Jacqueline Diamond - His Baby Dream

Determined To Be A Dad

Biology teacher Peter Gladstone may have lost his beloved wife, but the tragedy only strengthened his resolve to create a family. With a donor egg and a surrogate mom, Peter is sure to be a proud papa soon, thanks to the fertility specialists at Safe Harbor Medical.

Harper Anthony seems like the perfect choice for the donor. She’s smart, beautiful and a great mom to her young daughter. The problem is, Peter has recently become reacquainted with the young widow and now sees her as a friend—or maybe something more than a friend. And Peter has chosen to keep his identity a secret. If the truth comes out, the consequences may threaten their budding romance. But only the truth can turn them into a family….

“Let me tell you my dream.”

Peter reminded himself to breathe. “Please do.”

“It’s a real dream.” Harper ducked her head. “I mean, it’s not a wish or a fantasy, it’s something that comes to me while I’m sleeping. Over and over.”

With no idea where this might be heading, he merely waited.

“I’m out in a field.” Harper studied her clasped hands. They were pretty hands, with long tapered fingers and lightly polished nails. She’d moved her wedding ring to the right side, he noted. “There are two boys playing. Sometimes they’re toddlers. Other times, they might be five or six.”

“Two boys?” he repeated.

A quick nod. “There’s a shadowy figure playing with them. A man, but I can’t make out his face. They’re playing catch, or tag—it varies.”

“I see.” But he didn’t.

“Nobody realizes I’m there, and I think that’s because I’m not.” Although tears glittered on her lashes, Harper met Peter’s gaze squarely. “I have the sense that I’m meant to give them life. That’s all. They won’t be my sons. They’re supposed to be born and I’m supposed to make that happen.”

“And let them go.”

“Exactly.”

Dear Reader,

Not many years ago, the notion of achieving parenthood through egg donations and surrogates lay in the realm of science fiction. Today the opportunity exists for a widower like high school biology teacher Peter Gladstone to have longed-for children.

No wife? At Safe Harbor Medical Center, that’s no obstacle. A fertility issue of his own? No obstacle there either.

But Peter does have one problem: choosing the woman who will be the genetic mother of his child or children. Although all the donors at Safe Harbor have been screened, she’ll still be a stranger.

When an unexpected opportunity presents itself, he’s torn. Harper Anthony, a nurse who’s the widow of a former colleague of Peter’s, is listed among the donors. She’s attractive, intelligent and a wonderful mom to her six-year-old daughter.

If he picks her, is it ethical to keep his identity a secret? Perhaps so, except that he’s teaching her daughter in a summer sports program and keeps connecting with Harper. The closer they become, the stronger his dilemma.

I hope you’ll join Peter and Harper, and share their journey with them!

Best,

Jacqueline Diamond

His Baby Dream

Jacqueline Diamond

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The author of more than ninety romances, mysteries, Regencies and paranormals, Jacqueline Diamond lives in Orange County, California, with her husband of more than thirty years. Writing about a fertility program at a medical center draws on Jackie’s long-standing interest in medicine, which began when her father, then the only doctor in the small Texas town of Menard, delivered her at home. You can learn more about the Safe Harbor Medical series at www.jacquelinediamond.comand keep up to date with Jackie at her Facebook site, JacquelineDiamondAuthor.

Contents

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

Chapter Nineteen

Excerpt

Chapter One

Glancing up from his clipboard across the shouting, seething crowd of children and parents half filling the community college gym, Peter Gladstone spotted the woman with an eerie jolt of recognition. For an instant, the entire scene froze.

Taller than most of the moms, she moved toward him with easy grace, her soft, short chestnut hair framing an animated face. His chest squeezed. She reminded him so much of Angela.

Jerking himself out of his daze, Peter noted the little girl hanging on to her left hand and the little boy trying to pull free on the right. “Can I help you?” he asked as they reached him.

“I’m sorry to bother you, Peter.” From her tone and use of his first name, she obviously knew him. And he had seen her before, so why couldn’t he place her? He certainly ought to remember a woman who bore such a marked resemblance to his late wife. Perhaps he’d met her last summer here at Safe Harbor Sports Camp, but he had a strong sense that he knew her from somewhere else.

“It’s no bother.” He strove for polite words to obscure the fact that he’d forgotten who she was. “The first day is always chaotic.”

“It sure is a madhouse.” Up close, she had beautiful green eyes and a smile that hinted of mischief. “Must be tough adjusting to all these little kids.”

“It’s quite a change.” For most of the year, Peter taught high school biology, as she apparently knew. During the summers, he earned extra income as assistant director of this sports program.

Mercifully, a name on the clipboard jumped out at him. Mia Anthony, age six. The listed parent was Harper Anthony. Occupation: nurse. Now he placed her—the widow of Sean Anthony, a fellow teacher with whom he used to coach wrestling after school. Her appearance had changed in the past few years, he reflected, studying her.

“It’s the hair,” Harper said.

“Excuse me?”

“You were trying to place me. I just got my hair cut,” she explained. “Used to be long.”

“I remember.” Finally.

Behind her, a woman approached with a little girl. “Bathroom?” she inquired frantically.

He pointed toward the exit. “Down the hall on the right.”

As they departed, Peter gazed around the room, making sure the college-age counselors were correctly grouping the kids under the banners marking off the grade levels. Kindergarten through second-graders were assembling by the bleachers on one side, third- through fifth-graders on the other and sixth through eighth under a basketball hoop.

The camp had been established for dual purposes. It gave college students summer jobs working with kids, developing job skills and preparing for careers in education. It also provided half- and full-day programs that kept children active during the vacation months.

“Reggie, hold on!” Harper tightened her grip on the little boy. “This is Reggie Cavill. He’s the son of a friend. Well, the nephew, actually—long story. Anyway, Adrienne works an overnight shift so I brought him this morning. I want to be sure he’s registered.”

“Did his aunt complete the form online?”

“I think so.”

Peter found the name Cavill, Reginald, on his list, along with his age, five, and Dr. Adrienne Cavill, obstetrician, listed as guardian. “Everything’s in order.”

“I was wondering if he and Mia could be placed in different groups.” Harper shook her bangs out of her eyes. “They’re almost like brother and sister, so they tend to squabble.”