His Surprise Son

Mayor with a past

Faced with her son’s father!

Mayor Jean Matrim’s plan to turn Matrimony Valley into a wedding destination is going swimmingly for the town—and disastrously for Jean. Their first bride’s stepbrother is Jean’s ex-fiancé...and the father of her son. Hiding Jonah’s existence from Josh Tyler wasn’t something Jean chose lightly. More stands between them now than ever before. Will the little boy be enough to bring them together at last?

ALLIE PLEITER, an award-winning author and RITA® Award finalist, writes both fiction and nonfiction. Her passion for knitting shows up in many of her books and all over her life. Entirely too fond of French macarons and lemon meringue pie, Allie spends her days writing books and avoiding housework. Allie grew up in Connecticut, holds a BS in speech from Northwestern University and lives near Chicago, Illinois.

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Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

His Surprise Son

Allie Pleiter

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-08430-7

HIS SURPRISE SON

© 2018 Alyse Stanko Pleiter

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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www.millsandboon.co.uk

“Did you ever really love me?”

“Yes,” Jean answered.

“And still you think I’d reject you and our child,” Josh said.

“Not reject. You’re brilliant, and captivated by your work, not me. I don’t even think you noticed how unhappy I was. You can’t be that way with Jonah.”

“It doesn’t change that I had a right to know. You had no right to keep this from me.”

“I accept that, but, Josh, am I really that far off? Do you know how many days you took off during the time I was with you? Three. You proposed to me on the front steps of your office building.”

“We were sharing our success together.”

“No. You were enjoying your success. I was just grafted in. Has it changed?”

“What do you mean?”

“Tell me, when’s the last time you took a vacation? I chose to give Jonah the gift of not being ignored or sidelined by a long-distance man too busy to be a father. That’s not a life for a child.”

Dear Reader,

I love restoration stories. It warms my heart to read of wrongs put right, gaps closed, hurts healed and broken hearts mended. There’s not enough of that in our world, is there? That’s where the power of story wields its greatest strength—reminding us of what could be.

I love reinvention stories, too. Second chances, new purposes and discovered gifts all make a powerful difference to my heart. Josh, Jean, Jonah and the whole town of Matrimony Valley inspire me to remember how nothing is ever truly lost from God’s view. Our Lord knows no lost causes—what better message could we hear?

I hope you’ll come back to Matrimony Valley to watch Kelly Nelson, the straight-talking town florist and Lulu’s devoted mother, get her own happy ending in the next Matrimony Valley series book coming soon.

Until then, remember that I’d love to hear from you at [email protected], on social media (Instagram, Facebook and Twitter) and good old-fashioned mail at PO Box 7026, Villa Park, IL 60181.