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A Father For The Twins
Callie Endicott
He’s falling for his clients’ legal guardian…But can business and love ever mix?Signing a young sister and brother to his new talent agency could be a great move for Adam Wilding, especially when he meets their legal guardian. Cassie Bryant’s first priority is her niece and nephew’s welfare. But she herself remains a mystery. Can Adam convince this prickly, stubborn, utterly appealing woman they’re not as different as she thinks?
He’s falling for his clients’ legal guardian...
But can business and love ever mix?
Signing a young sister and brother to his new talent agency could be a great move for Adam Wilding, especially when he meets their legal guardian. Cassie Bryant’s first priority is her niece’s and nephew’s welfare. But she herself remains a mystery. Can Adam convince this prickly, stubborn, utterly appealing woman they’re not as different as she thinks?
As a kid, CALLIE ENDICOTT had her nose stuck in a book so often it frequently got her in trouble. The trouble hasn’t stopped—she keeps having to buy new bookshelves. Luckily ebooks don’t take up much space. Writing has been another help, since she’s usually on the computer creating stories instead of buying them. Callie loves bringing characters to life and never knows what will prompt an idea. So she still travels, hikes, explores and pursues her other passions, knowing a novel may be just around the corner.
Also By Callie Endicott (#u75b96caf-2f2d-596e-ab67-b8887b1ae83d)
Emerald City Stories
Moonlight Over Seattle
Montana Skies
The Rancher’s Prospect
At Wild Rose Cottage
Kayla’s Cowboy
That Summer at the Shore
Until She Met Daniel
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
A Father for the Twins
Callie Endicott
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-08502-1
A FATHER FOR THE TWINS
© 2018 Callie Endicott
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
“I want the twins to dream whatever they want to dream.” Cassie truly meant those words.
“You’d probably make a good talent agent for kids,” said Adam.
“Me?” Cassie snickered. “Hardly. I like my orderly career in web programming. It makes the rest of life’s messiness easier to face.”
“You’re great with computers, but you also have solid instincts for people.”
The compliment was sincere, but it was the look in his eyes that made her pulse jump. When Adam leaned closer and kissed her, it was everything it should have been. His lips were firm, his arms strong and gentle. But the moment was so brief, it left her aching for more.
Dear Reader (#u75b96caf-2f2d-596e-ab67-b8887b1ae83d),
I’m so excited to have my next Emerald City story published with Harlequin Heartwarming.
My hero, Adam Wilding, is a special guy who became a famous model more or less by accident. Now he’s embarked on a second career as a talent agent, and he has his hands full with Cassie Bryant, the aunt and guardian of his two newest clients. Cassie can be a little prickly, but she’s fiercely protective of her niece and nephew.
The two cats in my household have an odd relationship—the female dislikes all other felines, and the male just wants to play. There’s a great deal of spitting, but not the all-out war that we expected. Over time it’s become clear that a certain amount of affection has grown between the two.
Relationships aren’t easy, but the fun part of writing is that I don’t have to just wait and watch. Adam and Cassie have a number of hurdles to overcome before they find their way together...but I enjoyed showing how they got there.
I love hearing from readers and can be contacted at: c/o Harlequin Books, 22 Adelaide Street West, 40th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5H 4E3. Please also check out my Facebook page at Facebook.com/callie.endicott.author (http://Facebook.com/callie.endicott.author).
Best wishes,
Callie
To Ruby and Albert
Contents
Cover (#u2fe57c49-469e-586e-bc0d-c6fc35fd5c41)
Back Cover Text (#u5574daa6-bcca-58ad-937f-8ae68b400e88)
About the Author (#u162f7988-3aef-54c4-87be-4876bf9891da)
Booklist (#u77e6296f-4f85-5f3d-9cd0-19ced2b146e3)
Title Page (#u2033ac2d-7836-5f22-b236-211c38c2b8b6)
Copyright (#u5f0e1a1b-9e0a-5417-944e-7fcabeb0c4d4)
Introduction (#u5e49394d-8768-5f8f-b6ce-9e08f022b21c)
Dear Reader (#uf9d09c37-f8ac-5375-b75f-c1eb56448ee2)
Dedication (#u137eae47-fe14-5cce-985e-8aba746c5f7f)
PROLOGUE (#ueeb73338-a62e-5f94-826e-d9c2dba74812)
CHAPTER ONE (#uf2fcbc03-4617-5dec-8d22-a3e9851ade84)
CHAPTER TWO (#u766020aa-89e9-59a6-9865-ffe60e7ecb8d)
CHAPTER THREE (#u19d321ad-e060-5138-8b36-b3d22394abcf)
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)
CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FIFTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIXTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
PROLOGUE (#u75b96caf-2f2d-596e-ab67-b8887b1ae83d)
ADAM WILDING WANTED to turn the car around and drive away from his parents’ house, but that didn’t seem very mature for a college student. He had to face telling them the truth.
The golden late afternoon light played on the Sandia Mountains in the background. Dried red chile ristras hung on the porches and thousands of luminarias lined the yards and walkways of homes, ready to be lit once it was dark.
He’d grown up in New Mexico and the sights and scents of Albuquerque brought back an avalanche of memories. Especially at Christmastime.
His nerves tightened even more as he turned into the driveway. Three months had passed since his mother’s emergency heart surgery, but it was never far from his thoughts.
Elizabeth Wilding must have been watching, because she met him at the door. He looked at her closely. She seemed healthy. There was good color in her cheeks and her eyes were bright and lively.
“Hey, Mom.” Adam stepped inside and kissed her cheek. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas, dear. Are you well?” she asked anxiously. That was his mom—always concerned about everyone else’s health.
“I’m great.”
Dermott Wilding appeared from the back of the house. He was thinner than when Adam had seen him a couple of months earlier. “Merry Christmas, son. Did you have a good trip?”
“Not too bad. There was snow in Flagstaff, but I got through it okay.” When time wasn’t an issue, he preferred driving over flying when traveling from Los Angeles to Albuquerque.
“Are your classes for next term lined up?” Dermott asked. “You can’t take anything frivolous, you know, it might look bad on your application to law school,” he added without waiting for an answer.
Adam managed a tight nod. Ever since he could remember, his parents had expected him to grow up and become an attorney. It had been the same with Sophie. How often had they heard their father say, “My children are going to be respected lawyers instead of working stiffs like me”? Along with, “Before you know it, Adam and Sophie will be on the Supreme Court.” To Dermott Wilding, being appointed to the US Supreme Court was the ultimate success.
“Is Sophie here?” Adam asked.
“Right behind you.”
He turned and gave her a hug. “Hey, sis, where’s the ponytail?”
“Gave it up, along with my tricycle.”
“Sophie is such wonderful help around the house,” Elizabeth declared, yet sounded anxious again. “But she hasn’t been able to enjoy her new school.”
“It’s okay, Mom,” Sophie told her quickly.
Adam had wanted to take the fall term off at UCLA to help take care of his mother, but the idea of him interrupting his life had upset his parents so much, he’d decided it would do more harm than good. As a result, too much responsibility had dropped onto his sister’s shoulders.
“I hope you’re hungry,” Elizabeth said.
“Starved.”
They went into the kitchen for pozole, a traditional Christmas Eve soup in New Mexico made of hominy and meat and seasoned with various toppings.
“Fantastic as always,” he said after the first spoonful. “It wouldn’t be Christmas without your pozole, Mom.”
“Thank you, but Sophie made it.”
“Great job, kiddo.”
Sophie just shrugged.
An awkward silence fell and Adam decided to give his parents his news. “Mom, Dad, you know how much I’ve wanted to do something to help out?”
