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A baby in his bachelor pad!
Lexi Malone put her dreams aside to raise her friend’s daughter. Now the little girl she loves could be taken away! The only person who can help is the father, formidable CEO Jethro Calder.
Committed bachelor Jethro doesn’t believe he can be the parent his daughter needs. To check that Lexi is, he makes her his temporary houseguest! Jethro could get used to having beautiful Lexi around, but his difficult childhood has left scars... Can this surprise family show him what love is all about?
Lexi was about to wrangle a shark in his surf.
But she had no choice. He may well be Jazi’s father, and the only person with the power to grant her custody.
A confirmed bachelor, he’d stated in one article that he never intended to have a family. According to him, he took a satisfaction in his work that he’d never found in a relationship, so why force something that wasn’t meant to be?
Lexi hoped he believed what he said. Jazi’s and her futures rested in his hands. But she needed to confirm her hunch before she put her proposition to him.
She made her way to the bar, a room dressed in dark leather, light wood and shining crystal. And there he was. Seated at the end of the bar in a custom-made tuxedo that emphasized the broad reach of his shoulders, showcasing his tall, lean frame to perfection. His brooding expression kept everyone, including the bartender, at bay.
A shark surveying his territory, there was nothing subdued about him. His hair was nearly black, his eyes dark and piercing, though the color was indiscernible at this distance and angle. Features a shade too sharp to be considered classically handsome made him all the more compelling.
I’m very lucky to have a large, very supportive family. If you read me with any frequency, I’m sure that’s shown through in my stories, as family always plays a large part of my work. I am aware, however, that not all people are as lucky as me. Sometimes we have to make tough decisions to remove ourselves from harsh or unhealthy situations. Or step back so someone else can flourish.
These decisions don’t come easily. They require thought, courage, selfishness, sacrifice and the bravery necessary to take action. In The CEO’s Surprise Family, an executive faces tough decisions to the backdrop of glittering Las Vegas in a hotel designed after a game. In this world of flash and chance, he must choose whether to give up the daughter he never knew he had so she can have the life he never did, or go against the odds by accepting love in his life and scoring the biggest jackpot of all, a family of his own.
I hope you hear the cha-ching at the end.
Enjoy.
Teresa Carpenter
The Ceo’s Surprise Family
Teresa Carpenter
TERESA CARPENTER believes that with love and family anything is possible. She writes in a Southern California coastal city surrounded by her large family. Teresa loves writing about babies and grandmas. Her books have been rated Top Picks by RT Book Reviews, and have been nominated Best Romance of the Year on some review sites. If she’s not at a family event, she’s reading or writing her next grand romance.
To my readers. Thank you for taking the time to find me and read me. And a warm hug to those who go to Amazon and Goodreads to leave reviews. You help other readers to find me. Bless you.
Contents
LEXI MALONE’S HAND shook as she touched up her lip liner. She met her gaze in the gilded ladies’ room mirror and saw nerves reflected in the blue depths.
“For Jazi,” she breathed and capped the liner.
The reminder chased the shakes away. And most of the nerves. She’d do anything to get her twenty-three-month-old goddaughter back. Accosting a man in an upscale restaurant to determine if he was the child’s father was nothing. And it may not come to that. Tonight was a fact-finding mission.
At the theater where she’d used to dance strange men had approached her all the time. She’d learned to handle them long ago. Of course, the Golden Link was a well-respected private club at the Golden Cuff Casino and security had stood ready to protect her if things got out of control.
Here