Judith Mcwilliams - Dr. Charming

He’d made Gina suspicious.

And he didn’t want her suspicious. He wanted her to treat him as she had before. As a friend. He wanted her to talk to him as if she liked him, Nick Balfour, the man. Not Nick Balfour, the eminent surgeon, or Nick Balfour, the very wealthy owner of the monstrous trust fund his grandfather had left him. Being valued for himself was an intoxicating experience that he didn’t want to give up until he had to. He wanted to bask in the feeling for just a while longer.

He knew things would change once he told Gina the truth….

Dear Reader,

Spring is here. And what better way to enjoy nature’s renewed vigor than with an afternoon on the porch swing, lost in four brand-new stories of love everlasting from Silhouette Romance?

New York Times bestselling author Diana Palmer leads our lineup this month with Cattleman’s Pride (#1718), the latest in her LONG, TALL TEXANS miniseries. Get to know the stubborn, seductive rancher and the shy innocent woman who yearns for him. Will her love be enough to corral his heart?

When a single, soon-to-be mom hires a matchmaker to find her a practical husband, she makes it clear she doesn’t want a man who inspires reckless passion…but then she meets her new boss! In Myrna Mackenzie’s miniseries THE BRIDES OF RED ROSE classic legends take on a whole new interpretation. Don’t miss Midas’s Bride (#1719)!

Her Millionaire Marine (#1720), from USA TODAY bestselling author Cathie Linz, and part of her MEN OF HONOR miniseries, finds a beautiful lawyer making sure the marine she secretly adores fulfills his grandfather’s will. Falling in love with the daredevil is not part of the plan!

And Judith McWilliams’s Dr. Charming (#1721) puts a stranded female traveler in the path of a mysterious doctor; she agrees to take a job in exchange for a temporary home—with him. Now, this man makes her want to explore passion, but can he tempt her to take the ultimate risk?

Sincerely,

Mavis C. Allen

Associate Senior Editor

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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To Moses, with love and gratitude for eight wonderful years

Silhouette Romance

Gift of the Gods #479

The Summer Proposal #1562

Her Secret Children #1648

Did You Say…Wife? #1681

Dr. Charming #1721

Silhouette Desire

Reluctant Partners #441

A Perfect Season #545

That’s My Baby #597

Anything’s Possible! #911

The Man from Atlantis #954

Instant Husband #1001

Practice Husband #1062

Another Man’s Baby #1095

The Boss, the Beauty and the Bargain #1122

The Sheik’s Secret #1228

began to enjoy romances while in search of the proverbial “happily-ever-after.” But she always found herself rewriting the endings—and eventually the beginnings—of the books she read. Then her husband finally suggested that she write novels of her own, and she’s been doing so ever since.

An ex-teacher with four children, Judith has traveled the country extensively with her husband and has been greatly influenced by those experiences. While not tending the garden or caring for her family, Judith does what she enjoys most—writing. She has also written under the name of Charlotte Hines.

Dear Diary,

I can’t believe that all these years my mother had been lying about having so-called life-threatening ailments. As soon as I learned the truth, I got in a car and drove. I can finally have a life of my own.

So here I am stranded in beautiful New England. Did I mention my car was stolen and the most handsome man in the universe rescued me? I’m staying in his cabin temporarily. Now, wouldn’t that scandalize Mother? Who knows what the future will bring…? I can’t wait!

Footloose and fancy-free,

Gina

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Epilogue

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Gina Tessereck mentally braced herself for the wave of guilt she always felt at upsetting her mother. To her surprise, it didn’t come. Cautiously she probed and found nothing. Nothing at all. It was as if all of her feelings were locked behind a tightly closed door. A door she didn’t dare open because if she did…

“I asked you a question, Gina! Why didn’t you let me know you were home from work early? You know how much I worry at the least little unexplained noise. Really, at twenty-seven, you’d think you might have learned a little consideration. It won’t be long before I’ll be gone, and you can do exactly as you wish.”

Gina looked up from the suitcase she had been haphazardly flinging clothes into, and studied her mother’s small, delicate features. Why had she never noticed the hardness in her mother’s china-blue eyes or the petulant droop of her mouth?

“What is the matter with you? Why are you standing there gawking at me? You haven’t lost your job, have you?” Helen’s voice sharpened.

“I didn’t lose it, Mother. I resigned it. Effective immediately.”

Gina walked over to her closet and opened the door, instinctively rejecting the clothes inside. All those ruffles and soft pastels didn’t suit her. They suited her mother’s petite figure and blond coloring. On her own five-ten frame they looked fussy, and the pale pastels made her look washed-out.

Never again would she buy something that didn’t suit her simply to keep the peace, she vowed as she closed the door with a decided snap.

“How many times have I told you not to slam doors?” her mother demanded.

“I don’t know,” Gina said honestly. “But I do know that this is the last time you’ll ever have to do it, because I’m leaving.”

“Leaving!” Her mother clutched her chest and started to gasp. “I feel…”

Gina watched with a feeling of numbness. “You missed your calling, Mother. You should have gone on the stage.”

Turning away, Gina scooped the last of her underwear out of her dresser drawer, tossed it into her suitcase and yanked the zipper closed.

Her mother’s mouth fell open in shock at Gina’s totally unexpected response. “How can you say that to your own mother?”

“Come to that, how could you lie to your own daughter? Your doctor called me at work this morning and asked me to come by his office on my lunch hour. It was a most enlightening meeting.” Gina cringed at the humiliating memory. “He gave me a lecture about how I was stifling you. About how you’d told him I’d sabotaged your efforts to get a job to help fill your time since Dad died.” Gina’s rigid control cracked slightly at the thought of her beloved father. “The doctor also assured me there was absolutely nothing wrong with your heart.”

“You probably misunderstood him,” her mother insisted. “You really aren’t the world’s brightest person, you know.”