satisfying, lasting relationships. They sought no repayment for their efforts. They did it for the sheer joy of bringing two people together.
Making no response to Cecilia’s comment, Theresa produced a candid photograph of her catering client’s sister, taken by someone at the party.
With a laugh, Cecilia dug into her oversize purse and pulled out the latest thriller by Brandon Slade, a book he’d given her the last time her crew had cleaned his house. She placed it front cover side down on the table.
“I’ll see your photograph and raise you a dust jacket,” Cecilia declared, pushing the book to the middle of the table, next to Isabelle Sinclair’s picture.
Maizie looked from Brandon to Isabelle and nodded thoughtfully. “Looks to me as if these two young people would make a truly wonderful couple,” she agreed, then raised her eyes to look at her friends. “But how do we bring them together?”
That, they all knew, temporarily stumped, was the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question.
Chapter One
Drama was Anastasia Del Vecchio’s life. In the spotlight since she’d been three years old, the venerable actress could be forgiven if at times she indulged her inner child and fell back on being a drama queen, something that had been deemed “adorable” by the movie reviewers when she was three, four and five, but seen as a tad grating on the nerves when she hit her teens and twenties.
Ever the trouper, she’d reinvented herself a handful of times since then and was now considered one of the acting world’s last true icons.
For the most part, the actress refrained from giving in to this whim. Although, by no stretch of the imagination could the terms “shy” or “retiring” ever be applied to Anastasia Del Vecchio, not even when she slept. At this point in her career, everything about the legendary star was considered to be larger than life. She made a point of greeting both life and people with enthusiastic gusto.