AROUND CHI-TOWN

April: Seems the Connelly clan is full of surprises. The Chicago “royal family” just got bigger last week, when two long-lost illegitimate sons of Grant Connelly were welcomed into the fold. Wife Emma, ever the gracious hostess, held a party at their elaborate Lake Shore manor in honor of her new twin stepsons, Chance and Doug Barnett Connelly.

Grant may not have known of the twins’ existence until weeks ago, but the newest Connelly men are upholding the family’s noble traditions: Chance is a navy SEAL and Doug a respected Chicago doctor.

Rumor has it Chance is more than a bit uncomfortable in the concrete jungles of the Windy City, but is recuperating from a wound received on his last secret mission. That injury didn’t keep him from putting the moves on Emma Connelly’s social secretary, Jennifer Anderson, at the party last week. The spotlight-shy single mom was unavailable for comment—as would be yours truly, if over six feet of muscular male had set his sights in this direction!

The Connellys have been so much in the news these last few months that one can’t help but wonder what other secrets the family could be hiding in their walk-in closets….

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Silhouette Desire, where you can spice up your April with six passionate, powerful and provocative romances!

Beloved author Diana Palmer delivers a great read with A Man of Means, the latest in her LONG, TALL TEXANS miniseries, as a saucy cook tames a hot-tempered cowboy with her biscuits. Then, enjoy reading how one woman’s orderly life is turned upside down when she is wooed by Mr. Temptation, April’s MAN OF THE MONTH and the first title in Cait London’s hot new HEARTBREAKERS miniseries.

Reader favorite Maureen Child proves a naval hero is no match for a determined single mom in The SEAL’s Surrender, the latest DYNASTIES: THE CONNELLYS title. And a reluctant widow gets a second chance at love in Her Texan Tycoon by Jan Hudson.

The drama continues in the TEXAS CATTLEMAN’S CLUB: THE LAST BACHELOR continuity series with Tall, Dark…and Framed? by Cathleen Galitz, when an attractive defense attorney falls head over heels for her client—a devastatingly handsome tycoon with a secret. And discover what a ranch foreman, a virgin and her protective brothers have in common in One Wedding Night… by Shirley Rogers.

Celebrate the season by pampering yourself with all six of these exciting new love stories.

Enjoy!

Joan Marlow Golan

Senior Editor, Silhouette Desire

The Seal’s Surrender
Maureen Child

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To Sandra Paul, Barbara Benedict, Angie Ray and Michelle Thorne: Thank you for the ambush and for my tiara. You guys are the best.

MAUREEN CHILD

was born and raised in Southern California and is the only person she knows who longs for an occasional change of season. She is delighted to be writing for Silhouette Books and is especially excited to be a part of the Desire line.

An avid reader, Maureen looks forward to those rare rainy California days when she can curl up and sink into a good book. Or two. When she isn’t busy writing, she and her husband of twenty-five years like to travel, leaving their two grown children in charge of the neurotic golden retriever who is the real head of the household. Maureen is also an award-winning historical writer under the names of Kathleen Kane and Ann Carberry.

MEET THE CONNELLYS

Meet the Connellys of Chicago—wealthy, powerful and rocked by scandal, betrayal…and passion!

Who’s Who in THE SEAL’S SURRENDER

Chance Barnett Connelly—If it weren’t for his twin brother, this lone-wolf navy SEAL would never have tried to find his long-lost father, Grant Connelly. Chance had no idea what it was to be part of a family, especially the powerful, influential Connellys.

Jennifer Anderson—Ever since her husband was killed, she had been both a mother and a father to her baby girl. But meeting Chance made her long to remember what it had been like to be a woman….

Grant and Emma Connelly—True love allowed them to welcome home the twins from Grant’s long-ago affair. But did their happiness blind them to a miscreant in their midst—one bent on seeking revenge on the Connellys?

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

One

He hated parties.

Give Chance Barnett a machine gun, and he was a happy man. Tell him to mingle, and you got a mean dog on a short leash.

But, Chance told himself, sometimes a man just had to bite the proverbial bullet. And this was a big one, in his humble opinion. Hell, it was damn near a mortar round.

He clutched his bottle of imported beer in a tight fist and made his way around the periphery of the party. His gaze narrowed slightly as he silently assessed his new family. A hell of a way to meet the relatives, he told himself, yet couldn’t think of a better way to handle it.

There probably wasn’t a good way to introduce him and his twin, Douglas, to the rest of the Connellys. Though to give them their due, they’d all taken the news of the twins’ existence a lot easier than they might have. After all, it wasn’t every day you met thirty-six-year-old illegitimate twin relatives, was it?

Though he had to admit that none of the Connellys had treated him and his brother as though they were somehow not good enough to be part of the family. Hell, even Miss Lily and Tobias had come home early from Palm Springs just to meet him and Douglas. Chance’s gaze shot to the older couple. Correction, he told himself silently, his grandparents. Weird. He smiled as he watched Tobias trying to slip past his much smaller wife, but Miss Lily, cane or no cane, was too fast for her husband and snatched that glass of whiskey from his hand.

