âIf you need my help, donât hesitate to call. I donât expect anything in return.â
Hank wished she didâ¦. Heâd never met anyone like Jolie.
She strode to the foyer and he followed at a respectable distance. She pressed down on the door handle and he moved forward then, so he could hold the door open for her. âThank you. I canât say it enough.â
His face was close to hers. He inhaled the light floral fragrance she wore.
She smiled at him, the right corner of her lips inching upward. âI like your kids.â
âAnd me?â The words seemed to blurt out of their own volition.
âYou have enough on your plate. Keep things simple. Friends,â she stressed.
He didnât want to be friends. He wanted to kiss her.
Dear Reader,
For a while now my editors have been asking me to write a book whose heroine is a teacher. Since Iâm a romance writer by night/teacher by day, they figured I knew a bit about the subject.
But Jolie is no way based on me. First, sheâs a twin. Second, sheâs an elementary school teacher. Third, she falls in love with a man who has twins of his own. Nope, not even close to my life.
However, this book has become one of my favorites. Jolie and Hank are two people deserving a happily-ever-after. Theyâve both been hurt by tragedy and theyâre both scared to put their emotions out there. They need to learn that when it comes to love they must open their hearts and take a risk. While lifeâs not always easy, sometimes we get second chances that are even better than the first.
This book marks another milestone for me, as itâs my twentieth novel for Harlequin Books. Iâm glad it was Jolie and Hankâs story. Theyâre pretty special to me, and I hope youâll love them as much as I do.
Enjoy the romance,
Michele Dunaway
Twins for the Teacher
Michele Dunaway
In first grade Michele Dunaway knew she wanted to be a teacher when she grew up, and by second grade she knew she wanted to be an author. By third grade she was determined to be both, and before her high school class reunion, sheâd succeeded. In addition to writing romance, Michele is a nationally recognized English and journalism educator who also advises both the yearbook and newspaper at her school. Born and raised in a west county suburb of St. Louis, Missouri, Michele has traveled extensively, with the cities and places sheâs visited often becoming settings for her stories. Described as a woman who does too much but doesnât ever want to stop, Michele gardens five acres in her spare time and shares her house with two tween daughters and six extremely lazy house cats that rule the roost.
First and foremost, to all my fans who have helped make this writing dream come true. Thank you. Next, to all my faraway friends, who are always in my heart: Karen Flynn, Jennifer Fly, Carrie Hilleary, Jenny Hassell and Julie Picraux. Even though we donât see each other often, we pick up as if itâs yesterday. To Christy Janisse, Jo Anne Banker and Kay Hudson, who always make me feel like family. And for Joyce Adams Counts, whose friendship I would be remiss to forget, and to my mom, Louise Feager, for always being there.
And last but by no means least, for my new editor Laura Barth, who worked so hard to make this twenty-book milestone perfect. Thank you.
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
Epilogue
Enrolling your children in school should be easier than filing your federal taxes.
But it didnât feel that way to Hank Friesen as he sat outside the principalâs office on a plastic chair two sizes too small for his six-foot frame and tried to register his ten-year-old twins in the fourth grade.
The secretary shot questions at him, rapid-fire. Yes, he knew it was April. Yes, their address was the Graham Nolter Resort and Conference Center and, yes, that was their permanent residence.
A lump formed in his throat as he continued to respond to the secretaryâs inquiry. No, there was no Mrs. Friesen. His wife died five years ago. No, his children had never before been enrolled in any other elementary school. Their maternal grandmother had homeschooled them these past five years.
Hank had also provided the secretary with immunization records and copies of Ethanâs and Alliâs birth certificates. Heâd filled out emergency cards in triplicate. He was now working on a health history, the last form, he hoped, as his left hand was beginning to hurt. The secretary leaned over the old-fashioned laminate-and-metal counter to check on his progress before disappearing from view again.
âAre we going to see the classrooms, Dad?â Ethan, whoâd arrived ten minutes before his twin sister, Alli, kicked his legs back and forth, making a loud thunk every time the soles of his tennis shoes connected with the metal rungs of the chairâs under-the-seat book rack. Heâd developed a distinctive rhythm, the staccato annoying and impossible to tune out. âSo are we, Dad? Huh? Are we?â