âI run a shelter for young women, not a dating service for their fathers.â
âMy father dates all the time. Iâm talking about someone whoâll marry him. It shouldnât be hard to find somebody. Heâs good-looking and rich. Donât you know some nice women who would like him well enough to go out with him?â Cynthia asked.
Kathryn didnât want to tell Cynthia how easy it would be for a woman to like her father very much. Neither did Cynthia need to know Kathryn found her father so attractive she temporarily forgot that though they seemed to have a lot in common, they disagreed on most fundamental matters.
âYour father will remarry when heâs ready.â
âHe needs somebody whoâll take care of him, somebody whoâs not interested in his becoming the most famous businessman in the world. He needs someone like you.â
Dear Reader,
Love is in the air, but the days will certainly be sweeter if you snuggle up with this monthâs Special Edition offeringsâand a box of decadent chocolates. First up, award-winning author and this yearâs President of Romance Writers of America>®, Shirley Hailstock is a fresh new voice for Special Edition, but fans already know what a gifted storyteller she is. With numerous novels and novellas under her belt, Shirley debuts in Special Edition with A Fatherâs Fortune, which tells the story of a day-care-center owner and her foster child who teach a grumpy carpenter how to face his past and open his heart to love.
Lindsay McKenna packs a punch in Her Healing Touch, a fast-paced read from beginning to end. The next in her widely acclaimed MORGANâS MERCENARIES: DESTINYâS WOMEN series, this romance details the trials of a beautiful paramedic who teaches a handsome Special Forces officer the ways of her legendary healing. USA TODAY bestselling author Susan Mallery completely wins us over in Completely Smitten, next up in her beloved series HOMETOWN HEARTBREAKERS. Here, an adventurous preacherâs daughter seeks out a new life, but never expects to find a new love with a sexy U.S. marshal.
The fourth installment in Crystal Greenâs KANEâS CROSSING miniseries, There Goes the Bride oozes excitement when a runaway bride is spirited out of town by a reclusive pilot she once loved in high school. Patricia McLinn delights her readers with Wedding of the Century. Here, a heroine returns to her hometown seven years after running out of her wedding. When she faces her jilted groom, she realizes their feelings are stronger than ever! Finally, in Leigh Greenwoodâs Family Merger, sparks fly when a workaholic businessman meets a good-hearted social worker, who teaches him the meaning of love.
Donât miss this array of novels that deliver an emotional charge and satisfying finish youâre sure to savor, no matter what the season!
Happy Valentineâs Day!
Karen Taylor Richman
Senior Editor
has authored twenty historical romances and debuted in Silhouette Special Edition with Just What the Doctor Ordered. The proud parent of three grown children, Leigh lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. You can write to Leigh Greenwood at P.O. Box 470761, Charlotte, NC 28226. An SASE would be appreciated.
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
Epilogue
Kathryn Roper suddenly found herself face-to-face with one very handsome, very angry man. Tall, neatly groomed and impeccably dressed in a custom-made suit, he looked too young to be so conservatively dressed. The gray pinstripe was something her father would wear. This man ought to be wearing a cream-colored Polo shirt and tan slacks. He had the body of an athlete, though she didnât know any athletes who had such good taste in clothes and such bad taste in visiting hours.
âDonât stand there staring at me,â he snapped. âIâve flown halfway around the world to get here. I want to see Miss Roper.â
If sheâd had any doubts this man was Ron Egan, she didnât have them any longer. He had the imperious attitude of a man who thought nothing was important but himself.
âIâm Kathryn Roper,â she said, âand I donât allow visitors after nine-thirty. Youâll have to come back tomorrow.â
His angry gaze narrowed its focus, bore into her like a laser. âYouâre too young and pretty to have turned into a battle-ax.â
Kathryn couldnât stop a spurt of laughter. âWho says a battle-ax has to be old and ugly?â
He appeared to be weighing her up, calculating his approach. He was just like many upper echelon types sheâd run across, ready to shout at people they thought unimportant but immediately taking a different tack when they encountered someone they considered on their level.
Yet she was having a very different reaction to him than what would have been usual for herâone of a purely physical nature, one that caught her off guard. She felt attracted to this man. She had never denied the possibility of instant chemistry between two people, but this was the first time it had happened to her.