âYou need to at least pretend to like me in public. For our daughterâs sake.â
Like a splash of cold water, she realised the old days were truly gone. Cole had zero interest in her except as Mary Kateâs mother.
âWe have a child together,â he said. âI donât want us to be enemies.â
âGiven our past, I donât see how we can be friends,â she said stiffly. âOur relationship has to be strictly business.â
His jaw tightened. âBusiness it is.â
Even though she was pushing him away as hard as she could, deep inside a tiny piece of Janeâs heart chipped.
Which was odd, because she hadnât thought there was anything left to break.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
When Joan Kilby isnât working on her next romance novel, she can often be found sipping a latte at a pavement café and indulging in her favorite pastime of people watching. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, she now lives in Australia with her husband and three children. She enjoys cooking as a creative outlet and gets some of her best story ideas while watching her Jack Russell terrier chase waves at the beach.
Dear Reader,
Teenage pregnancy seems to keep cropping up in my books in one form or another. I think thatâs because the conflict is inbuilt. Having a baby can be the most joyous experience in a womanâs life, but if youâre young, without money, a job or a life partner, youâre bound to have a few worries. If youâre ambitious like Jane, the heroine in How To Trap a Parent, you have to work out your priorities early on.
We hardly ever consider the boyâs role or feelings. My hero, Cole, fathered not one but two babies to different girls when he was a teenager. Talk about anxiety! He married one girl out of duty, lost the one he loved and missed out on a daughterâs early years.
This book is about a lot of things â family, home, vineyards, horses, daughters and sisters, thwarted ambitions and dreams fulfilled. But mostly itâs about a love affair that blossoms again after years apart.
I hope you enjoy Jane and Coleâs story as much as I enjoyed writing it. I love to hear from readers. You can e-mail me at www. joankilby. com or write to me at PO Box 234, Point Roberts, WA 9828-0234, Australia.
Joan Kilby
CHAPTER ONE
JANE LINDEN PARKED her black Mazda in front of Red Hill Real Estate and checked her hair in the visor mirror. Just her luck! The only person in this small rural town who could sell her late auntâs farm for her was Cole Roberts, the man whoâd broken her heart thirteen years ago. Cole wasnât a bad man; in fact, sheâd never known anyone as loyal to his family. But that didnât mean he hadnât made her suffer.
Hitching her red leather tote higher on her shoulder, Jane climbed out of the car. Seeing him again would not be a problem. She was over him; him and his green eyes and killer grin. Sheâd be in and out of Red Hill faster than she could snap her fingers. And he would never know sheâd cried herself to sleep for three years because heâd married Leslie Stanwyck instead of her.
All that had happened a long time ago. Jane was a different person, older and wiser. She might not have made a name for herself in Hollywood, but those acting lessons Rafe had given her way back when were finally going to pay off. Bright and breezy, thatâs the way sheâd play it. Ignore the pain, hide the anger; Cole no longer meant a thing to her. How could he? Thirteen years was way too long to carry a torch.
A bell tinkled as she entered through the glass door of the real estate agency. A small seating area was to her right, reception to her left. The young woman behind the curved desk wore black rectangular glasses and had fine dark hair swept into a ponytail.
Leslieâs little sister. The last time Jane had seen this girl sheâd worn pigtails and Bratz T-shirts. Jane pushed her sunglasses up into her hair. âMillie?â
Millie glanced up with a bright smile. âHi, um⦠Do I know you?â
âJane Linden. I went to high school with Leslie.â She glanced past reception to the narrow hall and the private offices. âIs Cole in?â
âIâll see if heâs available.â Millie reached for the phone.
âHe and I are old friends. Iâll surprise him.â Jane hurried past before Millie could stop her. Old friends, indeed. Theyâd been far more to each other than friends; and in the end, far less.
Through the glass wall of his office she could see Cole working on something at his desk, his brow creased in concentration as he chewed on the end of a pencil. In spite of her pep talk, her heart turned over at the sight of his face, still familiar even though she hadnât seen him in three years, the time heâd come to L.A. to visit Mary Kate.
Steeling herself, she knocked once and opened the door. âWell, just look at you! All dressed up in a suit and tie behind a big fancy desk. Youâre quite the successful businessman.â
Cole started at her voice, his eyebrows lifting as he set aside his pencil and newspaper. He smoothed a hand lightly over his neatly combed dark brown hair. âJane! Iâm surprised to see you back in Red Hill so soon.â He glanced past her eagerly. âDid you bring Mary Kate this time?â