GINA WILKINS – The Soldier's Forever Family (страница 1)
A weekend to remember...leads to the surprise of his life
Adam Scott never thought he was missing out. Since leaving the military, he’s been working at a luxurious resort: no commitments, no complications. Just the way he likes it. That is, until the morning Adam meets a young boy on the beach—a boy who looks very much like him. His son.
Six years ago, Adam and Joanna Zielinski indulged in a passionate, no-strings weekend. Even now, their chemistry still burns. But Adam knows all too well that some men shouldn’t be fathers. He’ll protect his son the best way he knows how...even if it means saying goodbye to the family he never knew he wanted.
“We had a lot of fun together before, didn’t we?”
“We did,” Joanna agreed, resting her hands on Adam’s chest. She could feel his heart beating through his shirt.
His face was close enough to hers for her to feel his breath on her skin when he murmured, “I know I wasn’t there for you, but I never forgot how good it was between us, even if it was only for a few days. If you— When you talk to Simon someday about how he was conceived, I don’t want him to think it was just a weekend equivalent of a one-night stand.”
When she talked to Simon? If she talked to Simon? His phrasing added to her unease, but he didn’t give her a chance to speak before his mouth closed over hers with an intensity that implied he’d resisted the temptation as long as he could.
It happened every time Adam kissed her. Her pulse raced, her knees weakened, her skin warmed and tightened, becoming exquisitely sensitized to every point of contact between them.
It had been that way six years ago, and time had not changed a thing in that respect.
I’m so excited to present my first book for Harlequin Superromance! I’ve been a proud Harlequin author for more than twenty-five years and of over one hundred books, and each story is a new challenge filled with new friends I grow to love as I get to know them. I particularly enjoy exploring stories involving families—both traditional and nontraditional—and the love that binds them together.
In this book, a couple once separated and now unexpectedly reunited have to figure out how to ensure a happy future for themselves and their five-year-old son, Simon. Army veteran Adam Scott bears emotional and physical scars from an unhappy childhood and a war zone deployment. It’s difficult now for him to give his trust, to make promises he’s afraid he can’t keep. Always responsible and cautious, psychologist Joanna Zielinski let herself be reckless and impulsive for one extraordinary weekend with Adam six years ago, and it left her with a broken heart and a baby. Since then, she has dedicated her life to protecting her child—and her heart. Can she and Adam overcome the fears and uncertainties that kept them apart to build a family based on love and trust? I had a great time accompanying them along that journey to healing, and I hope you enjoy their story.
From one Harlequin romance fan to another: here’s to happy endings!
Gina Wilkins
The Soldier’s Forever Family
Gina Wilkins
Before she even learned to read, GINA WILKINS announced that she wanted to be a writer. That dream never wavered, though she worked briefly in advertising and human resources. Influenced by her mother’s love of classic Harlequin romances, she knew she wanted her stories to always have happy endings. She met her husband in her first college English class and they’ve been married for more than thirty-five years, blessed with two daughters and a son. They have two delightful grandchildren. After more than one hundred books with Harlequin, she will always be a fan of romance and a believer in happy endings.
For John and Kerry, the fiercest dad-daughter air hockey competitors ever. And for the rest of the family who have to bravely avoid flying pucks! I love my nutty family.
Contents
DAWN WAS ADAM SCOTT’S favorite time of day at the South Carolina coastal resort where he both worked and lived. Suspended between darkness and light, the beach was quiet but for the sound of the waves breaking on the shore and the drumming of his feet on the wet sand. He ran every morning before beginning a long day of work. He passed the occasional beachcomber or fisherman, but they rarely exchanged more than civil nods. Folks out this early weren’t looking for conversation.
This was his time to clear his head, to organize his plans for the day. A chance to savor the solitude that was increasingly rare for him as his responsibilities at the resort had increased over the past three years. He didn’t always go to bed alone, but he never invited anyone to join him on these morning runs. For this hour every morning, he had at least the illusion of complete freedom, no one making demands on his time or attention, no obvious reason he couldn’t just keep running if the mood struck him.
A small form appeared ahead, hunched on the sand, barely visible in the pale light from the pink-streaked purple sky. Adam squinted, trying to make out the shape. Was it a dog? No. A child. A young one, at that. What was the kid doing out alone at this time of day?
Estimating the boy to be four, maybe five, Adam approached slowly. He didn’t want to scare him. “Hey, buddy. Whatcha doing out here by yourself?”
Still crouched over a shallow tide pool, the boy looked up. Maybe it was a trick of shadows or the watery light of dawn, but there was something eerily familiar about this kid with his tumbled dark hair and smoky gray eyes. Perhaps Adam had seen him around the resort before? Clouds shifted overhead and the light brightened enough for him to see more clearly. No. He was sure they’d never met. But still there was something about this child...
“I’m not allowed to talk to strangers.” The boy didn’t look particularly concerned as he shared that rule.
“That’s a good policy, but I work for the resort,” Adam assured him, keeping his distance for now. “My name is Adam.”
The child frowned thoughtfully. “You could still be a bad guy.”
Adam was startled into a chuckle by the little guy’s logic. “Well, yeah, I guess that’s true. But I’m not.”
Apparently satisfied, the boy extended one hand. “Do you know what kind of shell this is?”
Glancing at the cylindrical shell on the outstretched palm, Adam nodded. “It’s a lettered olive. It belonged to a type of snail.”
“It’s cool. I want to find a starfish, too.”
“You find them here occasionally. So, where are your parents? Do they know you’re out by yourself?”
As if in answer, a woman’s anxious voice called out. “Simon? Simon! Where are you?”
The boy winced. “That’s my mom.”
A woman emerged, almost running, from the canopy of tropical trees that marked the edge of the main resort grounds. She wore a tank top and plaid cotton shorts with flip-flops, and her collar-length brown hair was disheveled, as though she’d just climbed out of bed. “Simon! You know better than to wander off like this. You scared me half to death.”
The voice was an echo from Adam’s past. He took a step back, his startled gaze locked on the woman’s anxious face. Her attention was focused on the boy, so she hadn’t spared Adam more than a quick glance. Would she recognize him when she looked more closely, or had she forgotten all about the man she’d known so briefly all those years ago?
Joanna looked so much the same that it was hard to believe it had been six years since he’d last seen her. Her hair was a few inches shorter than the style she’d worn before, but was still a glossy chestnut that complemented her green eyes. Her fair skin was smooth, her cheeks flushed with heightened emotion. Seeing her now affected him as strongly as when he’d met her on this very beach. He’d wanted her from the moment their paths had first crossed. Apparently, that physical reaction hadn’t changed in the ensuing years, though there was little to no chance the outcome would be the same this time.
He was aware that he’d changed a lot more than she had. When they’d met before, he’d been rail thin, brimming with impatient, brash energy. His dark hair had been cropped in a military cut. He was a healthier weight now, more muscle than sinew, tanned and generally relaxed. His last deployment had left physical traces in the carved lines around his eyes and mouth, in the scars hidden beneath his clothes, and in the strands of premature gray that peppered his hair, long enough now to brush his collar and usually mussed by the ocean breeze. He thought he looked more surfer than soldier these days. He wasn’t surprised she hadn’t immediately recognized him.