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Rachel And The M.d.
Donna Clayton
Dr. Sloan Radcliff was the first to admit he didn't know a thing about clothes, makeup–or dating! And although he refused to succumb to the triplets' shameless matchmaking schemes, he was glad they charmed Rachel Richards into helping out. In fact, he felt so grateful toward his lovely office assistant that he had a sudden urge to…kiss her! The brooding widower wasn't at all convinced he could fuldill Rachel's hopes and dreams, but the captivating beauty sure did turn his entire world asunder. Would he ever allow her close enough to resuscitate his lonesome life?
She was too stunning for words.
Her flame-red hair was wild about her shoulders. The new do made her normally pale skin glow and look more beautiful than he’d ever imagined. And her glistening lips were…overwhelmingly kissable.
His mouth went dry at the thought. His gaze seemed to have a mind of its own as it roved down the length of her, over the curve of her tiny waist that flowed right on down into flared hips.
An hourglass. She was a soft, luscious hourglass.
He choked as the startling thought lodged in his throat like some inhaled morsel of food.
Immediately, Rachel was clapping him on the back. “You okay?” she asked.
He was trying to flee. From what, he had no clue. He worked with her in the office every single weekday. But she’d never had this kind of effect on him before….
Dear Reader,
This holiday season, as our anniversary year draws to a close, we have much to celebrate. The talented authors who have published—and continue to publish—unforgettable love stories. You, the readers, who have made our twenty-year milestone possible. And this month’s very special offerings.
First stop: BACHELOR GULCH, Sandra Steffen’s popular ongoing miniseries. They’d shared an amazing night together; now a beguiling stranger was back in his life carrying Sky’s Pride and Joy. She’d dreamed Hunter’s Vow would be the marrying kind…until he learned about their child he’d never known existed—don’t miss this keeper by Susan Meier! Carolyn Zane’s BRUBAKER BRIDES are back! Montana’s Feisty Cowgirl thought she could pass as just another male ranch hand, but Montana wouldn’t rest till he knew her secrets…and made this 100% woman completely his!
Donna Clayton’s SINGLE DOCTOR DADS return…STAT. Rachel and the M.D. were office assistant and employer…so why was she imagining herself this widower’s bride and his triplets’ mother? Diana Whitney brings her adorable STORK EXPRESS series from Special Edition into Romance with the delightful story of what happens when Mixing Business…with Baby. And debut author Belinda Barnes tells the charming tale of a jilted groom who finds himself all dressed up…to deliver a pregnant beauty’s baby—don’t miss His Special Delivery!
Thank you for celebrating our 20th anniversary. In 2001 we’ll have even more excitement—the return of ROYALLY WED and Marie Ferrarella’s 100th book, to name a couple!
Happy reading!
Mary-Theresa Hussey
Senior Editor
Rachel and the M.D.
Donna Clayton
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
This book is dedicated, in loving memory, to Louise Anderson
Books by Donna Clayton
Silhouette Romance
Mountain Laurel #720
Taking Love in Stride #781
Return of the Runaway Bride #999
Wife for a While #1039
Nanny and the Professor #1066
Fortune’s Bride #1118
Daddy Down the Aisle #1162
* (#litres_trial_promo)Miss Maxwell Becomes a Mom #1211
* (#litres_trial_promo)Nanny in the Nick of Time #1217
* (#litres_trial_promo)Beauty and the Bachelor Dad #1223
† (#litres_trial_promo)The Stand-By Significant Other #1284
† (#litres_trial_promo)Who’s the Father of Jenny’s Baby? #1302
The Boss and the Beauty #1342
His Ten-Year-Old Secret #1373
Her Dream Come True #1399
Adopted Dad #1417
His Wild Young Bride #1441
** (#litres_trial_promo)The Nanny Proposal #1477
** (#litres_trial_promo)The Doctor’s Medicine Woman #1483
** (#litres_trial_promo)Rachel and the M.D. #1489
DONNA CLAYTON
is proud to be a recipient of the Holt Medallion, an award honoring outstanding literary talent, for her Silhouette Romance novel Wife for a While. And seeing her work appear on the Waldenbooks Series Bestsellers list has given her a great deal of joy and satisfaction.
Reading is one of Donna’s favorite ways to wile away a rainy afternoon. She loves to hike, too. Another hobby added to her list of fun things to do is traveling. She fell in love with Europe during her first trip abroad and plans to return often. Oh, and Donna still collects cookbooks, but as her writing career grows, she finds herself using them less and less.
Donna loves to hear from her readers. Please write to her care of Silhouette Books, 300 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017.
Contents
Chapter One (#u435a9f20-fdca-5c3b-ae38-ab0abb4ab3fd)
Chapter Two (#ue4f36022-57ee-5d37-89bb-3bc37694dd62)
Chapter Three (#u6608cac3-6595-56bc-98e0-3c01df78f21d)
Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One
There’s a look that narrows the eyes of a nearly teen adolescent—a look reflecting stubbornness-bordering-on-rebellion—that strikes terror in the heart of any normal parent. And Sloan Radcliff was receiving that very look from not one, but three pairs of eyes. The defiant expressions he confronted belonged to his daughters, his twelve-year-old triplet terrors.
