Found: A Father For Her Child

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Found: A Father For Her Child

Charmed by a mother and her little daughter

Carrie Douglas can’t take risks – she has her four-year-old daughter to take care of and her heart to protect. Only her resolve is tested when her latest assignment puts her in the path of gorgeously sexy and unconventional doctor Charlie Wentworth, who spends every waking hour caring for Brisbane’s neediest citizens at his drop-in clinic.

Carrie finds herself with a conflict: here is a man who would be the perfect husband and father…so how can she tell him that she has been sent to assess the viability of his clinic without destroying the trust and love growing between them – and her dream that they might one day become the family she has always longed for…?

Excerpt

   Their eyes met. He could see the wariness in her gaze. The denial. And then the phone rang.
    Carrie broke eye contact and stared dumbly at the object hanging on the wall. The damn thing rang all day, constantly interrupting her concentration. She was learning to tune it out.
    “That’ll be for you,” she said and watched as he ambled over with his long-legged stride.
    “Hello, Valley Drop-In Centre, this is Charlie.”
    “Is there something wrong with using your full medical title? Really, Charles, the Wentworth name is something most doctors in Brisbane would kill to have.”
    Charlie gripped the receiver tighter. “Father.”
    Carrie looked up from the keyboard. Charlie’s dad? He looked and sounded about as pleased to hear from him as he had the day she’d walked in. She didn’t know anyone who used such a formal title in everyday conversation.
    “Have you looked at that application I emailed you? With my recommendation you’d get the position easily."
    “I’m not having this conversation again. I have a job. I’m not interested in a surgical position.”
    Charlie’s voice was terse and Carrie looked back at the screen, pretending she couldn’t hear every word he was saying.
    “Charles! Every Wentworth since – ”
    “Since federation has risen to the level of consultant in his or her chosen specialty,” Charlie ended, used to the spiel by now.
    “You think this is amusing, Charles?”
    Good lord, no. His father was about as funny as a wet week. But, on the other hand, it was getting kind of ridiculous. “Mildly.”
    “I’m thinking of what’s best for you Charles.”
    “Nonsense. You’re thinking of the family reputation. Hell Dad, the Wentworth’s aren’t the Mafia.” Although it was beginning to feel like it. “Give it up.”
    The Wentworth’s? The Wentworth family? Charlie was one of Brisbane’s first family? Medical royalty? What the hell was he doing here, in a lowly drop-in clinic?
    “We’ll speak more about this at lunch on Sunday.”
    “Oh goody,” he said derisively.
    “Your mother is expecting you, Charles. Good-bye.”
    Charlie hung up on his father’s reproachful tone.
    He glanced at Carrie tapping away at her keyboard, looking for all the world like she wasn’t actually there. He chuckled. “It’s okay Carrie, it was kind of hard not to hear.”
    Carrie gave up the pretence. “You’re one of the Wentworth’s?”
    “Afraid so.”
    Good. It was good that she’d found this out now. Charlie Wentworth was way out of her league. Had she been interested. Which she wasn’t. “So that makes you...”
    Charlie nodded. “The black sheep.”
    She gave him a quelling look. “Ignatius Wentworth’s son? Sir Nelson Wentworth’s grandson?”
    “Guilty.”
    The smile he shot her was slow and lazy and her toes curled. Stop it! Charlie’s family had an entire national research facility named after them, for crying out loud. And she was most definitely a girl from the wrong side of the tracks. “How the hell did you wind up here? Did you kill someone?”
    Charlie was momentarily shocked at her bluntness. And he laughed as she clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle her quick horrified gasp at her unprofessional comment.
    “I’m sorry...that didn’t quite come out the way I’d planned. Forgive me.”
    Charlie sobered. “It’s okay, and, no, I didn’t kill someone. I’m here through choice.”
    “Choice? Wentworth’s don’t choose grungy drop-in centres.”
    “That would be why I’m the black sheep,” he grinned.

From "FOUND: A FATHER FOR HER CHILD" by Amy Andrews
Mills and Boon® Medical Romance™ February 2008
ISBN: 978-0-263-86303-1 Copyright: © 2008 Amy Andrews
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. The edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A. For more romance information surf to: http://www.eHarlequin.com

Review

Found: A Father For Her Child by Amy Andrews
Feb 08 UK , Mar 08 Aust
ISBN: 978-0-263-86303-1
Category: Medical Romance
Rating: 4 stars

Carrie Douglas would do anything to make sure her four-year-old daughter is protected and safe, and to also make sure that no man can hurt her emotionally again. But that resolve is severely tested when she meets Charlie Wentworth, a doctor with the need to help people that no one else wants to know about. Now she needs to not only protect her heart but also the hospital she works for, because she is the auditor that has say whether or not to keep the center open. Dr. Charlie Wentworth is a man who is dedicated to helping those in need, and now he must deal with an auditor who is more than she seems and also deal with his own demons, one that he has been living with for nearly a year. But they discover that their mutual attraction to one another could be destroyed by the report that Carrie must give the hospital board about keeping Charlie’s clinic open and running. What would you do for love?

Found: A Father For Her Child by Amy Andrews is a passionate tale of rich guy meets poor girl but with a twist, one that will bring a tear to anyone’s eye. The characters in this book are electric; they all bring an essence to the story that makes it exciting and interesting, making the reader just want to keep reading. I loved Charlie and Carrie, their relationship started off so unexpectedly that you couldn’t help but be captivated and then once the other characters where drawn in it made reading this book a pleasure. I also loved Carrie‘s daughter, she was a special little girl whose antics couldn’t help but bring a smile to my face. Ms. Andrews is an author who I always enjoy reading and this book is no exception. Found: A Father For Her Child by Amy Andrews has everything readers love including characters that make you laugh, cry and fear. And most especially, a story of a couple that fall in love knowing that their lives will never be the same again.

Sheryl
Cataromance Reviews

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