Anna Adams - Owen's Best Intentions

She always knew this day would come

When her former boyfriend shows up at her Vermont home, Lilah Bantry is terrified that Owen Gage will take her child away. Four years ago, she sent him packing, dead certain that Owen couldn’t be the father their unborn baby needed. Now he’s stirring up powerful emotions and vowing he’ll never leave the son he’s determined to get to know. Lilah spent decades trying to overcome her own traumatic past. Is Owen’s warmly welcoming Tennessee hometown a place where she can finally stop running? First, she needs to be convinced that people really can change…

“You have the life you stole from me.”

Lilah squeezed the towel in her hands. “I don’t know you anymore, Owen, but I don’t want you near Ben. He’d be afraid of you if he saw you the way you used to get.”

He turned around to face her.

Suddenly she felt as if she were vibrating. Was this shock? She couldn’t control her reaction to seeing Owen again. He was still handsome, rugged.

She saw shadows of the younger man she’d loved.

She didn’t want to see him, or remember how she’d cared for him. Loved him as much as she was able. She must not have loved him the way she’d thought if she’d managed to excise him from her life.

She couldn’t let him back in.

Dear Reader Dear Reader Title Page About the Author 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 CHAPTER SEVENTEEN CHAPTER EIGHTEEN EPILOGUE Copyright ,

Owen Gage and Lilah Bantry knew each other at a time when they were both trying to live down the secrets that ruled their lives. When Lilah discovered she was pregnant, she decided the baby was one more secret she had to keep because Owen had problems he didn’t want to fix, and she was determined their child would never suffer the fear both she and Owen knew as children.

When Owen discovers Ben was born, he wants only revenge—and a chance to get to know the son he would never harm. Except his revenge can’t bring Ben happiness, and he finds himself beginning to understand why Lilah made the decision he hates. It’s only when Lilah and Owen give up the defenses that kept them safe before and learn to be generous with each other that they also learn to love. They begin to wonder if they can be a family…

I hope their story brings you the joy they find in each other.

All the best,

Anna

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ANNA ADAMSwrote her first romance on the beach in wet sand with a stick. These days she uses pens, software or napkins and a crayon to write the kinds of stories she loves best—romance that involves everyone in the family and often the whole community. Love, like a stone tossed into a lake, causes ripples to spread and contract, bringing conflict and well-meaning “help” from the people who care most.

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Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text She always knew this day would come When her former boyfriend shows up at her Vermont home, Lilah Bantry is terrified that Owen Gage will take her child away. Four years ago, she sent him packing, dead certain that Owen couldn’t be the father their unborn baby needed. Now he’s stirring up powerful emotions and vowing he’ll never leave the son he’s determined to get to know. Lilah spent decades trying to overcome her own traumatic past. Is Owen’s warmly welcoming Tennessee hometown a place where she can finally stop running? First, she needs to be convinced that people really can change…

Introduction “You have the life you stole from me.” Lilah squeezed the towel in her hands. “I don’t know you anymore, Owen, but I don’t want you near Ben. He’d be afraid of you if he saw you the way you used to get.” He turned around to face her. Suddenly she felt as if she were vibrating. Was this shock? She couldn’t control her reaction to seeing Owen again. He was still handsome, rugged. She saw shadows of the younger man she’d loved. She didn’t want to see him, or remember how she’d cared for him. Loved him as much as she was able. She must not have loved him the way she’d thought if she’d managed to excise him from her life. She couldn’t let him back in.

Dear Reader Dear Reader Dear Reader Title Page About the Author 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 CHAPTER SEVENTEEN CHAPTER EIGHTEEN EPILOGUE Copyright , Owen Gage and Lilah Bantry knew each other at a time when they were both trying to live down the secrets that ruled their lives. When Lilah discovered she was pregnant, she decided the baby was one more secret she had to keep because Owen had problems he didn’t want to fix, and she was determined their child would never suffer the fear both she and Owen knew as children. When Owen discovers Ben was born, he wants only revenge—and a chance to get to know the son he would never harm. Except his revenge can’t bring Ben happiness, and he finds himself beginning to understand why Lilah made the decision he hates. It’s only when Lilah and Owen give up the defenses that kept them safe before and learn to be generous with each other that they also learn to love. They begin to wonder if they can be a family… I hope their story brings you the joy they find in each other. All the best, Anna

Title Page Owen’s Best Intentions Anna Adams www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author ANNA ADAMS wrote her first romance on the beach in wet sand with a stick. These days she uses pens, software or napkins and a crayon to write the kinds of stories she loves best—romance that involves everyone in the family and often the whole community. Love, like a stone tossed into a lake, causes ripples to spread and contract, bringing conflict and well-meaning “help” from the people who care most.

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

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

EPILOGUE

Copyright

PROLOGUE

“HERE, BUDDY. THIS is the place.” Owen Gage had to concentrate to make the words sound normal as he raised his hand awkwardly to tap on the taxi’s back passenger window.

“You sure?” The driver pulled to the curb in front of Lilah Bantry’s apartment building on one of Manhattan’s long, narrow, building-bound streets. “This your place? Do you want me to wait?”

“No, why?”

“It’s none of my business, but I’m not sure you belong here, and I feel bad just dropping a drunk guy on the street.”