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Then There Were Three
Jeanie London
Talk about being sucker punched. The runaway kid sitting in Police Chief Nic DiLeo's chair with her feet propped up on his desk belongs to his family–no doubt about it. But her father isn't one of his five brothers.It's him. She's his daughter with Megan Bell.Nic was crazy about Megan in high school…until she vanished from his life with no explanation. The bigger secret, however, isn't the daughter he didn't know. It's Megan and how he still feels about her. She's more beautiful now and even more of a temptation. Suddenly the man who wanted to drop commitments is looking for ways to tie himself to Megan…permanently!
“We’re going to handle everything as adults who are only interested in our daughter’s best interests?”
Megan nodded, hoping to reassure him.
“All right. Sounds like a plan.” Grabbing his glass in one hand and the decanter in the other, Nic strode toward her. “Come on. Let’s go talk money.”
Megan didn’t get a chance to reply, or to back away from the archway of the entry to the dining room before he was on top of her. Hanging on to her own glass so she didn’t do anything stupid like spill wine all over herself, she glanced up at him and was startled at what she saw in his golden-brown gaze.
Surprise.
It flared in his eyes unmistakably, and with a gasp of premonition, Megan knew what he was going to do even before he took that last step that closed the distance between them.
Before he brought his mouth down on hers.
Dear Reader,
New Orleans, Louisiana. Historic. Legendary. One of a kind. A city that has always been near and dear to my heart—and to the hearts of so many whose lives were touched by Hurricane Katrina.
In the years since Katrina, this magnificent city is reemerging stronger and more unique than ever through the efforts of brave citizens, generous benefactors and people who care enough to take an opportunity to make difficult changes for a greater good.
Change doesn’t come easily. Opening our eyes to our flaws demands a great deal of courage and accountability. But it’s through change that we grow. So in honor of New Orleans, Then There Were Three is a story all about growth and second chances. Ordinary women. Extraordinary romance. That’s what Harlequin Superromance is all about.
I hope you enjoy Megan, Nic and Violet’s story of how they grow into a unique family unit all their own. I love hearing from readers, so please visit me at www.jeanielondon.com.
Peace and blessings,
Jeanie London
Then There Were Three
Jeanie London
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jeanie London writes romances because she believes in happily-ever-afters. Not the “love conquers all” kind, but the “two people love each other, so they can conquer anything” kind. She lives in sunny Florida with her wonderful family—two beautiful daughters and her very own romance hero, who reads fantasy and watches football and doesn’t mind eating the same meal three nights in a row while she’s writing. And she loves to write! She has published twenty-five books in romance mass market, trade paperback and hard cover, winners of such industry awards as RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice, National Readers’ Choice, Holt Medallion, Reader and Bookbuyers’ Best, Venus Book Club and Waldenbooks’ Most Romantic Moment. As far as Jeanie is concerned, she has the very best job in the world.
For everyone impacted by Hurricane Katrina.
All those who lost their lives. All those who lost
loved ones. All those who lost beloved pets,
treasured homes and much-needed jobs.
All those who were able to rebuild.
All those who weren’t. All those who found
hope and all those who brought hope.
God bless you all.
And special thanks to Maryam H.
for your writer’s eyes. You are talented and
creative and smart and generous
and such a delight to know!
CONTENTS
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
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER ONE
“MOM WOULD KILL ME IF she knew where I was right now,” Violet Bell whispered, though no one was around to hear her. The words bubbled out of her mouth anyway as she ran across the street to change her hiding place for the zillionth time. The alley was the best place to hide, but then she couldn’t see the front of the building without being noticeable. She didn’t want to be noticed.
Dashing into the alcove of a parking garage, she pressed against the wall and waited, straining to hear any sound from inside. The garage echoed like a cavern, so she’d hear an approaching car with lots of time to get out of the way before the door opened.
Violet knew the drill by now.
Daring a glance, she shifted her gaze from the locked doorway of the brick condo building across the street—she’d already tried to get in—to the garage entrance.
Nada. Not a soul in sight.
She swallowed a laugh. Hysteria, probably, because she felt really bad. She wouldn’t lie. Mom and GigiMarie would be having total cows right now, not knowing for sure where Violet was. Mom was insane about that kind of stuff on a normal day. And GigiMarie, who called herself Violet’s honorary grandmother, wasn’t much better. They were on a whole different continent today, which was hardly normal.
Or maybe Violet was distracting herself from how badly she needed to pee. She’d been stalking this building ever since the taxi had dropped her off around two o’clock this afternoon.
It was after ten now.
The only thing saving her was that she hadn’t had anything to drink in forever. On purpose. Earlier there’d been places open with bathrooms. She’d found a bunch of art galleries and a kids’ museum in one direction. But she couldn’t get in without paying admission and she hated wasting Mom’s money on something so stupid. Not on top of everything else she’d been spending.
