“Marry me.”
He’ll do anything to save his son...
After high school, TJ Bauer and Sage Costas went their separate ways. Now a life-and-death crisis reunites the international banker with the woman who kept their child a secret for a decade. But TJ won’t be a part-time father. Marriage is the only solution...until reignited desire for his wife in name only completely changes the stakes.
“Marry me.”
Sage didn’t react, and TJ wasn’t sure if she’d heard the words.
He continued talking. “Share my life, my whole life.”
She started to laugh. Her hand rose to her mouth, and she kept laughing.
He was vaguely insulted. “How is that funny?”
“It’s not funny.” She removed her hand and schooled her features, swallowing. “It’s preposterous.”
He’d admit it was unorthodox. “It’s logical. We share a son.”
“We barely know each other.”
“A marriage of convenience, obviously.” As he said the words, he pictured her in his bed. The vision startled him. He shook it away and pressed on. “Look at the size of this place. We can stay completely out of each other’s way. You and Eli can have the entire upstairs to yourselves.”
“Take me home, TJ.” She looked fragile and forlorn.
She also looked beautiful, and he wanted to draw her into his arms and comfort her. He wanted to hold her, and he wanted to kiss her.
* * *
His Temptation, Her Secret is part of the
Whiskey Bay Brides trilogy: Three friends
find love on the shores of Whiskey Bay
Dear Reader,
Welcome to the final book in the Whiskey Bay Brides series! The Pacific Northwest was a major inspiration for this series. Between the deep blue ocean, the soaring coastal mountains, the endless islands and the laid-back atmosphere, it’s an amazing place to live or to visit.
In His Temptation, Her Secret, widower TJ Bauer is confronted by his biggest regret, a woman he’d done wrong in high school. He’s astonished to discover Sage Costas is the mother of his son—a son he never knew he had who is in need of a bone marrow transplant.
But saving his son’s life is only the beginning. Both Sage and Eli need his support. And whether they like it or not, he’s never walking out on them again.
Barbara
Barbara Dunlop
His Temptation, Her Secret
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Barbara Dunlop has written more than forty novels for Harlequin, including the acclaimed Chicago Sons series for Harlequin Desire. Her sexy, lighthearted stories regularly hit bestseller lists. Barbara is a three-time finalist for the Romance Writers of America’s RITA® Award.
Books by Barbara Dunlop
Harlequin Desire
Chicago Sons
Sex, Lies and the CEO
Seduced by the CEO
A Bargain with the Boss
His Stolen Bride
Whiskey Bay Brides
From Temptation to Twins
Twelve Nights of Temptation
His Temptation, Her Secret
Visit her Author Profile page at www.Harlequin.com, or barbaradunlop.com, for more titles.
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For CJ Carmichael
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
Chapter Thirteen
On Excerpt from Between Marriage and Merger by Karen Booth e
Excerpt from Off Limits by Clare Connelly
One
As the bride and groom whirled into the first dance at the sumptuously decorated Beacon Hill Crystal Club, TJ Bauer struggled to block memories of his own wedding. It had been more than two years since Lauren had died, and there were days when he was at relative peace with her loss. But there were also days like this when the ache was so acute that his chest balled into a painful knot of loneliness.
“Doing okay?” Caleb Watford approached, handing TJ a glass of single malt, one ice cube, just the way TJ liked it.
“I’m fine.”
“Liar.”
TJ had no intention of getting into it, so he nodded to the dance floor instead. “Matt’s one lucky man.”
Caleb watched TJ’s expression closely, as if he was debating whether or not to let the topic drop. “I’ll agree to that.”
“It was touch and go there for a while.” TJ forced his mind away from the memory of Lauren, reliving his good friend Matt Emerson’s frantic, ring-less marriage proposal to Tasha, her packed suitcases at her feet. “I thought she was going to say no.”
Caleb cracked a grin. “It all turned out in the end.”
TJ found his own smile for Matt’s good fortune. He was genuinely happy that his friend had found love. Tasha was smart, beautiful and completely down-to-earth. She was exactly what Matt needed in his life.
Caleb clapped a hand on TJ’s shoulder. “You’ll be next.”
“Not.” The cloud moved back over TJ’s emotions.
“You need to keep an open mind.”
“Would you replace Jules?”
The question brought silence.
TJ took a swallow of his drink. “That’s what I thought.”
“It’s easy to say never when she’s right here in front of me.”
Both men shifted their gazes to Caleb’s wife, Jules. She was radiant following the birth of her twin girls three months ago. Right now, she laughed at something her brother-in-law Noah said.
“It’s hard to get past the never part,” TJ said, struggling to put his feelings into words. He liked facts, not emotions. Emotions always tripped him up. “It’s not that I’m not trying. I am. But it always cycles back to Lauren.”