Interestingly enough, the big man just gave her a smile and a peck on the cheek. What would it be like, Chance wondered, to spend your life with one person? To love that one person so much that some fifty-odd years later, the stamp of it was still clearly on your features?

Those two old people had somehow managed to raise a dynasty. Amazing really, if you stopped to think about it. Sure, the Connellys were practically American royalty. But they actually were real royalty as well.

And Chance and Douglas Barnett were a part of it.

He shook his head and moved on, drifting through the crowd like a finger of fog. A strident female voice caught his attention, and he slowed his steps, listening.

His half sister, Alexandra, a tall woman with raven-black hair, a too-important manner and sharp green eyes was center stage, where she seemed most comfortable. “I’m so sorry you won’t have a chance to meet my fiancé,” she was saying, “but Robert was called away on business.”

Everyone in her audience nodded sagely, but all Chance could think was, Lucky guy. At least the missing Robert had gotten out of attending this party. He moved on, turning a bit too fast and feeling the pull of the stitches in his side.

A reminder of the reason he was able to be here at this party. If he hadn’t been wounded on his last mission, he’d have been happily out trooping through a jungle somewhere. And as soon as he was healed enough, that was just what he’d be doing. Hell, he kept his duffel bag packed and ready to go.

Man, was he ready to go. He needed to get back to his SEAL team. Needed to get back where he belonged. He scowled to himself. He caught a glimpse of Doug, chatting it up with a few of their new relatives, and almost wished that he was half as at ease with people as his brother. Hell, he’d even heard his twin talking to one of their new cousins about his ex-wife and how the reason they’d broken up was because she hadn’t wanted the children Doug wanted so badly. Yeah. Chance’s brother was sliding right into this and didn’t seem to have any trouble at all stringing the name Connelly behind the Barnett they’d grown up with. But then, Doug always had been the reasonable twin. Which was probably why Chance had grown up to be a fighting man and Doug had become a doctor.

Okay, he thought, way too philosophical.

“Excuse me, sir.” A low-pitched voice came from right behind him and Chance spun around to face a tuxedo-clad waiter. “May I get you something from the bar?”

Chance held his beer aloft. “No thanks,” he said, shaking his head at the realization that these people probably dealt with in-house waiters and butlers all the time. “I’m covered.”

Maybe it was the military training and maybe it was just his own innate need to be in control at all times, but Chance rarely had more than one beer at a party. Even one like this, where he felt more out of place than a pauper in a palace.

The waiter moved off soundlessly into the milling crowd and Chance shook his head again. How had he wound up here? he wondered. And just how soon could he make a polite exit? He moved off into a corner of the room, kept his back to the wall and let his gaze slide across the people filling the cavernous room.

A SEAL in a Lake Shore mansion? He chuckled inwardly at the absurdity of it. Hell, nobody would buy that. He stood out from the elegantly dressed crowd. His U.S. Navy whites were startling in a sea of bright colors and black tuxedos. But for the first time in his life, he was also in a room filled with people he was actually related to.

He and Douglas had grown up alone, raised by a single mom who’d done her best. But she hadn’t been able to provide enough of her own presence to satisfy her boys—let alone provide relatives. So here he stood, a thirty-six-year-old man suddenly meeting cousins and half brothers and sisters for the first time.

Weird.

He took a sip of beer, swallowed it and silently admitted that family wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. It was just going to take some getting used to. From across the room, Douglas caught his eye and gave him a “Do you believe this?” look and a half smile. Instantly, Chance felt more at ease. He and his twin had pulled each other through plenty of scrapes over the years. And as long as they could count on each other, then tacking the name Connelly on after the Barnett wouldn’t change much.

Still, he could do with some air.

Instinctively, he moved toward the sliding glass doors that led onto a balcony. The muted noise of conversation and softly-played piano music followed him as he skirted the crowd. But as he neared the glass partition, his plan for solitude fell apart.

A woman stood on the balcony in the late-afternoon sun, her short, light-blond hair tousled by the wind. He knew her. Jennifer Anderson, Emma Connelly’s social secretary. They’d met a couple of times in the last few days. She wasn’t very tall, but every inch of her looked to be packed to perfection. She wore a deep-green dress with a flippy sort of hem that stopped just short of her knees, displaying to their best advantage what looked to be excellent legs. Her breasts were high and full and her waist was narrow enough that he figured given a chance, he could span that distance with both hands. Her back was straight as she stared out at Lake Michigan, but he frowned as he noticed she kept one hand clapped across her mouth and couldn’t quite hide the droop in her shoulders.

Instantly, something inside him stirred to life. The protective instinct was strong and he felt it push him outside. He slid the glass door open, and the wind off the lake tried to shove him back into the party. But SEALs didn’t give up that easily. Chance ducked his head, stepped quietly onto the stone balcony and soundlessly closed the door behind him.

“Get a grip, Jen,” the woman muttered to herself before he had a chance to announce his presence. “Crying’s not going to help. It’s only going to make you look like hell.”

Well, he couldn’t resist responding to that.

“Lady,” he said softly, “all the tears in the world would have a hard time pulling that one off.”

