Sharon Kendrick

Part-Time Father


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      “I do not intend to be a part-time father,”

      Harrison said, “which leaves us only one alternative.”

      

      “Which is?”

      

      “That Georgia has two parents.”

      

      A frown creased Kimberley’s forehead. “But how—?”

      

      “There’s only one way.” He said it without expression. “That you marry me.”

      

      Kimberley stared at him. “You cannot be serious.”

      

      “Oh, but that’s where you’re wrong, Kimberley.” He smiled. “I am. Deadly serious.”

      Dear Reader,

      One hundred. Doesn’t matter how many times I say it, I still can’t believe that’s how many books I’ve written. It’s a fabulous feeling but more fabulous still is the news that Mills & Boon are issuing every single one of my backlist as digital titles. Wow. I can’t wait to share all my stories with you - which are as vivid to me now as when I wrote them.

      There’s BOUGHT FOR HER HUSBAND, with its outrageously macho Greek hero and A SCANDAL, A SECRET AND A BABY featuring a very sexy Tuscan. THE SHEIKH’S HEIR proved so popular with readers that it spent two weeks on the USA Today charts and…well, I could go on, but I’ll leave you to discover them for yourselves.

      I remember the first line of my very first book: “So you’ve come to Australia looking for a husband?” Actually, the heroine had gone to Australia to escape men, but guess what? She found a husband all the same! The man who inspired that book rang me up recently and when I told him I was beginning my 100th story and couldn’t decide what to write, he said, “Why don’t you go back to where it all started?”

      So I did. And that’s how A ROYAL VOW OF CONVENIENCE was born. It opens in beautiful Queensland and moves to England and New York. It’s about a runaway princess and the enigmatic billionaire who is infuriated by her, yet who winds up rescuing her. But then, she goes and rescues him… Wouldn’t you know it?

      I’ll end by saying how very grateful I am to have a career I love, and to thank each and every one of you who has supported me along the way. You really are very dear readers.

      Love,

      Sharon xxx

      Mills & Boon are proud to present a thrilling digital collection of all Sharon Kendrick’s novels and novellas for us to celebrate the publication of her amazing and awesome 100th book! Sharon is known worldwide for her likeable, spirited heroines and her gorgeous, utterly masculine heroes.

      SHARON KENDRICK once won a national writing competition, describing her ideal date: being flown to an exotic island by a gorgeous and powerful man. Little did she realise that she’d just wandered into her dream job! Today she writes for Mills & Boon, featuring her often stubborn but always to-die-for heroes and the women who bring them to their knees. She believes that the best books are those you never want to end. Just like life…

      Part-Time Father

      Sharon Kendrick

      

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      This book is dedicated to the beautiful and talented

      Daniella Trendell.

      Contents

       Cover

       Extract

       Dear Reader

       About the Author

       Title Page

       Dedication

       CHAPTER FOUR

       CHAPTER FIVE

       CHAPTER SIX

       CHAPTER SEVEN

       CHAPTER EIGHT

       CHAPTER NINE

       CHAPTER TEN

       CHAPTER ELEVEN

       CHAPTER TWELVE

       Copyright

       CHAPTER ONE

      ‘MOTHER! Mother!’ Out of breath from running at top speed up the path following her mother’s urgent summons, Kimberley dropped her suitcase on to the cold tiles of the flagged floor and listened.

      Silence.

      Fear gripped at her heart like a vice, and a note of uncertainty crept into her voice. ‘Mother?’

      She heard the scrape of something in the small sitting-room, and, striding over in the shortest time possible, she threw open the door to see her mother just moving the small stool which stood in front of the sofa, on which she’d obviously been resting her feet.

      Thank heavens! The unacknowledged fear, ever present when your elderly mother lived on her own, immediately subsided. ‘So there you are!’ said Kimberley in relief.

      Her mother pushed her spectacles further back up on her nose and looked at her only child, a small smile lighting her still shapely mouth which was so like her daughter’s. ‘Where did you think I’d be?’ she enquired mildly. ‘Robbed and left trussed up in the attic? Kidnapped by modern-day pirates and heading for the coast?’

      Kimberley giggled. ‘You are outrageous, Mother! Your imagination is much too vivid, and those crazy adventure stories you read don’t