“I get it,” Caleb said. “At least I think I get it. I know I can’t possibly understand.”
“If I could flip a switch...” TJ let the sentence drop.
Intellectually, he knew Lauren wasn’t coming back. He even knew she’d want him to move on. But she was his true love, his one and only. He couldn’t imagine anyone taking her place.
“Give it some more time,” Caleb said.
“It’s not like I have a choice,” TJ responded, hearing the irony in his own tone. Time would march along no matter what he did or didn’t do.
The strains of the song wound down to an end, and Matt and Tasha moved toward them, all smiles. Her graceful tulle skirt floated over the polished floor. TJ never thought he’d see the tomboyish marine mechanic in full bridal attire. When she wore a dress instead of coveralls, she was quite stunningly beautiful.
“Come and dance with the bride,” she said to him, a tinkling laugh in her tone as she linked her arm with his.
“It would be an honor.” As the best man, he put a smile on his face and set down his drink, determined to keep his melancholy thoughts to himself.
“Is everything okay?” she asked as they swung onto the dance floor.
Other couples joined them, and the dance floor filled as the music swelled.
; “Everything is great,” he said.
“I saw your expression when you were talking to Caleb.”
“Where did you learn to dance like this?” TJ appreciated her concern, but this was her day. She didn’t need to be worrying about him.
“What’s going on, TJ?”
“Nothing. Well, one thing. I’m a little jealous of Matt.”
“Now, that’s a big fat lie.”
He drew back slightly. “Look at yourself, Tasha. Every guy here is jealous of Matt.”
She shook her head and laughed.
“Except for Caleb,” TJ felt honor-bound to add. “And the other married guys... Well, some of them, anyway.”
Now she looked amused. “That was a very carefully constructed compliment.”
“It really went off the rails there, didn’t it?”
“You just kept getting deeper and deeper.”
“What I mean,” he said, “is that you make a radiant bride.”
“It’s a very time-limited thing,” she said.
It was his turn to laugh.
She put on a frown. “I can barely breathe in the corset, never mind walk in these heels. If there’s an emergency, somebody’s going to have to carry me out of here.”
“I’m sure Matt will be happy to carry you anywhere you need to go.”
She cast a glance at her new husband, and her expression turned to adoration. TJ felt a surge of envy at their obvious devotion to each other.
“Your mother seems delighted by the posh event,” he said, switching his focus.
“I’m doing my duty as a daughter. But I’ve warned Matt, this may be the last time he sees me in a dress.”
“You’re going out on a high note.”
TJ’s phone vibrated in his tux pocket. He had it on silent, but Tasha obviously heard the low buzz.
“You can get that,” she said.
“There’s nobody I need to talk to right now.”
“What if it’s one of your investors?”
“It’s Saturday night.”
“It’s Sunday morning in Australia.” Tasha was aware of TJ’s investment company’s global reach.
“So, it’s not a workday there either.” He had no intention of interrupting the wedding reception with business.
The buzzing stopped.
“See?” he told her. “It went away.”
“It always goes away when you don’t pick up.”
The phone buzzed again.
She stopped dancing. “You need to get that, TJ.”
“No, I don’t.” He gently urged her to move.
“At least see who it is.”
“It’s nobody more important than you and Matt.”
“It could be an emergency.”
“Fine.” He wasn’t about to stand in the middle of the dance floor and argue with the bride.
He discreetly withdrew his phone and started dancing again.
Apparently appeased, she matched his movements.
Glancing down, he was surprised to see the call was from Seattle’s St. Bea’s Hospital. His company was a longtime contributor to Highside Hospital near his home in Whiskey Bay. But there was no affiliation with St. Bea’s. He supposed someone could be soliciting a donation.
“Who is it?” Tasha asked.
He realized he’d stopped dancing again.
“St. Bea’s Hospital.”
A look of concern came over her face. “Someone could be hurt.”
“I don’t know why they’d take them to St. Bea’s.”
He was acquainted with a few people in Seattle, but most of his friends were in Whiskey Bay or Washington’s capital city, Olympia, which was the closest major city. Even in Olympia, there was nobody who’d have him listed as an emergency contact.
The ringing stopped again.
“You better call them back,” Tasha said. She linked her arm with his, steering him off the dance floor.
“Tasha,” he protested.
“Humor me, or I’ll worry.”
“If that’s what it takes.” He hated being the cause of a disruption.
“That’s what it takes.”
At the edge of the floor, she moved away, giving him privacy.
TJ kept walking to the foyer, where the sound of the band was blocked, so it was quieter. He hit the callback button.
“St. Bea’s Hospital, Oncology,” a crisp female voice answered.
