Doreen Malek - Daddy's Choice

Cover Page

Excerpt “Let’s Get Married,” Taylor Said. Carol stared at him, unable to reply. “Don’t you see,” he continued, “it’s what we have to do. I’ve been up for hours, thinking about everything, and it’s the only solution.” Carol—sadly, slowly—shook her head. Taylor looked stricken. “Don’t you want to marry me?” he asked. “Of course I do,” she said quickly. “But I just want the reason for the wedding to be me, and how you feel about me. Not about your daughter…”

Dear Reader Dear Reader, We all know that Valentine’s Day is the most romantic holiday of the year. It’s the day you show that special someone in your life—husband, fiancé…even your mom!—just how much you care by giving them special gifts of love. And our special Valentine’s gift to you is a book from a writer many of you have said is one of your favorites, Annette Broadrick. Megan’s Marriage isn’t just February’s MAN OF THE MONTH, it’s also the first book of Annette’s brand-new DAUGHTERS OF TEXAS series. This passionate love story is just right for Valentine’s Day. February also marks the continuation of SONS AND LOVERS, a bold miniseries about three men who discover that love and family are the most important things in life. In Reese: The Untamed by Susan Connell, a dashing bachelor meets his match and begins to think that being married might be more pleasurable than he’d ever dreamed. The series continues in March with Ridge: The Avenger by Leanne Banks. This month is completed with four more scintillating love stories: Assignment: Marriage by Jackie Merritt, Daddy’s Choice by Doreen Owens Malek, This Is My Child by Lucy Gordon and Husband Material by Rita Rainville. Don’t miss any of them! So Happy Valentine’s Day and Happy Reading! Lucia Macro Senior Editor Please address questions and book requests to: Silhouette Reader Service U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269 Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

Title Page Daddy’s Choice Doreen Owens Malek www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author DOREEN OWENS MALEK is a former attorney who decided on her current career when she sold her fledgling novel to the first editor who read it. Since then, she has gained recognition for her writing, winning honors from Romantic Times magazine and the coveted Golden Medallion Award. She has traveled extensively throughout Europe, but it was in her home state of New Jersey that she met and married her college sweetheart. They now live in Pennsylvania.

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Carol stared at him, unable to reply.

“Don’t you see,” he continued, “it’s what we have to do. I’ve been up for hours, thinking about everything, and it’s the only solution.”

Carol—sadly, slowly—shook her head.

Taylor looked stricken. “Don’t you want to marry me?” he asked.

“Of course I do,” she said quickly. “But I just want the reason for the wedding to be me, and how you feel about me. Not about your daughter…”

Dear Reader,

We all know that Valentine’s Day is the most romantic holiday of the year. It’s the day you show that special someone in your life—husband, fiancé…even your mom!—just how much you care by giving them special gifts of love.

And our special Valentine’s gift to you is a book from a writer many of you have said is one of your favorites, Annette Broadrick. Megan’s Marriage isn’t just February’s MAN OF THE MONTH, it’s also the first book of Annette’s brand-new DAUGHTERS OF TEXAS series. This passionate love story is just right for Valentine’s Day.

February also marks the continuation of SONS AND LOVERS, a bold miniseries about three men who discover that love and family are the most important things in life. In Reese: The Untamed by Susan Connell, a dashing bachelor meets his match and begins to think that being married might be more pleasurable than he’d ever dreamed. The series continues in March with Ridge: The Avenger by Leanne Banks.

This month is completed with four more scintillating love stories: Assignment: Marriage by Jackie Merritt, Daddy’s Choice by Doreen Owens Malek, This Is My Child by Lucy Gordon and Husband Material by Rita Rainville. Don’t miss any of them!

So Happy Valentine’s Day and Happy Reading!

Lucia Macro

Senior Editor

Please address questions and book requests to:

Silhouette Reader Service

U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

www.millsandboon.co.uk

is a former attorney who decided on her current career when she sold her fledgling novel to the first editor who read it. Since then, she has gained recognition for her writing, winning honors from Romantic Times magazine and the coveted Golden Medallion Award. She has traveled extensively throughout Europe, but it was in her home state of New Jersey that she met and married her college sweetheart. They now live in Pennsylvania.

Carol Lansing was dreaming, and the dream was very loud. The pounding noise went on and on, and it wrested her up from the depths of sleep. By the time she finally opened her eyes and tore the tangled sheets off her legs she realized that the pounding was actually hammering and it was coming from overhead, on the roof.

Carol pushed her hair out of her face as the room swam into focus around her. She was trying to remember the previous night, but she was still half asleep. Everything was dark; the drapes were drawn across the bedroom window. The sight of them made her recall, suddenly, when she had closed them and where she was. This was her father’s beach house, the house he had left her after his death, and she was staying here for the summer to study for the upcoming bar exam.

The hammering, incredibly, seemed to be increasing in volume. Carol peered at the bedside clock and then closed her eyes again, sighing heavily. It was ten minutes after seven in the morning. At this ungodly hour some idiot was up on the roof making enough noise to rouse corpses that had been slumbering for centuries, not to mention an overworked law student who had just finished final exams five days earlier.

Carol swung her bare feet over the side of the bed and struggled into the robe she had left draped over a chair. She took one step and crashed full-force into a packing box on the floor. Muttering to herself, limping on her stubbed toe, she stumbled barefoot out to the living room.

The early morning sunlight blinded her and she stopped short, belting the robe around her waist and then shuffling over the pegged pine-board floor to the front door. The cottage consisted of a large parlor dominated by a fieldstone fireplace, with a kitchen and dining area to the back and two bedrooms off to the side. It was filled with cast-off rattan furniture and rag rugs, the remnants of her father’s use and the debris of several tenants. Carol bypassed the second bedroom, putting her hands to her temples. The noise seemed to be surrounding her, as if she were inside a vibrating drum. By the time she reached the front of the house she was so angry that common sense had deserted her completely. She yanked open the door and confronted a startled workman, who stared back at her, metal tape measure in hand.