THE ENGAGEMENT ARRANGEMENT
After his divorce, cowboy turned Navy SEAL Wayne Brustanovitch swore he’d never remarry. Now he needs a wife—and fast—in order to fulfill his ailing father’s final wishes. Wayne has a plan, but for it to work, he’ll need his pregnant friend Paisley to agree to...
A make-believe marriage! Paisley Carter knows her hunky neighbor’s idea is a bad one, even if it’s for a good reason. Then again, after her ex left her pregnant and alone, a no-risk relationship is the only kind Paisley wants. But as she and Wayne play pretend at his parents’ Arizona ranch, the line between the ruse and reality begins to blur. Can Wayne and Paisley resist falling for each other for real?
LAURA MARIE ALTOM is a bestselling and award-winning author who has penned nearly fifty books. After college (go, Hogs!), Laura Marie did a brief stint as an interior designer before becoming a stay-at-home mom to boy-girl twins and a bonus son. Always an avid romance reader, she knew it was time to try her hand at writing when she found herself replotting the afternoon soaps.
When not immersed in her next story, Laura plays video games, tackles Mount Laundry and, of course, reads romance!
Laura loves hearing from readers at either PO Box 2074, Tulsa, OK 74101, or by email, balipalm@aol.com.
Love winning fun stuff? Check out lauramariealtom.com.
Also By Laura Marie Altom
Cowboy SEALs
The SEAL’s Miracle Baby
The Baby and the Cowboy SEAL
The SEAL’s Second Chance Baby
The Cowboy SEAL’s Jingle Bell Baby
The Cowboy SEAL’s Christmas Baby
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk
Cowboy SEAL Daddy
Laura Marie Altom
www.millsandboon.co.uk
ISBN: 978-1-474-08375-1
COWBOY SEAL DADDY
© 2018 Laura Marie Altom
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.
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www.millsandboon.co.uk
Version: 2020-03-02
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“It really is a half-baked plan, but...”
Wayne worked past the knot in his throat that hardened every time he thought of a world without his father. “If we can pull this off and bring my dad comfort in the last weeks of his life, it could be worth it.”
“When you put it that way...” Paisley wiped her tears with the backs of her hands. “Maybe we should throw caution to the wind and go for it?”
“You think?” Relief and the thought of doing something—anything—proactive toward helping his dad made his pulse race.
“For the record, you have to know this could end in disaster.”
“True.”
“Just give me a couple days to wrap my head around the logistics.”
“Deal.” He stood, then crossed the short distance between them to shake her hand. When their hands touched, was it his imagination, or was there a spark that had never been there before?
Not cool. Sparks were the last thing he needed.
Dear Reader,
At the time I’m writing this, the US has just witnessed the heartbreaking devastation of hurricanes Harvey and Irma. What an awful pair, right? In Oklahoma, we’ve had a lovely start to our autumn. Warm, sunny days and cool nights—pleasant enough to make it inconceivable how much damage is taking place in other parts of the country.
My thoughts and prayers go out to all who were affected by these terrible storms. Hope your lives soon get back to normal. In a few weeks, I’m traveling to Florida for a long-planned conference and I dread seeing homes and businesses that didn’t fare so well.
In Wayne and Paisley’s story, they’re both dealing with the kind of pain that can’t be fixed with a hammer and nails or fresh coat of paint. Wayne has learned his father is dying of cancer, and oddly enough, his best friend and very pregnant neighbor, Paisley, is the only one who can help. To find out how, you’ll have to dive into their story.
Happy reading!
Laura Marie
For my mom, Louise. I love you. xoxo
Contents
Cover
Back Cover Text
About the Author
Booklist
Title Page
Copyright
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
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Epilogue
Extract
About the Publisher
Chapter One
“This team sucks! You look more like rubber ducks than SEALs. If it was up to me, I’d strip your Tridents and replace them with flight attendant wings!”
Navy SEAL Wayne Brustanovitch sat alongside the rest of his twelve-man team on the Mark V Special Operations Craft jetting past the Coronado coast at forty-five knots while their pissed-off CO handed them their asses on a platter. It was 0300, and they’d been running beach landing drills for the past eight hours.
It was late March. Cold, wet, tired and hungry, Wayne needed a beer, burger and bed. Hell—at this point, he wasn’t even choosy about the order.
Twelve hours later, they’d finally achieved an insertion time their CO deemed acceptable—at least good enough to earn a meal and hot shower.
“How’s your dad doing?” Logan Crenshaw served as the closest thing Wayne had to a brother. While they dressed before heading for the chow hall, Wayne welcomed the chance to run a predicament by his roommate and friend.
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