Jamie Denton - The Biological Bond

For the breath of an instant, Rebecca’s heart stopped beating. No one, not even her closest friends, knew about the decision that had been made years ago. How could this man, a total stranger—

“My name is Sam Winslow. I adopted a child fourteen years ago.”

Breathe. Just breathe. This couldn’t be happening. Rebecca waited in vain for the rapid cadence of her heart to slow, but the pounding continued.

“I petitioned the court to open her adoption records. You’re listed as my daughter’s birth mother.”

His words penetrated the fog surrounding her, and she looked at him. A daughter! She had a daughter. She hadn’t even known whether the child had been a boy or a girl.

The room spun. Rebecca clutched the edge of the desk to steady herself. She’d prayed, hoped and dreamed that her child would one day want to meet her. Were her dreams finally coming true?

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Harlequin American Romance. With your search for satisfying reading in mind, every month Harlequin American Romance aims to offer you a stimulating blend of heartwarming, emotional and deeply romantic stories.

Unexpected arrivals lead to the sweetest of surprises as Harlequin American Romance celebrates the love only a baby can bring, in our brand-new promotion, AMERICAN BABY, which begins this month with Jacqueline Diamond’s delightful Surprise, Doc! You’re a Daddy! After months of searching for her missing husband, Meg Avery finally finds him—only, Dr. Hugh Menton doesn’t remember her or their child!

With Valor and Devotion, the latest book in Charlotte Maclay’s exciting MEN OF STATION SIX series, is a must-read about a valorous firefighter who rescues an orphaned boy. Will the steadfast bachelor consider becoming a devoted family man after meeting the little boy’s pretty social worker? JUST FOR KIDS, Mary Anne Wilson’s new miniseries, debuts with Regarding the Tycoon’s Toddler….This trilogy focuses on a corporate day-care center and the lives and loves of those who work there. And don’t miss The Biological Bond by Jamie Denton, the dramatic story of a mother who is reunited with the child she’d been forced to give away, when her daughter’s adoptive single father seeks her help.

Enjoy this month’s offerings, and be sure to return each and every month to Harlequin American Romance!

Wishing you happy reading,

Melissa Jeglinski

Associate Senior Editor

Harlequin American Romance

The Biological Bond

Jamie Denton

www.millsandboon.co.uk

This book can only be dedicated to two very special women…

To Joan—For having the courage to make the tough choices;

and

To Alice—For taking a child into her heart and making that child her own.

I love you both.

Ever since she heard her first fairy tale, award-winning Harlequin author Jamie Denton always believed in happily-ever-after and the power of love. In her opinion, there’s nothing quite as heartwarming as the happy ending for a hero and heroine who overcome the odds. Always one to seek out a challenge, Jamie embraced her first challenge at the age of sixteen when she married her high school sweetheart. A whole lot of years later, she still fondly recalls the first time she saw her own personal hero and knew, even at that tender age, that he was the one for her. With a history like that, what else could she write except romances?

HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE

892—THE BIOLOGICAL BOND

Dear Reader,

I’ve always been one to look for challenges and have always enjoyed tackling them. Writing The Biological Bond was one such challenge, and one that was close to my own heart for a number of reasons. For as long as I can remember, I knew I was adopted. Even though I grew up with this knowledge and never had a single moment of doubt about the love of my adoptive parents, it didn’t stop me from embarking upon the same fantasies that nearly every adopted child has about their biological parents. At the age of nineteen, the opportunity arose and I was able to live out that fantasy by locating my birth mother. Not only am I blessed with parents who love me, but I also have a whole new family to share in my life.

The Biological Bond is an exploration of the emotional upheaval experienced by the biological and adoptive parents of a young girl in need of a life-saving procedure, a procedure that only the birth parent can provide. To further complicate matters, there is the undeniable attraction between birth and biological parent. And of course, there is the secret of the child’s parentage and what could happen if the truth was ever revealed.

I hope you enjoy your time with Sam and Rebecca as much as I did. I’d love to hear what you think. Write to me at P.O. Box 224, Mohall, North Dakota 58761-0224, e-mail to jamie@jamiedenton.net or visit my Web site at www.jamiedenton.net

Sincerely,

Jamie Denton

Prologue Prologue “We’ve found her, Mr. Winslow. She’s in Los Angeles, California. Would you like us to make initial contact?” Sam Winslow, Jr., glanced again at the photograph of Rebecca Martinson. Familiar green eyes gazed at him, and his hand shook. He wondered how she could she have done it. And why? He’d never understood the inner workings of a woman’s mind, but this particular woman he needed to understand. “No,” Sam said, dropping the photo on the investigator’s desk. “I’ll leave for L.A. in the morning. I can handle things from here.” Sam stood. If he was going to catch the morning flight for California, he had plenty to take care of before he left. Picking up the photograph again, he slipped it into the thick manila envelope the investigator provided. Details. Details of Rebecca Martinson. For a woman who didn’t want to be found, she’d been relatively simple to locate. He extended his hand to the investigator and thanked him before leaving the office. Tucking the envelope under his arm, he headed toward his pickup, slipped inside and tossed the offending material on the seat. He wasn’t looking forward to this trip. Hell, he wasn’t looking forward to meeting her. And he wouldn’t have bothered, if he hadn’t needed her to save his daughter’s life.

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

“We’ve found her, Mr. Winslow. She’s in Los Angeles, California. Would you like us to make initial contact?”

Sam Winslow, Jr., glanced again at the photograph of Rebecca Martinson. Familiar green eyes gazed at him, and his hand shook. He wondered how she could she have done it. And why? He’d never understood the inner workings of a woman’s mind, but this particular woman he needed to understand.

“No,” Sam said, dropping the photo on the investigator’s desk. “I’ll leave for L.A. in the morning. I can handle things from here.”

Sam stood. If he was going to catch the morning flight for California, he had plenty to take care of before he left. Picking up the photograph again, he slipped it into the thick manila envelope the investigator provided.

Details.

Details of Rebecca Martinson.

For a woman who didn’t want to be found, she’d been relatively simple to locate.

He extended his hand to the investigator and thanked him before leaving the office. Tucking the envelope under his arm, he headed toward his pickup, slipped inside and tossed the offending material on the seat.