Formula: Father

Dear Diary,

It’s happened at last. Darcy Taylor has come home. I always believed she would, despite the glamour and riches of her modeling career. She and Mitchell belong together. I hope they see it before it’s too late.

I think I hear the baby crying, so I must go. But one last thing, Dear Diary. Please let me be wise enough to help my family through these troubling times. Help me show Mitch that he deserves to love again. That he’ll be a wonderful husband and father. That he wasn’t responsible for Angela’s death…

Dear Reader,

There’s never a dull moment at Maitland Maternity! This unique and now world-renowned clinic was founded twenty-five years ago by Megan Maitland, widow of William Maitland, of the prominent Austin, Texas, Maitlands. Megan is also matriarch of an impressive family of seven children, many of whom are active participants in the everyday miracles that bring children into the world.

When our series began, the family was stunned by the unexpected arrival of an unidentified baby at the clinic—unidentified, except for the claim that the child is a Maitland. Who are the parents of this child? Is the claim legitimate? Will the media’s tenacious grip on this news damage the clinic’s reputation? Suddenly rumors and counterclaims abound. Women claiming to be the child’s mother are materializing out of the woodwork! How will Megan get at the truth? And how will the media circus affect the lives and loves of the Maitland children—Abby, the head of gynecology, Ellie, the hospital administrator, her twin sister, Beth, who runs the day-care center, Mitchell, the fertility specialist, R.J., the vice president of operations, even Anna, who has nothing to do with the clinic, and Jake, the black sheep of the family?

Please join us each month over the next year as the mystery of the Maitland baby unravels, bit by enticing bit, and book by captivating book!

Marsha Zinberg,

Senior Editor and Editorial Coordinator, Special Projects

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Karen Hughes enjoys writing about men and women who want to commit to each other, share dreams and grow old together. She believes romance lives in everyday life and thinks there is a hero inside every man—he just needs the right woman to bring out his best qualities. Wide-open spaces call to Karen, yet she also likes the bustle and convenience of city life. Experience has taught her that true love can be found anywhere.

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

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

DARCY TAYLOR pulled the brim of her baseball cap down, so far, in fact, that the blue bill touched the top of her sunglasses. She wanted to stand outside a little longer, to really drink in the sight of Austin’s Maitland Maternity Clinic.

Mayfair Avenue had changed in the years Darcy had been away, but the feel of the street was the same. Or perhaps it was her nostalgic mood playing tricks on her.

She hadn’t felt misty a few days ago when she’d stopped by the clinic, but then a few days ago she didn’t have an appointment with Mitchell Maitland. Much to her surprise, she’d awakened this morning with a sense of excitement and fear. To see him again…

They had been inseparable. She remembered how she and Mitch had gotten in so much trouble the year they’d set off the firecrackers right underneath the window of the nursery. And there was no way she’d ever forget the day Mitch had kissed her, her very first kiss. Her gaze went to the spot, behind the big oak.

Was it possible? Could it still be…

She crossed the drive quickly, looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was around. When she got to the towering tree, she hesitated, wondering if it would be better not to know. Curiosity won. She circled the massive trunk and searched the bark.

There. Oh, heavens, it was still there. A crudely etched heart. Inside, a simple but heartfelt message: DT+MM FOREVER.

Darcy closed her eyes. She hadn’t known then that forever would be one year and two months.

She turned away, angry at herself for being such a sentimental sap. She’d been a kid when she’d used her mother’s good steak knife to make her mark on the tree. She wasn’t a kid anymore. And now she needed her old friend for the most important thing she’d ever done.

Leaving the tree and her past behind, she headed for the front door and stepped inside. After signing in, she made her way to the main waiting area. The lovely soft pastel walls were as comfy as the couches and chairs chosen specifically for the ease with which very pregnant ladies could sit down on them and stand up again. Three such women sat there, one reading a romance novel, which she perched on her belly, one filing her nails and the third, who didn’t look very pregnant, thumbing through last month’s issue of Vogue.

The receptionist, a youngish woman with gorgeous long hair, smiled. “May I help you?”