Praise for Michelle Douglas
âDouglasâ story is romantic,
humorous and paced just right.â âRT Book Reviews on Bellaâs Impossible Boss
âLaughter, holiday charm and characters with depth
make this an exceptional story.â âRT Book Reviews on The Nanny Who Saved Christmas
âMoving, heartwarming and absolutely impossible
to put down, The Man Who Saw Her Beauty is another stunning Michelle Douglas romance thatâs going straight onto my keeper shelf!â âCataRomance on The Man Who Saw Her Beauty
âNo.â Her voice rang clear in the sunny silence.
He shook his head, his mouth a determined line. âThis is one of the things you canât boss me about. Iâm not giving way. Iâm the father of the baby youâre carrying. Thereâs nothing you can do about that.â
Just for a moment wild hope lifted through her. Maybe they could make this work. In the next moment she shook it off. Sheâd thought that exact same thing once beforeâten years ago, when theyâd kissed. Maybe they could make this work. Maybe sheâd be the girl whoâd make him stay. Maybe sheâd be the girl to defeat his restlessness. All silly schoolgirl nonsense, of course.
And so was this.
At the age of eight MICHELLE DOUGLAS was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up. She answered, âA writer.â Years later she read an article about romance writing and thought, Ooh, thatâll be fun. She was right. When sheâs not writing she can usually be found with her nose buried in a book. She is currently enrolled in an English Masterâs programme for the sole purpose of indulging her reading and writing habits further. She lives in a leafy suburb of Newcastle, on Australiaâs east coast, with her own romantic heroâhusband Greg, who is the inspiration behind all her happy endings.
Michelle would love you to visit her at her website: www.michelle-douglas.com
âBEN, WOULD YOU consider being my sperm donor?â
Ben Sullivanâs head rocked back at his best friendâs question He thrust his glass of wine to the coffee table before he spilled its contents all over the floor, and spun to face her. Meg held up her hand as if she expected him to interrupt her.
Interrupt her?
He coughed. Choked. He couldnât breathe, let alone interupt her! When heâd demanded to know what was on her mind this wasnât what heâd been expecting. Not by a long shot. Heâd thought it would be something to do Elsie or her father, butâ¦
He collapsed onto the sofa and wedged himself in tight against the arm. Briefly, cravenly, he wished himself back in Mexico instead of here in Fingal Bay.
A sperm donor? Him?
A giant hand reached out to seize him around the chest, squeezing every last atom of air out of his lungs. A loud buzzing roared in his ears.
âLet me tell you first why Iâd like you as my donor, and then what I see as your role in the babyâs life.â
Her no-nonsense tone helped alleviate the pressure in his chest. The buzzing started to recede. He shot forward and stabbed a finger at her. âWhy in Godâs name do you need a sperm donor? Why are you pursuing IVF at all? Youâre not even thirty!â She was twenty-eight, like him. âThereâs loads of time.â
âNo, thereâs not.â
Everything inside him stilled.
She took a seat at the other end of the sofa and swallowed. He watched the bob of her throat and his hands clenched. She tried to smile but the effort it cost her hurt him.
âMy doctor has told me Iâm in danger of becoming infertile.â
Bile burned his throat. Meg had always wanted kids. She owned a childcare centre, for heavenâs sake. Sheâd be a great mum. It took an enormous force of will to bite back the angry torrent that burned his throat. Railing at fate wouldnât help her.
âIâm booking in to have IVF so I can fall pregnant asap.â
Hence the reason she was asking him if heâd be her sperm donor. Him? He still couldnât get his head around it. Butâ¦â Youâll make a brilliant mum, Meg.â
âThank you.â Her smile was a touch shy. It was the kind of smile that could turn the screws on a guy. âNot everyone will be as understanding, I fear, butâ¦â She leaned towards him, her blonde hair brushing her shoulders. âIâm not scared of being a single mum, and financially Iâm doing very well. I have no doubt of my ability to look after not only myself but whoever else should come along.â
Neither did he. Heâd meant it when heâd said sheâd be a great mother. She wouldnât be cold and aloof. Sheâd love her child. Sheâd fill his or her days with love and laughter, and it would never have a momentâs doubt about how much it was cherished.
His chest burned. An ache started up behind his eyes. Sheâd give her child the kind of childhood they had both craved.
Meg straightened. âNow, listen. For the record, if you hate the idea, if it makes you the slightest bit uncomfortable, then we just drop the subject, okay?â