Oncology? Someone had cancer? “This is Travis Bauer. I’m returning a call from this number.”
“Yes, Mr. Bauer. Let me put you through to Dr. Stannis.”
“What is this—” TJ stopped talking when the line clicked and went silent.
He waited a few moments, not sure whether to be anxious or simply curious.
“Mr. Bauer?”
“Yes?”
“This is Dr. Shelley Stannis. I’m with the oncology transplant department here at St. Bea’s.”
A light came on for TJ. “Is this about a bone marrow donation?”
“Yes, it is. Thank you for calling back so quickly. Obviously, I got your information from the registry. We have a young leukemia patient here who is a potential match with you. If you’re available, I’d like to set up a consultation and possibly final testing.”
“How old?” It was the first question that came to TJ’s mind.
“He’s nine years old,” she said.
TJ didn’t hesitate. “When do you need me?”
“Are you saying you’re willing to donate?”
“Absolutely.”
“Do you have any questions?”
“I’m sure I will, although not right now. I’m in Boston. But I can come back.”
There was a pause on the line. “If it’s possible, Mr. Bauer, we’d like to do the tests tomorrow. As you can imagine, we have a very anxious mother hoping you’ll turn out to be a close enough match.”
“I’ll be there. And please, call me TJ.”
“Thank you very much, TJ.”
“Of course. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He ended the call.
“Everything okay?” Matt had appeared beside him.
“Fine. Hopefully very fine. I may be a bone marrow match for a nine-year-old boy in Seattle.”
It seemed to take Matt a moment to process the statement.
“I really hate to cut out on you,” TJ said.
“Go!” Matt said, making a shooing motion with his hands. “Go, save a life.”
TJ could feel his adrenaline come up with purpose. His next call was to a jet charter company he’d used in the past.
He didn’t want to fight for a seat on a red-eye when a young boy and his mother were waiting. And he could afford to fly privately. There were moments in life when it came in handy to be a ridiculously wealthy man.
* * *
As she followed the wide corridor at St. Bea’s Hospital, Sage Costas’s heels echoed against the polished linoleum. Her stomach churned as it had for the past nine days while her son, Eli, had undergone a battery of tests and been diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia. The closer she came to the family lounge, the harder her heart pounded. She found herself wondering how much stress the human body could endure before it simply shut down.
She’d barely slept all week, hadn’t slept at all last night. She’d forced herself to shower this morning and put on a little makeup. She didn’t know why she thought makeup might help. But she wanted to make a good impression. She was terrified the donor would back out.
She could see him now. Through the lounge windows, she could see a tall, dark-haired, smartly dressed man talking to Dr. Stannis. He had to be the donor.
Her steps slowed, and she swallowed. Then she stopped at the closed door. It was more than she could do to push the handle. She’
d prayed desperately for this moment. So much was at stake. She wasn’t sure she could face it if the process fell apart.
She forced herself to open the door and step inside the lounge.
Dr. Stannis immediately spotted her. “Hello, Sage.”
The man turned. His expression was instant bewilderment. “Sage?”
Her world tipped on its axis.
“Is that you?” he asked, stepping forward.
A roar came up in her ears. Her vision switched to black and white, then tunneled down to a pinhole.
“Sage?” Dr. Stannis moved quickly, taking her by the arm.
Sage’s brain pulsed a million miles an hour. The room swayed for a moment, until her vision cleared.
He was still standing there.
“I’m fine,” she managed to say around the lingering noise inside her head.
“Have you met TJ Bauer?” Dr. Stannis asked with obvious curiosity.
“We went to the same high school.” Her voice was little more than a squeak.
How could this be happening?
“It’s your son who’s sick?” TJ’s expression was filled with concern. “I’m so sorry, Sage.”
Then his forehead creased, and she could all but see the calculations going on inside his head.
He turned to the doctor. “You said he was nine?”
“Yes.”
TJ twisted slowly back to Sage, his words carefully enunciated. “And I’m a likely bone marrow match for him?”
Sage tried to swallow again, but her throat had gone paper dry.
TJ’s eyes shifted from blue to gray thunder. “Is he my son?”
The doctor went still. The entire world went still. The ventilation system clicked against the booming silence.
All Sage could manage was a nod.
Dr. Stannis’s grip firmed up on Sage’s arm. “Perhaps we should sit down.”
“I have a son?” TJ asked, his voice hoarse. “You got pregnant?”
Sage tried to speak. She managed to move her lips, but no sounds came out.
TJ wasn’t having the same problem. “And you didn’t tell me?”
Dr. Stannis jumped in. “I think it would be best if we all—”
Bitterness suddenly broke through Sage’s fear. She found her voice, all but shouting. “You didn’t deserve to know.”
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