Jules Bennett - From Best Friend To Daddy

From “just one night”

...to bonded for life

Kate McCoy calculates everything. She has every detail in her life organized to perfection—until the fateful night she steps into Gray Gallagher’s arms. “One time only,” she vows about getting romantic with Gray, her longtime protector and her closest friend. But this time, perfect Kate has miscalculated: the woman who plans everything is unexpectedly expecting. And the heart she has so carefully sheltered starts seeing her cherished friend in a very different light...

National bestselling author JULES BENNETThas penned over forty contemporary romance novels. She lives in the Midwest with her high-school-sweetheart husband and their two kids. Jules can often be found on Twitter chat-ting with readers, and you can also connect with her via her website, www.julesbennett.com.

Also by Jules Bennett

The Cowboy’s Second-Chance Family

Dr. Daddy’s Perfect Christmas

The Fireman’s Ready-Made Family

From Best Friend to Bride

What the Prince Wants

A Royal Amnesia Scandal

Maid for a Magnate

His Secret Baby Bombshell

Best Man Under the Mistletoe

Trapped with the Tycoon

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

From Best Friend to Daddy

Jules Bennett

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-07751-4

FROM BEST FRIEND TO DADDY

© 2018 Jules Bennett

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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Marrying my best friend was the best decision of my life.

Love you, Michael.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

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

Extract

Chapter One

“It’s just one glass.”

Kate McCoy stared at the champagne flute the best man held. He’d flirted with her all night during the wedding rehearsal dinner—and by her estimate in smelling his overwhelming breath, he’d had more than enough for both of them. Thankfully he was just Noah’s cousin and visiting from out of town. As in, he’d be leaving after the nuptials tomorrow afternoon.

One of Kate’s three best friends, Lucy, was marrying her very own cowboy, and Kate couldn’t be happier. She could, however, do without Noah’s cousin all up in her face.

“She doesn’t drink.”

That low, growly tone belonged to Gray Gallagher, her only male best friend and the man who always came to her rescue whether she needed him to or not. She could’ve handled herself, but she wasn’t about to turn away backup since Bryan with a Y wasn’t taking her subtle hints.

Kate glanced over her shoulder and smiled, but Gray’s eyes weren’t on her. That dark, narrowed gaze was focused downward at the best man. Which wasn’t difficult. Gray easily had five inches and an exorbitant amount of muscle tone on Best Man Bryan.

“Oh, well.” Bryan awkwardly held two flutes in his hand, tossing one back with a shrug. “Perhaps I could get you a soda or some water.”

“We were just leaving,” Gray growled.

He slid his arm around her waist and escorted her from the dining area of the country club. Apparently they were indeed leaving because he kept heading toward the exit.

“I need to at least get my purse before you manhandle me out the door,” she said, swiping her clutch off the table closest to the door, where she’d been chatting with some guests. “And for your information, I was going to have a glass.”

Gray stopped short in the hallway and turned to her. “You wanted to have a drink with that lame guy? You’ve never drank in your life.”

Kate shrugged. “It’s my thirtieth birthday.”

“I’m aware of that.” Eyes as dark as midnight narrowed. “You’re not drinking with him.”

Should she clue Gray in on her reasoning for wanting to have her first drink on her birthday and at her friend’s wedding?

True, Kate hadn’t so much as tried a drop of alcohol since her parents had been tragically killed in an accident. Her father had been thirty-five, her mother only thirty-two.

Now that Kate had hit the big 3-0, she’d started reevaluating everything about her carefully detailed life.

“C’mon.” Gray slid his hand around her arm and escorted her out the door into the humid Tennessee heat. “If you’re going to have a drink, it’s not going to be with someone who can’t handle champagne at a damn formal dinner.”

Kate couldn’t help but laugh. “That wasn’t nice.”

“Wasn’t meant to be. I don’t like how he looked at you.”

What was up with this grouchy attitude tonight? Well, not just tonight. Gray seemed to be out of sorts for months now and with each passing day, he seemed to be getting worse and worse.

Gray headed toward his truck. He’d picked her up earlier and presented her with a box of chocolate-covered strawberries for her birthday. He knew those were her weakness and it was a tradition he’d started years ago when he’d first come back from the army only days before her birthday. Gray had told her he’d actually ordered her something this year, but it hadn’t arrived yet.