She turned quickly, her body language letting him know that she wasn’t pleased at having been found giving in to tears. But she recognized him right away and the Keep Out sign in her eyes blinked off.

“You surprised me,” she said, lifting one hand to swipe away the telltale track of tears on her cheeks.

“Sorry,” he said, though he really wasn’t. “Old habits. I’m used to moving quietly.”

One blond eyebrow lifted into an arch. “This isn’t exactly the jungle, Commander,” she said. “Around here, most people knock.”

“Ah,” he said, walking closer, “but you knock when you want to come in. I was coming out.”

“Great,” she muttered thickly, turning her face back into the wind. “Semantics.”

Jennifer stared out at the horizon, deliberately ignoring him in the hopes that he’d go away. She couldn’t very well order him off. Not one of the long-lost sons for whom this party had been arranged. So either he left of his own accord, or she’d be forced to go back to the party and pretend everything was all right.

Please God, let him leave.

Apparently though, God wasn’t listening.

Chance Barnett Connelly moved up right beside her and curled his hands over the wrought-iron balcony railing. She glanced down at those strong, tanned hands and noticed that his knuckles whitened with his grip. Obviously, he felt as tense as she did. But their reasons, at least, were very different.

“So,” he said, keeping his gaze locked on the wall of clouds hanging just at the horizon, “what seems to be the problem?”

“Problem?” She straightened up. The last thing she wanted or needed was sympathy. Especially from a man she didn’t even know. Besides, he was a Connelly. If she told him, then soon everyone would know and she’d like to put that off for as long as she could. At least until she’d had a chance to talk to Emma Connelly first.

Along with being her boss, Emma was as close to a mother figure as Jennifer could claim. Her own parents had died years ago, and but for her daughter, Sarah, Jennifer was alone in the world. Which had never really bothered her. Until yesterday.

“Yeah,” Chance said, shifting her a glance, “when I see a beautiful woman alone and crying on a balcony while there’s a party going on not five feet from her…well, I naturally figure there’s a problem.”

She inhaled sharply, taking the cold wind inside her, needing the bracing strength of it. Then, she forced a cheer she didn’t feel into her voice. “Thanks for asking, but I’m fine. Really.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I mean it.”

“Yeah, I can see that.”

She looked at him from the corner of her eye. “But you don’t believe me.”

“Nope.”

“Well,” she said, pushing away from the balcony railing, “that’s not my problem, is it?”

He reached out and grabbed her forearm. “Don’t go.”

His touch felt warm and strong and seemed to wrap itself not only around her arm, but around her bruised heart, too. Jennifer stopped short and lifted her gaze to look into amber eyes the exact color of fine, aged brandy. Her heartbeat stuttered slightly. His jaw looked as though it had been carved of granite. His nose had obviously been broken at least once sometime in the past. His brown hair was military-short, but even at that, there was a slight wave to it that made a woman want to stroke her fingers through it.

And good Lord, he was tall. With shoulders broad enough to balance the world. Today she could surely use a pair of shoulders broad enough to lean on. But Jennifer was too used to standing on her own two feet to take advantage of a near stranger in a weak moment.

As if he could read her mind though, he said, “I didn’t mean to intrude, but now that I’m here, why not let me help if I can?”

Tempting, she thought. Oh, so tempting. But no. She shook her head. “I appreciate it, but—”

“I’m a stranger.”

“Well,” she said, “yes.”

“Sometimes that’s better.” He kept his grip on her forearm as if he expected her to scurry for the door. Which she would have done, given half a chance. Then he smiled and her stomach flipped over. “Telling your troubles to a stranger is like talking to yourself. Only you don’t have to answer your own questions and run the risk of being locked in a padded room.”

A return smile tickled the corners of her mouth and she had to fight to keep it from blossoming. Which was a good thing actually, since she hadn’t had a thing to smile about since talking to her daughter’s doctors yesterday. And that stray thought was enough to wipe the beginnings of humor from her face.

A cold, empty well opened up inside her and she felt her heart slide into it.

“Hey,” he said, letting his hand slide from her forearm up to her shoulder, where his fingers squeezed gently. “Come on. Talk to me. Maybe I can help.” He dipped his head a bit and gave her another half smile. “I’m a SEAL. Trained to be a hero. So let me ride to the rescue here, okay?”

Jennifer glanced over her shoulder at the party just beyond the glass doors, then turned back to look at him again. What the heck, she thought. She could use a shoulder at the moment. And his were certainly broad enough to hold up under her assault.

“It’s my daughter,” she blurted before she could change her mind.

His gaze darkened slightly. “You have a daughter?”

“Yes.” Just the thought of Sarah brought up her image in Jennifer’s mind and she smiled to herself. Big brown eyes in a round little face that was usually smudged with dirt. Pigtails that were really no more than tiny wisps of light-brown hair caught up in barrettes at either side of her head. Small, pudgy hands and short, sturdy legs. Butterfly kisses and sticky-fingered hugs. Tickle bugs and belly laughs.

Doctors in white coats, long, dangerous-looking needles and Sarah’s tears.

“Oh, God,” Jennifer half moaned and clapped her hand to her mouth again, not sure if she was going to be sick or start screaming.

