Mr. and Miss Anonymous. Fern Michaels

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Mr. and Miss Anonymous

      Books by Fern Michaels

      Betrayal

      Southern Comfort

       To Taste the Wine

       Sins of the Flesh

      Sins of Omission

      Return to Sender

       Mr. and Miss Anonymous

       Up Close and Personal

       Fool Me Once

      Picture Perfect

      About Face

      The Future Scrolls

       Kentucky Sunrise

       Kentucky Heat

      Kentucky Rich

      Plain Jane

      Charming Lily

      What You Wish For

       The Guest List

      Listen to Your Heart

       Celebration

      Yesterday

      Finders Keepers

      Annie’s Rainbow

       Sara’s Song

      Vegas Sunrise

      Vegas Heat

      Vegas Rich

      Whitefire

      Wish List

      Dear Emily

      Christmas at Timberwoods

      The Godmothers Series

      Deadline

      Late Edition

      Exclusive

      The Scoop

      The Sisterhood Novels

      Home Free

      Déjà Vu

      Cross Roads

      Game Over

      Deadly Deals

      Vanishing Act

      Razor Sharp

      Under the Radar

       Final Justice

      Collateral Damage

       Fast Track

      Hokus Pokus

      Hide and Seek

      Free Fall

      Lethal Justice

      Sweet Revenge

      The Jury

      Vendetta

      Payback

      Weekend Warriors

      Anthologies

      Making Spirits Bright

       Holiday Magic

      Snow Angels

      Silver Bells

      Comfort and Joy

       Sugar and Spice

      Let It Snow

      A Gift of Joy

      Five Golden Rings

       Deck the Halls

      Jingle All the Way

      Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation

      FERN MICHAELS

      Mr. and Miss Anonymous

      ZEBRA BOOKS

       KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.

       http://www.kensingtonbooks.com

      Contents

      Prologue

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Chapter 10

      Chapter 11

      Chapter 12

      Chapter 13

      Chapter 14

      Chapter 15

      Chapter 16

      Chapter 17

      Chapter 18

      Chapter 19

      Chapter 20

      Chapter 21

      Chapter 22

      Chapter 23

      Chapter 24

      Chapter 25

      Chapter 26

      Chapter 27

      Chapter 28

      Chapter 29

      Chapter 30

      Epilogue

      Prologue

      University of California

       Berkeley Campus, 1986

      Peter Aaron Kelly stared out of his grungy apartment window not caring that he was running late. His roommates had gone home for the Christmas holiday, so he had the sparsely furnished apartment to himself. Maybe he should just blow off his appointment at the clinic and go straight to his job at the café, where he worked as a waiter for the three-hour lunch period. But, he needed the last payment from the clinic. Needed it desperately to pay the final installment on his tuition for his last semester. In the end, what the hell difference did it make one way or the other? He shrugged his shoulders, reached for his Windbreaker and baseball cap.

      Thirty-five minutes later, Pak, as he was known to his friends, entered the Berkeley Sperm Bank thirteen minutes late. The unlucky number didn’t go unnoticed by him. For one crazy moment he wanted to bolt, but the last reminder from the billing office told him he had no other choice. He signed in using his donor number of 8446. He turned his baseball cap around so the bill could tickle his neck as he sat down and picked up a magazine. Like he was really going to read Field & Stream.

      His eyes glued to the glossy magazine cover, he didn’t look up when a steady stream of guys paraded past him, some leaving, some entering. He’d done this gig eleven times. Everyone entered and exited this place with eyes downcast just the way he did. No one spoke, no one made eye contact. All they wanted was to get the hell out of there so they could try to exorcise their personal shame and spend the guilt money. He should know because he was one of them. He took a moment to wonder how many of the donors walking through the clinic’s doors went to the counseling sessions that were so strongly recommended each time a donor signed a contract. He took another moment to wonder who owned the place. Probably some very rich person. More guilt piled up on his shoulders as he waited patiently for his number to be called.

      Pete shifted his mind to a neutral zone and closed his eyes. He thought about his family back at the farm in Idaho where they grew potatoes. They’d all be getting ready for Christmas. One of his brothers had probably cut down the tree by now, and it was sitting in the living room just waiting to be decorated. His nieces and nephews were probably driving everyone crazy to decorate the tree, but his mother would make them wait for the branches to settle themselves so, as she put it, her heirloom decorations