What a Man's Gotta Do

What a Man's Gotta Do
Karen Templeton

Itinerant chef Eddie King had spent most of his life moving from place to place, looking for something he could never seem to find. But suddenly he found himself headed for the place that had most seemed like home–once.And it was there he found Mala Koleski. He'd known her as a perky teenager; now she was a battle-weary single mother. So why did Eddie find her even more appealing this time around? And, more importantly, what was he going to do about it?Simple: Convince the lovely Mala that underneath her frazzled-mom exterior was a temptress itching to get out. Even take on her whole damn brood, if that was what it took! It was a dirty job, but somebody had to do it….

Mala stared at the man, hard, as her heart freefell straight to her pelvis.

And her brain warped back twenty years to a time when nobody knew that Spruce Lake High’s senior class president had a secret crush on a bad-ass kid whose ice-chip blue eyes regularly sent chills of forbidden promises down her spine, even though he never—not once—returned her smile.

A boy with sinfully thick, caramel-brown hair and the sharply defined, beard-shadowed face of a man; a boy whose lean, muscled body had filled out his worn, fitted jeans and T-shirts like nobody’s business, whose direct, disquieting gaze spoke of innocence lost but not regretted. He had appeared out of nowhere, a month into their senior year, only to vanish six weeks before graduation. Mala hadn’t seen him since.

Until today.

Dear Reader,

A new year has begun, so why not celebrate with six exciting new titles from Silhouette Intimate Moments? What a Man’s Gotta Do is the newest from Karen Templeton, reuniting the one-time good girl, now a single mom, with the former bad boy who always made her heart pound, even though he never once sent a smile her way. Until now.

Kylie Brant introduces THE TREMAINE TRADITION with Alias Smith and Jones, an exciting novel about two people hiding everything about themselves—except the way they feel about each other. There’s still TROUBLE IN EDEN in Virginia Kantra’s All a Man Can Ask, in which an undercover assignment leads (predictably) to danger and (unpredictably) to love. By now you know that the WINGMEN WARRIORS flash means you’re about to experience top-notch military romance, courtesy of Catherine Mann. Under Siege, a marriage-of-inconvenience tale, won’t disappoint. Who wouldn’t like A Kiss in the Dark from a handsome hero? So run—don’t walk—to pick up the book of the same name by rising star Jenna Mills. Finally, enjoy the winter chill—and the cozy cuddling that drives it away—in Northern Exposure, by Debra Lee Brown, who sends her heroine to Alaska to find love.

And, of course, we’ll be back next month with six more of the best and most exciting romances around, so be sure not to miss a single one.

Enjoy!

Leslie J. Wainger

Executive Senior Editor

What a Man’s Gotta Do

Karen Templeton

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

KAREN TEMPLETON,

a Waldenbooks bestselling author, is the mother of five sons and living proof that romance and dirty diapers are not mutually exclusive terms. An Easterner transplanted to Albuquerque, New Mexico, she spends far too much time trying to coax her garden to yield roses and produce something resembling a lawn, all the while fantasizing about a weekend alone with her husband. Or at least an uninterrupted conversation.

This RITA

Award-nominated author loves to hear from readers, who may reach her by writing c/o Silhouette Books, 300 E. 42nd St., New York, NY 10017, or online at www.karentempleton.com.

Dedication

To my mother—known these days as Grandma Kay—who has steadfastly supported whatever harebrained thing I’ve ever wanted to do. A mother five times over myself, I now understand just how much courage that sometimes took.

Acknowledgments

To Roger Huder, not only for his crash scene rescue team expertise, but because he also gamely helped me find a way to place my hero in the middle of things. And to Marilyn Pappano, who read an early draft of the scene in question and didn’t say, “You’ve got to be kidding.” Many thanks!

In memory of

Kathy McCormick, M.D., my steadfast advisor on all things medical for several years. You will always be remembered for your patience, generosity and kindness.

Contents

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

Epilogue

Chapter 1

Eddie King never had understood what it was about him that seemed to shake people up. Not that the pregnant lady frowning at his résumé on the other side of the cluttered, pockmarked desk seemed particularly shook up, exactly. But Eddie was hard-pressed not to notice that Galen Farentino hadn’t yet quite looked him straight in the eye, either, even though she was the one doing the hiring.

He supposed a lot of people thought he was a bit on the eccentric side, if not at least worth keeping one eye on. For one thing, old Levi’s and cowboy boots didn’t fit most folks’ expectations of what a five-star-quality chef was supposed to look like. Then when you factored in his refusal to get riled up about much, his preference for keeping to himself, the way he kept flitting from job to job after all these years…hell, in somebody else’s shoes, he’d probably keep one eye on him, too.

Eddie linked his hands over his stomach, thinking how much the cramped office tucked behind the restaurant kitchen still looked pretty much like it had two decades ago. His peripheral vision caught the photo on one corner of the desk, a wedding shot of his prospective employer and some huge, dark-haired man in a tux. One of the man’s arms possessively encircled his bride’s waist, while the other supported a tiny blond girl on his hip. All three of ’em wore sappy grins.

Eddie glanced away, like the picture hurt his eyes.

He idly scratched his prickly cheek, thinking he needed a shave, bad, after that long drive from Florida. It was crazy, coming all the way up here when this job wasn’t even in the bag yet. And why he’d been led to come back to Spruce Lake, he’d never know. Molly and Jervis had both passed away years ago, so it wasn’t like he had any real ties to the place. And anyway, Eddie usually steered clear of small towns, much preferring the anonymity of the big city. But that ad in the trade rag on his former boss’s desk had just kinda leapt out at him, and since the thought of spending the winter someplace where they actually had winter was not altogether unattractive, he’d figured what the hell. Since it’d been years since he’d applied for a job he hadn’t gotten, he wasn’t too worried about getting this one. And if he didn’t? No big deal. He’d just move on.

He was real used to moving on.