Sloan tamped down the myriad of emotions creating chaos in his head and focused on keeping his voice calm, his nerves steely.
“Girls,” he quietly began. The experience of being a single parent for the last two years had taught him that, when dealing with his children’s obstinacy, a tranquil tone never really helped very much. However, he was the mature, sane adult here and he did want to act in a manner befitting that fact. For as long as he could possibly hold out, anyway.
“You know the rules,” he continued. “Nine o’clock. That’s curfew. You’re twelve years old. It’s not an unreasonable request.”
“Sez who?”
Oh, Lord. Sydney, the most quick-tempered of his three daughters, was already becoming bluntly out-spoken. He chose to ignore the fact that her short question was laced around the edges with insolence.
“Daddy,” Sasha whined pitifully, “this is going to be the party of the year. All the coolest kids will be there. We have to go. We just have to. If we don’t, we’ll be labeled as geek.” Her eyes were wide, her forehead furrowed, her arms gesturing wildly. All indications that if this classification were to take place, her entire existence would be ruined for all eternity.
Sloan’s brows rose a fraction. Not because Sasha was being overly dramatic—that was her trademark—but it was awfully early in the dispute for her to start displaying her well-oiled thespian skills. This New Year’s Eve get-together must be more important to his daughters than he’d first realized.
Glancing over at Sophie, the third of his lovely, lively daughters, he wasn’t surprised to see her arms crossed tightly over her rib cage, her mouth pressed together in a firm line.
With their long, straight brown hair and their nut-brown eyes, his girls might look like peas in a pod, but their characters—the methods they used to cope with everything from joy and success to anger, disappointment and stress—were as different as the snowflakes that now fell from the wintry, late December sky.
“Look, Dad,” Sydney piped up, “we’ve been asking you about this party for a month. Now it’s time to go shopping for dresses and shoes and stuff. We’re down to the wire. We need an answer. Now.”
“Shopping?” he asked. “But all three of you just received new clothes for Christmas—”
Sasha’s wide-eyed look of horror cut his protest off in midstream.
“You can’t expect us to wear those things,” Sasha said. “We got jeans and sweaters. Knock-around clothes. We need gowns.”
“Yes,” Sydney agreed with her sister. “We need long, elegant dresses. Everyone there will be wearing them.”
Seeing a means of lightening the mood, Sloan allowed exaggerated skepticism to tug at one corner of his mouth as he teased, “The boys are going to look pretty silly in—”
“Dad,” both Sydney and Sasha chimed. They shook their head in disgust.
“Our girl friends,” Sydney supplied. “You knew what we meant.”
“We need an answer,” Sasha pressed him. “The party is just four days away. Are you gonna let us go?”
He’d put off his girls as long as he could. He needed to make a decision. Let them go to the party? Or protect them, and at the same time, disappoint them terribly?
During times like this, he really hated being a single dad. With both sets of his daughters’ grandparents deceased, and him with no siblings, Sloan had no one to talk these things over with. He felt…lonely. Lost. And terribly unsure. He never knew for certain whether or not he was making the right choice. He needed more time.
“Girls, you can’t just come traipsing into my office, demanding—”
“All your patients are gone, Dad,” Sydney said. “The waiting room is empty.”
“It’s time for you to go home.” Sasha plunked her hand on her hip. “Besides, you were expecting us. Remember? You asked Annie’s mom to drop us off here.”
Of course Sloan remembered the girls had spent the day with a friend. He’d just been hedging for time.
“Sure, I remember,” he said jovially. He stood and pulled off his white lab coat. “How about if we stop off on the way home and pick up some burgers and fries for dinner? We’ll go to your favorite place.”
Three pairs of eyes glowered at him.
“We won’t let you change the subject, Dad.” Now Sydney, too, had her hands on her hips, her elbows cocked at wide angles.
“We want to go to the party!” Sasha said.
Sophie only nodded tightly, her gaze silently reflecting all the anxiety she was feeling.
Sloan sighed. He felt damned tired. He sat down, rubbed his palms up and down his thighs.
“Okay,” he said, “you can go to the party—”
“Whooo-hoo,” Sydney shouted.
“Yes!” Sasha threw her hands into the air and performed a joyful little jig.
Even Sophie smiled, the tension in her shoulders visibly melting away.
The girls began chattering to one another all at once.
“I’m going to get that black strapless dress I saw in the mall—”
“I’m wearing that electric-blue one with the slits up both sides—”
“I need panty hose and I want those strappy platform sandals—”
“And let’s not forget to go to the drugstore for makeup. I saw a tube of red lipstick I’ve just gotta have—”