It was all just so damned unfair.

“Come here,” Chance said, turning her as he spoke, shifting to hold her, wrap his arms around her.

And because she needed a hug so badly, she went.

Nestled against that wide chest, she hung on for a long moment, wrapping her arms around his waist and drawing on the strength he so casually offered. She felt him awkwardly patting her back and for some silly reason, it helped. Though she knew it didn’t actually change anything, the physical act of being comforted soothed the frayed edges of her soul, and just for an instant, the world didn’t seem as terrifying as it had only minutes ago.

“Tell me,” he said, his voice a gruff whisper coming from somewhere above her head. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

“Sarah,” she said, saying the words aloud for the first time since the doctor had so clinically outlined the trouble the day before, “my baby. She needs an operation. On her heart. There’s a small hole in it.”

“Aah…” A comforting sound, more of a deep breath released, maybe, but it too helped. She felt his sympathy in the gentle tightening of his grip on her. “How old is she?”

“Eighteen months,” she whispered, looking past him to the lake, but really looking at her mind’s eye picture of Sarah. “She’s so small. So tiny. This shouldn’t be happening.”

“No, it shouldn’t,” he said softly. “It sucks.”

Jennifer nodded. “Yes,” she said, grateful to hear someone else say what she’d been thinking, “it does.”

Two

Chance wasn’t a family kind of man by any means. But he felt Jennifer’s fear as if it were his own. It rattled through her small body with the force of a freight train and shook him to his bones.

His every instinct told him to rush in and defend. Protect. But none of his training would do a damn sight of good here. And that realization was a bitter pill to choke down.

Hell, he couldn’t even think of something helpful to say. It sucks? Real eloquent, Chance.

He continued to hold her though, hoping his silent support helped in some way. Strange, a few days ago, he hadn’t known or cared that any of these people existed. Now he was standing on the balcony of a mansion, for Pete’s sake, holding a weeping woman.

“What am I doing?” Jennifer muttered as she pulled back out of his arms and took another step away from him just for good measure. “I’m going to rain mascara all over your white uniform.”

No she wouldn’t, he thought, looking into those forest-green eyes of hers. They were big and wet and sad, but there was no smudge of dark makeup around them. Just the remnants of tears she was fighting to control. Damned if he didn’t admire her for that, too.

She could be wallowing in the fear that was close to strangling her, but she wasn’t. Instead, she was holding herself together through the force of her will. Hell, she didn’t even want sympathy. So what exactly was it he could do for her?

“Do you want to go back inside?” he asked.

“God no,” she said, shaking her head and moving back to the railing. Keeping her face averted from both him and the sliding glass doors behind them, she said, “I don’t want them to know I’ve been crying. I just couldn’t take the questions right now.”

Privacy. Something else he could understand. Well, if he couldn’t escort her through the maze of party-goers, he could at least make her eventual trip inside a little easier. “Okay. Just wait here, then. I’ll be back.”

Before she could say anything, he opened the sliding glass doors and stepped back into the party. Noise assaulted him and he instantly missed the relative peace and quiet of the balcony.

Focused, Chance paid no attention to the people around him. He moved through the crowd as if he were on a mission. He kept his goal in mind and went about accomplishing it as quickly as he could. Which wasn’t as easy as he’d expected. There were just too many people.

He cast one quick, nearly wistful glance at the front door, then forgot about leaving and went on with his quest.

When he walked into the kitchen, the folks in there looked as surprised as they would have if lightning had struck the butcher-block work island in the center of the massive room.

“Can I help you, Mr. Chance?”

Grateful, he looked to the woman on his right. Mentally, he scrambled for her name and came up with it an instant later.

“Ruby, right?” he asked.

“That’s me,” the housekeeper said, giving him a nod sharp enough to shake loose a graying red curl from her topknot to lie askew in the middle of her forehead.

In the few days he’d been in town, Chance had seen this woman running the Connelly household—and family, for that matter—with an iron fist. Grant and Emma might think they were in charge, but the truth was, Ruby was the brass around here.

The short, slightly rounded woman with kind blue eyes had the ability to get things done, and Chance appreciated that. Even while keeping under radar, staying unnoticed himself. He’d seen how his half brothers and sisters scampered when Ruby gave an order. Hell, even his father, Grant, didn’t argue when she laid down the law.

Clearly, she’d been in charge so long, she never even considered the possibility that people wouldn’t obey her without question. In the military, she might have made it to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Here, she ran the Connelly household like a well-oiled machine and wouldn’t accept anything less.

“Now, how can I help you?” she asked, snatching his attention as she would have the hand of a child inclined to wander off.

Chance glanced around at the others clustered within hearing distance, reluctant to speak up with so many eager ears nearby. The housekeeper noticed and clapped her hands sharply. “What are you bunch staring at? Get about your business. Don’t you have drinks and canapés you could be serving?”

They scattered like windblown leaves, and, in seconds, he was alone in the room with Ruby. “I’m impressed,” he said.

“For running them off? Don’t be. I am sorry about them, though,” the woman said, with a shake of her head. “They’re day help for the party and their mamas apparently forgot to teach them any manners.”

