From partners to parents!
Dr. Gabriel Jackson and paramedic Penny Davenport make a great teamâdespite driving each other crazy! Sheâs Manhattan Mercyâs daredevil helicopter pilot, who thrives on adventure after a childhood spent wrapped in cotton wool, while heâs the cautious flight doctor who, after a disastrous marriage, will never take risks again.
But after the elation of surviving a storm explodes into passion, Penny discovers sheâs pregnant! This could be an unforgettable Christmasâif they listen to their hearts and take the greatest risk of all!
Dear Reader,
Every book I write is a new puzzle to figure outâthatâs part of why I do it. Writing a book in a continuity like thisâa miniseries within the lineâis the biggest puzzle in the world. If youâre unfamiliar with how these book babies are born, this is what happens: our talented editors cook up a bunch of linked characters, do some world-building to craft a community, then put together a project book with outlines and info for the writers whoâll be collaborating to write the books.
This is extremely challenging. You have to take someone elseâs characters, shove them and the outline into your brain, and start running. Because of the nature of the beast, if one story deviates from the plan all the other stories might have to too. It requires a lot of off-the-cuff problem-solving and co-operation. It also requires extremely talented editors to make sure it hangs together at the end.
In short, itâs the kind of project that forces you to grow as a writer. It also means the final result is never just due to your effort, itâs even more of a team effort than usualâand it has to be a great team to work. Writers whoâll immediately give feedback on something within minutes, or brainstorm a way to craft an event that has to happen in your book for future books to make sense. Itâs kind of a miracle, and kind of a nightmare at times, but it turns out some of the best stories.
I really hope you enjoy Gabriel and Pennyâs story, and I hope youâll pick up the other books in the series to see how the remaining Davenports get their happy-ever-afters.
Amalie xx
AMALIE BERLIN lives with her family and her critters in Southern Ohio, and writes quirky and independent characters for Mills & Boon Medical Romance. She likes to buck expectations with unusual settings and situations, and believes humour can be used powerfully to illuminate the truthâespecially when juxtaposed against intense emotions. Love is stronger and more satisfying when your partner can make you laugh through the times when you donât have the luxury of tears.
Books by Amalie Berlin
Mills & Boon Medical Romance
Hot Latin Docs
Danteâs Shock Proposal
Desert Prince Docs
Challenging the Doctor Sheikh
The Hollywood Hills Clinic
Taming Hollywoodâs Ultimate Playboy
Return of Dr. Irresistible
Breaking Her No-Dating Rule Surgeons, Rivalsâ¦Lovers Falling for Her Reluctant Sheikh The Princeâs Cinderella Bride
Visit the Author Profile page at millsandboon.co.uk for more titles.
First, I must thank Dr Trish Connor from the bottom of my heart for her help figuring out what was wrong with Penny! I knew she had to have had a childhood illness, and had a list of boxes that illness had to tick to make the story work, but no idea what the illness could be. She listened to the list, rapidly spat out several options, and generally was a lifesaver. Without her directing me to juvenile dermatomyositis, which IÂd never heard of, Penny might have never come alive to me as fully as she did. Massive thank-you to Dr Connor.
I must also shower love on Robin Gianna, sister-in-law to Dr Connor, who handled the conversation one day over lunch while I was panicking. :)
Finally, Iâd like to thank Amy Ruttan, Annie OâNeil and Robin Gianna for the brainstorming and handholding it took to get this crazy book baby born. Love you, ladies!
PROLOGUE
WERE IT NOT for the strong shopping bags protecting her clanking purchases, Penelope Davenport would never have made the walk back to her darkened motel, if the brisk, sometimes sideways shuffle sheâd been doing through the gusting wind and sheets of rain could be called a walk. Whatever it could be called, it was better than her flying had been today.
Deep in the pit of her belly, she still felt the plummeting sensation triggered two hours earlier when the early autumn storm sheâd been trying to outrun had caught them despite her best efforts, and a microburst had tried to slam her flying ambulance into the ground.
She still didnât know why they hadnât crashed.
Altitude had been on her side. And the stormâs sharp down-blast of wind had probably only caught them at the edge. Luck no doubt could be credited with making her jerk the stick in the correct direction, tilting them out of the wind to where she could level out and avoid killing them all.