Daddy Next Door

Daddy Next Door
Judy Christenberry

Mills & Boon Silhouette
I Found Our Daddy!Three-year-old Missy thought her new neighbor had all the right stuff. Nick Barry was handsome, fun and even she could see he liked her new mommy. So why couldn't he be their daddy?Jennifer Carpenter had her hands full with adopting Missy and her two sisters. While the Texan next door doted on the girls, she knew Nick was in the fast lane to fame and fortune. Why would a sexy bachelor want a ready-made family? Besides, she wanted to become a mommy, not a Mrs. So what was it about Nick that proved irresistible–to the girls…and to her?

She owed him. Big-time.

A lot more than the glass of icy lemonade she was bringing him now. Intending to give him the drink, say her piece and leave, she called his name. But when he turned around, the only sound she uttered was a gasp.

Nick had removed his shirt as he put together the swing set, and for the first time she saw his muscles and his broad chest. In the midday sun his pecs and six-pack abs glistened like Cortez’s gold. She stood there, her mouth agape, her mind blank. She’d wanted to tell him something, but couldn’t remember what.

She closed her mouth and swallowed, snapping herself out of her trance. “Thanks for doing this, Nick.”

He gave her that devastating smile. “No problem.”

It was a problem, all right. Her girls loved Nick, so she had to risk spending a little time with him. But could she resist the temptation?

Dear Reader,

Welcome to my new three-book miniseries, DALLAS DUETS, about three young women who live in the same fourplex in Dallas.

The first story is about a woman who feels rather alone in the world—that is, until she reaches out to some young children who really need a change in their lives. I was inspired to write this story because of something I’d seen on television about The Heart Gallery, an organization that enlists the help of the world’s top photographers to find homes for children who are up for adoption. You can find more information about them online.

I hope you enjoy this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. As always, I hope you appreciate my view about the importance of family, whether it’s made up of people who are related by blood, or a family of your own making.

If you have any comments or questions, you can contact me at my Web site, www.judychristenberry.com.

Happy reading!

Daddy Next Door

Judy Christenberry

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Judy Christenberry has been writing romances for over fifteen years because she loves happy endings as much as her readers do. A former French teacher, Judy now devotes herself to writing full-time. She hopes readers have as much fun with her stories as she does. She spends her spare time reading, watching her favorite sports teams and keeping track of her two daughters. Judy lives in Texas.

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

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter One

A suitcase in each hand, Nick Barry shoved open the front door to the fourplex on Yellow Rose Lane. The residential North Dallas neighborhood was exactly what he needed. A tree-lined street, freshly mowed grass and peace and quiet.

No wonder his aunt had loved this place. Too bad she had to leave it, he thought, but at least she’d sublet it to him. Between the low rent and the amenities, it was a sweet deal.

He was in the lobby, having used the key Aunt Grace had sent to get in the front door. Now he was trying to figure out which key unlocked his new apartment when he heard someone behind him. He looked over his shoulder but not seeing anyone, he turned back to his task.

Simultaneously he felt something around his ankle and heard a tiny voice yelling, “I found him! I found our daddy!”

Shock filled him as he stared at the little girl sitting on the floor with her short, thin arms wrapped around his left leg.

He’d been a little forgetful lately, what with the change in his life, but he was pretty sure he hadn’t forgotten a child.

“Missy? Missy, where are you?” This time it wasn’t a child’s voice, but a woman’s. And if the woman herself matched her tone, she was a beauty. The sound came from afar so he decided to encourage her to come closer.

“Um, I think Missy is with me in the entry hall,” he yelled. He looked down at the towheaded preschooler staring up at him. “You are Missy, aren’t you?”

She nodded brightly, not appearing at all scared.

“Missy?”

The woman was getting closer, but Nick called again. “She’s here with me in the lobby!”

When the door across from his aunt’s apartment swung open, Nick knew he’d been right: the flesh and blood woman matched her voice. The blond beauty rushed out. “Missy! I told you not to come out here without me! Get back inside at once.”

“But I found him!” Missy said indignantly, hugging his leg even tighter.