He smiled. “I have a feeling you’ll take care of that.”

She straightened up and puffed out her chest. “I’ll do my best in the short time I have them,” she assured him. “So what is it you need, Mr. Chance?”

He winced a little at the implied title. Now, people calling him “Commander,” he’d earned. He could even live with “Hey, sailor,” but “Mr. Chance”? No way. That was just way too highfalutin. “Just, Chance, all right?”

One corner of her mouth twitched, but she only nodded. “Chance it is, then.” She studied him for a long minute, then said, “You know, you’ve the look of your father around the eyes. More so than your brother does.”

Chance shifted uncomfortably. He didn’t necessarily want to be reminded that he looked like the man who’d managed to ignore both him and his brother their whole lives. What was he supposed to say to that, anyway? Thank you didn’t seem appropriate somehow. So he ignored the comment entirely.

After all, it wasn’t as if he’d come here looking to find family. He already had his family. Douglas. With the death of their mother, all they had left was each other. And that had always been enough before.

The only reason he was here at all was as a favor to Doug. And if he hadn’t been shot by that sneaky little terrorist on his last mission, he wouldn’t have had to put up with any of the pomp and circumstance surrounding the Connellys. But then, he wouldn’t have been here to ride to Jennifer’s rescue, either, would he?

And that thought returned him to why he’d come to the kitchen in the first place.

“Any chance I could get a glass of water and a box of tissues?” he asked.

Ruby narrowed her eyes thoughtfully as she looked at him. “Feel a crying jag coming on, do you?”

Chance played along. “Yes, ma’am. I’m feeling real emotional.”

She snorted. “Yeah, I can see that.” But without another word, she bustled around the room and came back with just what he’d asked for. As he turned to leave the room, though, her voice stopped him. “You tell Jennifer for me that everything’s going to be all right.”

He looked at her. Shouldn’t be surprised, he thought. He’d already discovered that nothing much went on around here that Ruby didn’t know about. “What?”

“I’ve been with the Connellys for more years than I care to admit. Not much gets past me. I know there’s something wrong.”

Nodding, he told her, “You would have made a good admiral.”

“Phooey,” she said, waving one hand to dismiss him. “Admirals are small stuff. I’d have made a good president.”

“You know something?” he said, giving her a wink, “I believe you.” Then he slipped from the room before she could give him any orders he’d be too afraid not to follow.

“Oh, this is good,” Jennifer told herself aloud as she clutched the balcony railing and stared out at Lake Michigan. “Way to ensure your employment, Jen.” Shaking her head, she blinked back tears that still threatened and solemnly vowed they wouldn’t fall. She’d already screwed up big-time.

What had she been thinking? Crying on the shoulder of the guest of honor at her employer’s party. The one time she indulged in a good old-fashioned pity party, she had to be caught by Mr. Tall, Dark and Dangerous.

“For goodness’ sake,” she grumbled, tightening her grip on the cold iron railing. She lifted her face into the wind sweeping in off the lake and told herself that if she was very lucky, the newest addition to the Connelly family would keep her embarrassing behavior to himself.

Although, for all she knew he was inside now, trying to get Emma to come out and comfort her, readily handing off the crazed secretary to someone else. She could almost imagine him, stalking through the party, heading for the front door as fast as he could. And she couldn’t really blame him, either.

What man wanted to be a human tissue for a weeping woman? Especially one he hardly knew.

Behind her, the glass door slid open, allowing a brief pulse of conversation and piano music onto the balcony, and in an instant, the door closed again, sealing off the intrusion.

She didn’t turn around. She didn’t have to. She knew who it was. She felt his presence almost as an electrical charge. Her nerve endings hummed and the hairs at the back of her neck stood straight up.

Probably not a good sign.

“Sorry I took so long,” he said and darned if his voice didn’t scrape along those already tense nerves.

Get a grip, Jen. He’s your boss’s stepson. He’s a stranger. He doesn’t give a damn about your problems and there’s nothing between you but an embarrassing crying jag.

So why was her stomach suddenly in knots and her breath coming fast and hard?

Because you’re an idiot, she told herself just before turning to look at him.

Well, that didn’t help any. He was just too darned good-looking, that was the problem. He looked like a poster boy for navy recruiting. Or like one of those navy lawyers on that television show. His uniform shone a bright white against the backdrop of the blue lake and shimmering April sky. The ribbons decorating his chest drew her eye as did the SEAL pin he wore proudly. Then she looked farther up, into his eyes, and saw…concern. And that nearly did her in on the spot.

Darn it.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Oh, dandy,” she told him and sniffed.

He held out the box of tissues and she gratefully snatched one free of the dispenser. She wiped her eyes, blew her nose and still didn’t feel better.

“Here, drink this.” He offered the tall, pale-blue glass he carried.

“What is it?” she asked as she reached for it. “Hemlock?”

“Nothing so deadly,” he said with a half laugh. “Just water.”

She took a drink, letting the liquid soothe her tight throat before trying to talk again. Lifting her gaze to his, she said, “Thank you. For the tissue and the water.”

“Here to serve, ma’am,” he said.

“But I bet you didn’t expect to have to go above and beyond the call at a party.”

