Back Cover Text
Dear Reader
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
EPILOGUE
Tina Beckett
A family to heal them...
After losing his little girl five years ago, Dr. Kaleb McBride has kept himself to himself. He can’t face losing anyone ever again. Then beautiful Madeleine Grimes enters his world...
Maddy’s priority is her young daughter. So she’s just as determined to ignore her burning attraction to Kaleb! But when stolen kisses turn into something more, Maddy wonders if she and Chloe can heal Kaleb’s heart...and make the perfect family!
‘Tina Beckett has the ability to take me on a journey of romance so strong and so mind-blowing it feels like I am floating on cloud nine for weeks afterwards. This time she has certainly done it again!’
—Contemporary Romance Reviews on How to Find a Man in Five Dates
He was going to kiss her. Right here in the middle of the park.
And she wanted him to. Desperately.
Half-afraid she might be daydreaming the whole thing and that she would snap back to attention, she curled her hand around his nape and murmured his name.
And then he was bending closer, his warm breath stirring the fine hairs on her temple.
The first touch of his lips against hers set off a chain reaction she was powerless to ignore. His elbows landed on either side of her shoulders and he lifted his head to look at her, as if trying to gauge her reaction. When he moved in again, the pressure was firmer, more insistent. Nothing like the light, exploratory touch a second ago. No, his head had shifted a quarter turn to the left, his mouth fitting perfectly over hers.
Settling in.
And she was okay with that. The fingers at his nape wandered to one of his shoulders, where the muscles bunched deliciously under her skin. All thoughts of kites and laughter were long gone. This was deadly serious—the stuff pillow talk was made of. Only, Maddy didn’t feel like talking. And she hoped Kaleb didn’t, either.
Have you ever felt responsible for a death you could have done nothing to prevent? A death that brought your whole world crashing down around you? Kaleb McBride finds himself in just such a position when he loses his only child to a terrible disease. His marriage unravels soon afterwards, and he finds himself totally alone. He shuts himself off, vowing never to have more children. And then he comes to the aid of a woman at a party who is in the middle of an asthma attack. Their attraction is immediate and explosive. Except Madeleine Grimes has a child. And a troubled past. In spite of both of those things, Kaleb soon finds himself in over his head.
Thank you for joining Kaleb and Maddy as they each struggle to let go of crushing grief and learn to enjoy life again. And maybe, just maybe, they’ll discover that love is not as far out of reach as they’d thought. I hope you enjoy reading their story as much as I loved writing it!
Love,
Tina Beckett
Three-times Golden Heart® finalist TINA BECKETT learned to pack her suitcases almost before she learned to read. Born to a military family, she has lived in the United States, Puerto Rico, Portugal and Brazil. In addition to travelling, Tina loves to cuddle with her pug, Alex, spend time with her family, and hit the trails on her horse. Learn more about Tina from her website, or ‘friend’ her on Facebook.
After completing a degree in journalism, then working in advertising and mothering her kids, ROBIN GIANNA had what she calls her ‘awakening’. She decided she wanted to write the romance novels she’d loved since her teens, and now enjoys pushing her characters towards their own happily-ever-afters. When she’s not writing, Robin’s life is filled with a happily messy kitchen, a needy garden, a wonderful husband, three great kids, a drooling bulldog and one grouchy Siamese cat.
To my husband, for putting up with my weird, writerly ways!
KALEB MCBRIDE HATED TUXEDOS.
It was safe to say that he and tuxes were no longer on speaking terms. He wore them only when it was required of him. Like tonight.
Sprinting down the steps of the Seattle Consortium Hotel, he made it a point to avoid eye contact with anyone as he dashed by. Because everywhere he looked, all he saw were costumes. Except this wasn’t Halloween and the myriad assortment of outfits or lack thereof was enough to make his head swim. From Elizabethan gowns to fairy-tale characters to flappers loaded with fringe, it was the only thing like it he’d ever seen. He even skirted a lone vampire who emitted a low hiss as he strode past.
If the hospital hadn’t made an agreement to provide concierge medical care to guests at the hotel, he probably wouldn’t even be here tonight.
A costume designers’ masquerade party. Who on earth even thought up something like that?
A suited
