The Daughter He Wanted. Kristina Knight

      

      The Daddy Surprise

      Since the loss of his wife, Alex Ryan has been living a half-life. But with one phone call, Alex discovers he’s the biological father of a four-year-old girl…and everything changes.

      Single mom Paige Kenner preferred to have a family without the man. Now suddenly there’s Alex, who desperately wants to be a father to her little girl. A gorgeous, kind and committed father. Letting a stranger into their lives is far too dangerous—especially if his presence stirs a part of Paige that she longs to forget…

      “So…this is awkward.”

      “We have a child together but I don’t know anything about you,” Alex said.

      Kaylie was the reason for all of this.

      Paige wanted a family, so much that on her twenty-fourth birthday she’d decided to take life by the horns and create the family she dreamed of. The sweet, smart, silly girl was everything Paige needed. No men needed to apply and since Kaylie had been born, not even a handful had stuck around through dinner.

      And here was one more.

      A man so gorgeous the rebellious part of Paige, the part of her she couldn’t get rid of, was glad her daughter wasn’t here.

      Because she wanted to flirt. She wanted to flirt and touch and see if the attraction she felt for him was mutual.

      Alex offered her a half smile, making his eyes crinkle at the corners and accentuating a little scar at the corner of his full lips. The tension she felt when he brushed past her ratcheted up a notch and she admitted to herself it wasn’t fear at all. It was flat-out excitement. Want. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt such an instant attraction to a man.

      Dear Reader,

      I’ve been trying to think of the right words to tell you about The Daughter He Wanted. I thought about telling you about the small town where I grew up—which was right across the state from Bonne Terre. I thought about telling you the crazy adventures I had as a child—some of which inspired Kaylie’s adventures in this book. I thought about telling you about my own daughter, who is a Kaylie in every sense. At the heart of this book, though, isn’t the small town or a single childhood. At the heart of this book is choice.

      We all choose who we will be—the athlete or the wallflower, the rebel or the rule follower, the corporate success or the small-business owner. Alex and Paige made their own choices leading up to Chapter One: Paige to start the family she craved in the only way open to her and Alex to distance himself from family because of the pain in his past. Writing their journey not only to love but to personal fulfillment was amazing, and the fact that I was able to write this book for Mills & Boon Superromance is a joy that has blown me away.

      I’ve been reading Superromance books for more than half my life, having stolen my very first one from my mom’s bookshelf when I was about eleven. I hope you have as much fun reading about Alex and Paige and Kaylie as I had in writing their story. I love hearing from readers—you can find me on Twitter (@AuthorKristina) or Facebook (facebook.com/kristinaknightromanceauthor), or shoot me an email the old-fashioned way.

      Happy reading!

      Kristina Knight

      The Daughter He Wanted

      Kristina Knight

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      Once upon a time, KRISTINA KNIGHT spent her days running from car crash to fire to meetings with local police. No, she wasn’t a troublemaker—she was a journalist. Her career took her all over the United States, and along the way she found her very own Knight in Shining Cowboy Boots. Just like the characters from her favorite books, Kristina is living her own happily-ever-after with her Knight and their Princess.

      For Janell and Roxanne, my sister-moms who have the patience and encouragement that inspires me.

      For my mom, who read the books and told the stories. And who busts all of us with her amazing ability to recall every life event.

      For Shelby, the daughter we chose, who is everything.

      Contents

       Cover

       Back Cover Text

       Introduction

      Dear Reader

       Title Page

       About the Author

       Dedication

      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

       EPILOGUE

       Extract

       Copyright

       CHAPTER ONE

      HE DIDN’T HAVE to know.

      Alex Ryan sat outside the pretty white house on the quiet street in Bonne Terre, Missouri. It was an older home with a wide front porch and ivy growing up the two posts on either side of the three steps leading to the front door. It had a peaked roof with gingerbread trim. It wasn’t a true Victorian but someone along the way had added a few Victorian touches to the two-story home. He could see the tops of a wicker couch and rocker on the porch. Pots overflowing with red snapdragons and bleeding hearts hung from the ceiling and wound their way over the steps. In a few more days those plants would begin to die off, but for now they were pretty in the October afternoon sunlight.

      There was a hopscotch course painted in