He shrugged. “Hey, a party, a terrorist situation—the SEALS can handle it all.”

“Good to know,” she muttered, then, still clutching her glass of water, turned around again to stare out at the lake. She couldn’t keep looking at him. That just wasn’t good for her equilibrium. Way better on her nerves to stare out at a lake the size of an ocean, its choppy waves slapping toward Lake Shore Drive.

“Tell me about your daughter,” he said quietly and Jennifer’s eyes closed briefly on a twinge of something as painful as it was tender.

But she supposed she owed him this, for crying all over him.

“Sarah’s so smart,” she said, and though her voice started out thin and trembling, talking about her pride and joy strengthened it. Shaking her head, she continued, “She started talking before she was a year old and now she’s already arguing with me.” Jennifer chuckled, and the sound grated against her throat. “When she’s a teenager—” when not if, she told herself silently “—we’ll probably lock horns all the time.”

“Probably,” he said agreeably. “God knows Doug and I drove our poor mother nuts when we were teenagers. Of course your Sarah most likely won’t be into drag racing, so that’s one worry you won’t have.”

She flicked him a glance, not at all surprised by his little admission. He was a SEAL, after all. And clearly he loved his job. So it naturally followed that as a kid, he would have sought out dangerous pastimes.

Just like Mike, she thought with an inward acknowledgment of old pain. The two of them would have gotten along great together, no doubt. Then, as if he’d sensed what she was thinking, the man beside her spoke up again.

“Your husband must be just as proud of her as you are,” Chance said.

“My husband’s dead,” she said, tasting the words it had taken her so long to get used to saying.

“Oh. I’m sorry,” he said.

“You didn’t know,” she said softly. “No reason to be sorry. He’s been gone almost two years now.” She sighed heavily. “He never even knew Sarah.”

A long uncomfortable minute passed before he said, “I was raised by a single mother,” he said. “I know how hard it is.”

She looked up at him, into those whiskey-colored eyes and read understanding there. And darn it, she appreciated it. Though Emma was beyond kind and a good friend as well as an employer, she couldn’t really appreciate what it was like to be the sole person responsible for raising a child. Not when she had Grant, as much in love with her today as he had been years ago.

Then he said, “If you don’t mind my asking, how did your husband die?”

“Mike was a police officer,” she said, lifting her chin just a bit. “He was killed in the line of duty. I was still pregnant with Sarah when he died. He never even saw her.”

“Maybe he did,” Chance said and she looked at him. “Maybe he sees her every day.”

“I’d like to think so.”

“I’ve seen enough things over the years to convince me that anything’s possible.” He paused for a long minute, then said, “I never knew my father, either.” Then he stopped and laughed shortly. “At least, not until a few days ago.”

She shook her head in sympathy, though she was glad to turn the subject away from Mike. “I can’t even imagine what that must be like,” she said, choosing her words carefully now. “Finding your blood father after so many years…”

He nodded, lifting his face into the cold, sharp wind. “I know what you mean. I’m not real sure how I feel about it, either. But,” he said, giving a quick look over his shoulder, “it meant something to Doug, so here I am.”

“You only came here for your brother’s sake?”

“Why else?”

“To get to know your family?”

“Nah. My mother’s gone now, so my family is Doug. The rest…” He shook his head again as if he didn’t know quite what else to say.

“The Connellys are nice people,” Jennifer said, wanting him to know that this new family of his was ready and willing to welcome him.

“Seem to be.”

“They’ve been wonderful to me and Sarah.”

He gave her a slow smile. “If your daughter’s anything like you, I can’t see that that would be a hardship.”

Oh, that smile was just as dangerous as the man, she told herself, taking a mental step backward. She didn’t need this kind of complication right now. Her world was Sarah. Her attentions had to be devoted to making her little girl well again. And to help her keep her attentions focused, she knew the best thing to do was to keep her distance from this man.

“I, uh—” She glanced at the sliding glass doors with real regret. Though she knew she had to leave the balcony, she wasn’t looking forward to making small talk while her heart was aching. Still, this party was a big deal for Grant and Emma. Hadn’t Jennifer and her employer been planning it for weeks? No, heartache or not, she had to do her job. “I’d better get back inside,” she said and even she heard the reluctance in her voice.

Chance straightened away from the railing and looked from the doors to her. She wasn’t ready to go back in there and face the chattering mob. He could see it in her eyes. The vulnerability was still there, etched deep.

It was none of his business, of course, but still, he felt a kinship of sorts with her. She was a single mother, as his own mom had been. Her husband had served the public, his country, as Chance did, only he had paid the ultimate price. A rising wave of protectiveness filled him and before he could think more of it, he said, “I think the party can get along without either of us. So why don’t you let me take you home instead?”

She thought about it for a long minute, and he could see in her eyes just how much she wanted to get out of here. The question was, would she?

“As much as I’d like to,” she said, “I don’t think I should—”

“With that crowd in there, no one will even miss us.”

“Emma would.”

He acknowledged that with a brief nod. “Okay, then, we’ll stop and tell her we’re leaving. I should say thanks, anyway.”