The tire place a few blocks in the other direction had been perfect. She pretended to belong in the customers’ waiting area. Someone’s kid killing time in front of the TV while the car was serviced. That had worked until the tire place closed.
Violet hadn’t taken one sip of water since. Of course, she’d barely been able to choke down the crumbled granola bars that had made up one very crappy dinner, but she’d been starving so, oh, well.
And now that he’d come home she wasn’t moving from this spot. He’d been driving an unmarked police cruiser. She’d only caught a glimpse of him through the windshield—the only window that wasn’t too darkly tinted to see through—before he’d turned, but she would have recognized him anywhere.
Her dad.
She’d searched him on the internet before leaving Chile and had found a few photos. The best had been on the New Orleans Police Department website, but there’d been others. The newspaper had published one with the mayor who’d appointed her dad as chief of police. Another had been an announcement that a brother who looked like her dad had accepted some fellowship at Charity Hospital.
Violet had an uncle, too. And he was a doctor.
Just the thought gave her a thrill. Who needed a drink or a bathroom? She’d hold it all night if she had to because now that her dad had come home, she wasn’t leaving until he did. She didn’t want to miss him.
Not that he was likely to be going anywhere at this time of night, but he was the chief of police. Cops got dragged out on calls all the time if she could believe SVU and NCIS.
Resting her head against the wall, Violet swallowed another laugh. She couldn’t believe she was really here.
Of course that thought lasted about one second before she thought about Mom again.
Ugh.
It wasn’t that she wanted Mom to get gray hair. But what was Violet supposed to do? Let Mom keep her from her dad? That wasn’t fair. And Mom was usually pretty good about things like that. She always let Violet and GigiMarie decide what projects to accept with that nutty job of hers. Not that Violet didn’t like traveling. She did. So did GigiMarie. But Mom’s projects always lasted at least a year…who wanted to get stuck in a jungle somewhere for that long?
But this time Mom had turned down a project without ever even saying a word. And a project right here in New Orleans at that. They hadn’t been in the States since Violet was eight, and this was the only place in the world they had any real family.
Okay, so Mom wasn’t tight with the grandparents. Violet had only seen them, like, three times in her whole life. Something was up with that, but would it have really killed Mom to suck it up so Violet could see what being around family was like?
She didn’t think that was asking too much. But Mom hadn’t even asked what Violet thought about going to New Orleans, which was totally un-Mom. Instead, she’d shot back an email declining to even think about the project until some other time. Violet made it her life’s quest to find out why.
And found him.
Which had been sheer brilliance, if she had to say so herself. Her birth certificate hadn’t helped one bit.
Father unknown?
That was the stupidest thing she’d ever heard. Mom had to know. Violet thought about asking, but hadn’t had to. One trip into Mom’s locked fireproof box had given Violet a big head start.
A hiss echoed through the quiet. She frowned in the direction of the sound, gaze riveting to the front door of her dad’s building as it swung wide and someone stepped outside.
OMG! Her dad!
Just the sight of him melted away all the bad. She was in New Orleans, the only place in the world she had any family. But now…she had a real family. A dad and a doctor uncle.
And there her dad was, walking quickly across the street, as if he knew exactly where he was going and wanted to get there fast. Her heart just came to a complete stop when he got close enough that she could actually see the expression on his face. Serious. Kind of like his photo on the website. His face was all hard lines and his hair was buzzed short.
Then he passed and her heart started beating again. He hadn’t noticed her. Whew! Still, she didn’t leave the shelter of the garage until he’d turned the corner of Magazine Street. Then she hauled butt after him.
Thank God the street was lined with cars to keep her out of sight. Her dad was a cop, so he noticed things. If he spotted her, she’d have to explain who she was. She wasn’t ready to do that yet. Stupid, since she’d traveled all this way to see him, but… He didn’t scare her. He looked okay, as far as dads went.
He was tall and rugged. Buff but not too buff, and he had her dark blond hair and tan skin. But she’d already known that from the photo. She was Italian. Who knew?
Violet shouldn’t be surprised that he was fit. Mom was obsessed with fitness, always eating right and taking vitamins and getting enough exercise… She could hear the familiar litany streaming in her brain even on a different continent.
Her dad wasn’t really dad material, she decided, the more she watched him. At least not like other dads she knew. Her friend Camille’s father always joked about the doughnut around his middle, but that doughnut was more like the tire on a 4x4.
And Maddie’s dad was even shorter than Maddie. That was saying something. Gabby’s dad never came out of his shed so Violet couldn’t be sure about him.
Esperanza’s dad was about the only one who was remotely babe material, and he was gay. Of course, he’d only figured that out after marrying Esperanza’s mom. But guilt worked big-time on Christmases and birthdays and whenever Esperanza needed the newest technology, so she didn’t make it a big deal.
