Lissa Manley - The Parent Trap

“My mom’s taking the night off from the restaurant, and I’ve already got the romantic music picked out.

“Plan B, we fight in school. Both parents will have to meet to take care of that.

“Plan C, is the Girl Scout field trip to the beach next weekend. I’ve already fixed it with the troop leader so your dad and my mom will have to be in the same car and spend the whole day together chaperoning. And remember, our whole plan will be ruined if my mom finds out what your dad’s job is, so we have to keep quiet about that, okay?”

“I don’t want to do Plan X, Zoe.”

“It’s last-ditch, only if nothing else works. And it’s not gonna happen anyway.”

Zoe was right as usual.

It was time to invent a family however they could.

Dear Reader,

After looking at winter’s bleak landscape and feeling her icy cold breezes, I found nothing to be more rewarding than savoring the warm ocean breezes from a poolside lounge chair as I read a soon-to-be favorite book or two! Of course, as I choose my books for this long-anticipated outing, this month’s Silhouette Romance offerings will be on the top of my pile.

Cara Colter begins the month with Chasing Dreams (#1818), part of her A FATHER’s WISH trilogy. In this poignant title, a beautiful academic moves outside her comfort zone and feels alive for the first time in the arms of a brawny man who would seem her polar opposite. When an unexpected night of passion results in a pregnancy, the hero and heroine learn that duty can bring its own sweet rewards, in Wishing and Hoping (#1819), the debut book in beloved series author Susan Meier’s THE CUPID CAMPAIGN miniseries. Elizabeth Harbison sets out to discover whether bustling New York City will prove the setting for a modern-day fairy tale when an ordinary woman comes face-to-face with one of the world’s most eligible royals, in If the Slipper Fits (#1820). Finally, Lissa Manley rounds out the month with The Parent Trap (#1821), in which two matchmaking girls set out to invent a family.

Be sure to return next month when Cara Colter concludes her heartwarming trilogy.

Happy reading!

Ann Leslie Tuttle

Associate Senior Editor

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Silhouette Romance

The Bachelor Chronicles #1665

The Bridal Chronicles #1689

The Baby Chronicles #1705

Love Chronicles #1749

In a Cowboy’s Arms #1769

The Parent Trap #1821

has been an avid reader of romance since her teens and firmly believes that writing romances with happy endings is her dream job. She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her college-sweetheart husband of nineteen years, Kevin, two children, Laura and Sean, and two feisty toy poodles named Lexi and Angel, who run the household and get away with it. She has a degree in business from the University of Oregon, having discovered the joys of writing well after her college years. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, crafting, attending her children’s sporting events and relaxing at the family vacation home on the Oregon coast.

Lissa loves to hear from her readers. She can be reached at P.O. Box 91336, Portland, OR 97291-0336, or at http://lissamanley.com.

This book is dedicated to my two writing consultants, Lexi and Angel, who were there by my side as I wrote every word. And also to Jade, my consultant-in-training, who will join them on the couch as I write the next book. Thanks for the company, girls.

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

“Are you sure this is going to work, Zoe?” Kristy Clark asked, chewing on her thumbnail. Kristy desperately wanted to believe her new best friend’s plan to invent a family would work, but wondered if she was stupid to try to get her dad to fall in love. He never even went out on any dates or anything.

Zoe Lindstrom rolled her blue eyes as she yanked a frilly white wedding dress onto her Malibu Barbie. “Sure it’s going to work. We’re inventors, just like my grandpa.”

“But do you really think we can make a family?” Kristy shifted on the porch stairs as she tried to pull a plastic comb through her Skipper doll’s tangled brown hair so Skipper would look good in her flower-girl outfit. “Isn’t it kind of…well, impossible?” To Kristy, an instant family, complete with built-in sister, seemed like a little too much to hope for. And having a mom…well, that was just a dream, a beautiful fantasy, really.

But, oh, the thought of having a mom she could talk to about girl stuff and go shopping with! Sure, her dad was great. But he was a man. What did he know about the coolest nail polish colors?

Zoe sifted through the shoe box full of Barbie clothes on the porch stairs, pulling out a Barbie-sized wedding veil and tiny white satin shoes. “I don’t have a dad, you don’t have a mom. Your dad is so funny, and my mom likes to laugh, and they both like to work out and they both own restaurants. They’re perfect for each other. How hard can it be?” She plopped the veil on Barbie’s head, then shoved the shoes on her feet.

“But what if they don’t fall in love?” Kristy wanted a whole family more than anything, but her dad had to love the woman he married, if he ever did manage to find someone he was interested in. That seemed pretty impossible right now. She was only eight, but it wasn’t hard to see that he still really missed her mom, even though it’d been seven years since she died and went to heaven.

Zoe flipped her blond hair over her shoulders and gave her an exasperated look. “Would you relax? Everything’ll work out fine as long as we follow my grandpa’s formula. Make a plan. Go over the plan again. Ex…um…oh, yeah, execute. Execute again if we have to.” She smiled and held up her Barbie, who was decked out for a wedding. “As long as we don’t blow anything up like my grandpa usually does, everything will be okay.”

Kristy wished she could be as sure about all of this as Zoe was. Zoe was so cool, so confident, so much fun. All the things Kristy longed to be.

Maybe going over The Plan would help. “So Plan A comes first, right?” Kristy asked.

Zoe nodded. “Right. Plan A, dinner at my house tomorrow night. Use any excuse you have to, just get your dad there. My mom’s taking the night off from the restaurant, and I’ve already got the romantic music picked out.”

“Gotcha.” Kristy fiddled with the end of her braid, admiring how well Zoe had planned all of this. “Then Plan B, right?” She wasn’t hot on Plan B, but would do it if it helped invent her a family.

“Right again. Plan B, we fight at school. Both parents will have to meet to take care of that.”

“Plan C after that.”

“Yup. Plan C, Girl Scout field trip to the beach next weekend. I’ve already fixed it with the troop leader so your dad and my mom will have to be in the same car and spend the whole day together chaperoning. My grandpa told my mom he needs her car that day, so she can’t offer to drive herself. And remember, our whole plan will probably be ruined if my mom finds out what your dad’s job is and if your dad finds out what my mom’s job is, so we have to be quiet about that, okay?”