Now that her objections were taken care of, all that was stopping her from taking him up on his offer was the fact that he was a virtual stranger—long-lost relative of her employer or not. “You can trust me,” he said softly.

Her lips twitched slightly. “It’s not that,” she said.

“Then what? I’m just offering you a ride home, not a weekend trip to Jamaica.” Why was he trying so hard to convince her? He wasn’t sure. All he knew was that suddenly he needed to be the one to see her safely to her door.

She looked beyond the glass doors again to the party, and he saw her shudder. She really didn’t want to go back in there. And damned if he could blame her. He had no interest in rejoining the mob, either.

And playing on that feeling, he said, “You’d be doing me a favor.”

“What?”

He smiled. “You’d be rescuing me from mingling.”

Her lips twitched. “A fate worse than death?”

“Oh, definitely.”

She nodded, and he knew this battle was won. “Well,” she said, her decision made, “I suppose I shouldn’t turn down my one chance to be a hero.”

Three

A thick wall of noise welcomed them back inside the Connelly mansion, and for one brief moment, Jennifer thought about turning tail and disappearing again onto the balcony. But it wouldn’t do any good. She had to make it through the minefield of the party to make good her escape at some point anyway. Better to do it now, when she had a tall, imposing man striding beside her, subtly clearing a path.

Faces flashed past as Chance steered her through the crowd with one strong hand at the small of her back. His touch felt warm, comforting, somehow. Strange, but she hadn’t experienced that little nicety since Mike’s death and she hadn’t realized how much she had missed it. But then, she’d realized over the last couple of years that it was the small things that, once they were gone, left the biggest holes.

Now there was no one to hold her chair out for her at a nice restaurant. No one who knew how to whistle for a cab loudly enough to gather up a regular cluster of them. No one to kill a spider in the bathroom in the middle of the night. No one to warm her feet on, or to whisper to in the movies. No one to care for, to cook for, to worry about.

A wistful smile crossed her face. Of course, any self-respecting women’s libber would have a heart attack if she could read Jennifer’s mind. But she didn’t care. She had always considered herself pretty liberated, but when it came right down to it, she’d liked being married. She’d liked being half of a team. And sometimes she missed that feeling so much, a slow, deep ache wrapped itself around her heart.

But then all it would take was one sweet smile from Sarah and everything was all right again. Silently, she reminded herself that she would never be alone again, not really. Not as long as she and Sarah had each other.

And that thought made her think of the heart operation her baby needed, and tears welled up in her eyes. It didn’t seem to make a difference that the doctors all assured her that it would be a simple thing, as operations went. That though any procedure carried risks, Sarah had an excellent chance at a full and complete recovery.

Because no matter the kind words and assurances, Sarah was her baby. Her family. And the thought of losing her was simply too much to contemplate. She couldn’t even imagine a world without her little girl in it—so she didn’t. Jennifer blinked frantically, slammed a mental door on the dark, worrisome thoughts and hurried her steps. All she wanted now was to get out of here before she could be bombarded with concerned questions.

“There they are,” Chance muttered, bending his head close to her ear.

Her gaze shifted to the right and she saw Grant and Emma Connelly, having what looked to be a very involved discussion with Seth. None of them looked very happy.

Jennifer slowed down instinctively, not wanting to intrude on what was obviously a strained moment. Shaking her head, she shot a glance up at the man beside her. “It looks like they’re busy. Maybe we shouldn’t interrupt.”

He took her upper arm in a firm, but gentle grip and gave her a smile. “We won’t interrupt them for long. Then they can go back to whatever it is that’s got them all frowning so.”

As they approached the threesome, Jennifer over-heard Seth saying, “I just have to go and see her. I don’t want to hurt you, Mom,” he said to Emma, “but Angie Donahue is my birth mother. And I have to know why she suddenly wants to see me.” He reached for Emma’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’ll be fine. I promise. And I’ll be back.”

Through teary eyes, Emma glanced at Grant, who kept his gaze focused on the young man in front of him, as though, if he studied him hard enough, he’d be able to pull the thoughts from Seth’s mind. Finally, though, the elder Connelly said gruffly, “You do what you have to do, son. We’re behind you all the way. Just like always. And we’ll be here waiting for you when you come home.”

Whatever the boy might have said in response was lost when Emma noticed Chance and Jennifer approaching. She smiled in welcome and made shooing gestures at Seth with both hands.

“And what are you two up to?” she asked as they came closer.

“I just wanted to say thank you, ma’am, for your hospitality,” Chance said, then added, “and to say goodbye.”

“Goodbye?” Grant asked abruptly. “Already?”

Jennifer’s gaze flicked from father to son and though she knew Chance probably wouldn’t be happy to hear it, she privately acknowledged just how much he looked like his biological father. But it wasn’t just their features they shared. Both of the men had an air of self-confidence about them that people naturally gravitated toward.

It was part of the reason Grant had done so well in the business world—and why Chance would inevitably continue his rise through the ranks. No doubt one day he’d be an admiral. Men like the Connellys were born conquerors. All that differed were the prizes they sought.

“Jennifer’s not feeling well,” Chance was saying, “so I offered to take her home.”

“Aah…” Grant nodded thoughtfully as his gaze flicked from his son to Jennifer and back again.

Jennifer felt her cheeks warm up at the knowing gleam in Grant’s eyes, so she spoke up quickly. “I, uh—” think fast, Jen “—have a headache,” she finished. Well, that was brilliant. But she didn’t want to go into Sarah’s medical problems now. Not at the party. “Commander Barnett was kind enough to offer me a ride.”

“Barnett?” Grant stared at the man who was his son.

A touchy subject, Jennifer knew. Chance quite naturally wanted to keep the name he knew. The name his mother had given him. Grant, just as naturally, wanted his sons to use his name.

It would be interesting to see who eventually won this little tug-of-war.

“Sir,” Chance said, holding his right hand out to his father, “thank you. It was a nice party.”

Grant harrumphed. “You hated it.”

“Pretty much,” Chance acknowledged.

“Knew you would. Too much like me.”

Chance nodded shortly. “Maybe.”

Grant dropped one arm around his wife’s shoulders. “Emma’s the party-giver around here. Loves the hustle and bustle. She just tells me when to show up.”

Emma gave his broad chest a playful slap, before looking at Chance. “It’s true, you know. He’d much rather be out taking over small companies or sailing, or…well, just about anything.”

Jennifer watched as a small smile curved Chance’s lips, and to her surprise, a curl of something delightful spiraled through her in response. Oh, that probably wasn’t a good sign.

“Then maybe we are more alike than I’d thought,” Chance allowed as Grant took his outstretched hand and gave it a firm shake.

His father smiled. “I’ll settle for a maybe. For now.”

“Seems fair,” Chance told him.

“All right, then,” Emma spoke up. “Jennifer, I hope you’re feeling better tomorrow. Why don’t you take the day off?”

“Oh, that won’t be—”

“A day off’s not going to bring the world to an end,” her employer told her firmly. Then she shifted a look at Chance. “You drive carefully. Without Jennifer, I’d never get a thing done around here.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Chance said, and in seconds he had Jennifer turned around and headed for the front door. They skirted the edges of the party and avoided being stopped again. Their steps clicked on the cold marble of the main staircase, then echoed as they moved into the grand entry hall on the main floor. Here, the marble gleamed and shone in the spill of late-afternoon sunshine slashing through the wide front windows. Chance left her just long enough to grab their coats, and once she was bundled up, he ushered her outside into the bite of the cold Chicago wind.

“I’m parked just up the street,” he said. “Why don’t you wait here and I’ll go get the car?”

“Thanks, I’d rather walk.”

“Suit yourself,” he said smiling, then offered her his arm.

Arms linked, they took the short flight of steps to the sidewalk below, crossed the narrow strip of lawn and turned onto Michigan Avenue.

“I can’t believe you found a place to park around here.”

He grinned at her and Jennifer sucked in a breath. That really was a devastating weapon he had tucked away. Thankfully, her defenses had been strengthened over the last two years.

“I’m a SEAL, remember? We excel at the impossible.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

While they walked, he talked, as if somehow sensing that she wasn’t in the mood to discuss her problems anymore tonight. She listened to stories of his and Doug’s childhood, heard the pride in his voice when he talked about his mother and what she’d managed to accomplish all on her own. She hoped that one day Sarah would be as kind when talking about her.

God knows, she tried to be both mom and dad. But it wasn’t easy. Despite having a great job with the most understanding employer in the free world, Jennifer was pushed every day, wondering how to get everything done. She had no idea at all how women with less going for them managed to survive.

“It must have been so hard for her,” she finally said, looking up at him. The wind blew strands of blond hair across her face and she plucked them out of her way so she could see him clearly.

He stared off into the distance as if looking into years past and nodded. “Yeah, it was,” he said, “but we didn’t know that at the time. She made it look so easy. Mom wasn’t the kind to sit around and whine about finding herself. Or wishing that things were different. She used to say that the only thing you could change in life was yourself. So do the best you can.”

“Smart woman.”

“Oh, yeah.” He turned his head to look down at her and gave her yet another of those great smiles. “She would have liked you.”

“Really? Why’s that?”

“Because your daughter’s so important to you.”

Something clutched at her heart, but Jennifer only said, “She’s everything to me.”

“I can see that.”

“That easy to read, huh?”

“Does the phrase an open book mean anything to you?”

Jennifer laughed in spite of herself. She’d never had much of a poker face. “Mike used to say the reason I was so honest was because I just couldn’t pull off a lie.”

“Good a reason as any,” he said and stopped alongside a cherry-red SUV.

“This is yours?” she asked and wondered why she was even surprised. If this wasn’t a guy’s car, she’d eat it.

“Rental,” he said and opened her door. Holding it for her as she got in, he added, “I’m just in town for a while.”

She automatically reached for the shoulder harness. “Where do you go when you leave here?”

“Back to my SEAL team.”

“And then?”

“Won’t know until just before I go.”

He slammed the door, walked around the front of the car, then opened the driver’s-side door. Sliding onto the front seat, he latched his seat belt, stuck the key in the ignition and turned it. The engine leapt into life with a muffled rumble of sound.

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