Undercover Baby

Undercover Baby
Rebecca Winters

The baby surprise…Diana Rawlins has turned up at the hospital with amnesia and a baby in her arms! She doesn't remember how either of them happened. Her husband, Cal, is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery–especially since one of the things his wife doesn't remember is being married to him!Diana only seems to care about one thing–the baby Cal knows can't possibly be hers. But he isn' t going to give Diana up without a fight. If the baby if the key to her heart, he'll move heaven and earth to ensure that his new family can stay together.Love UndercoverTheir mission was marriage!

Letter to Reader (#u89cb69f9-a082-5999-b4a2-c1afb772622c)Title Page (#u6557e6a1-bee4-5bcd-9446-5f029953f842)CHAPTER ONE (#u0b20358f-8b4d-5fcb-8871-ff2126e49cc1)CHAPTER TWO (#ua6dd9832-5453-5da1-b124-da365705f3e4)CHAPTER THREE (#uba5ac2b4-73e2-52ea-97b7-87eeb4d92ea1)CHAPTER FOUR (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)EPILOGUE (#litres_trial_promo)Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

Welcome to the third of Rebecca Winters’ brand-new trilogy LOVE UNDERCOVER.

An award-winning author, Rebecca Winters writes romances that pack an emotional punch you won’t forget! And her new miniseries is no exception.

Meet Annabelle, Gerard and Diana. Annabelle and Gerard are private investigators, Diana, their hardworking assistant. Each of them is about to face a rather different assignment—faling in love!

Dear Reader,

Amnesia is a condition that has always fascinated me because it sets up so many possibilities for the person suffering from it, as well as the loved ones who must deal with it.

Recently I heard a story about a woman who lost her memory forever. As a result she divorced her husband. But this man loved her so much, he set out to win her love all over again. Six years later they were married.

I could only imagine the pain he went through, the rejection, the sacrifices he made, the challenges he faced because of his love for this woman. But as I imagined this, my own story, Undercover Baby, came to life. It’s my personal tribute to this hero of a man who lived every word of the vows he made.

Happy reading,

Rebecca Winters

Undercover Baby

Rebecca Winters

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

CHAPTER ONE

“IS THIS the Rawlins’s residence?”

Cal Rawlins looped the bath towel around his neck, ready to put down the receiver in case it was a telemarketer. Seven-thirty in the morning was a little early to start listening to their unsolicited spiel.

If making love to his beautiful wife hadn’t put him in such a good mood before he’d reluctantly let her out of bed on this beautiful June morning, he might have said he wasn’t interested and then hung up.

“Yes, it is.”

“This is the Bonneville Regional Hospital emergency room calling. Please don’t be alarmed. The situation is not life threatening, but we have a Diana Rawlins here. Except for being disoriented from a fall, she appears to be all right. An initial examination reveals that the baby is jaundiced, but unharmed. A staff pediatrician has taken charge of his care. If you could come over—”

The mention of a baby filled Cal with unmitigated relief. “My wife’s at work and we don’t have any children.” Not yet anyway. “I’m afraid you have the wrong Rawlins. Sorry.”

He clicked off the phone and went back to the bathroom to finish shaving. His thoughts turned to their childless marriage, the only cloud threatening their happiness because she wanted to give him a baby so badly.

In the four years since their wedding, Diana had suffered three miscarriages, generally losing them at eight weeks. The last one had been devastating to both of them because she’d lost it after carrying it almost four months. A long enough time for them to decorate a nursery.

It had been a boy. They would have called him Tyler, after her grandfather.

When in future she conceived again, she would have to take it very easy and the doctor would perform a surgical procedure on the uterus to prevent the same problem from recurring. But so far, Diana hadn’t conceived and she was frantic that she might never have a child.

Their obstetrician suggested that she was trying too hard, that she needed to relax and give her body a chance to rest before they tried to get pregnant again. Cal recognized the wisdom of the doctor’s sound advice, but getting Diana to take it was a different story.

Cal had brought up the idea of adoption, but she’d adamantly refused to entertain it as a viable alternative. Still, he’d discussed the problem with Roman Lufka. Cal’s best friend and Diana’s boss at the LFK Associates International.

Both Roman and Cal agreed that if a baby were suddenly to become available, she might reconsider adoption. Oftentimes after obtaining a first child through legal means, a woman unexpectedly conceived. If time proved that Diana couldn’t carry a baby full term, then the adoption idea was worth pursuing. Roman had his sources and said he would look into them.

Naturally Cal would have loved a baby of his own body and hers, but if that wasn’t possible, then he welcomed the idea of adoption. Diana’s happiness meant more to him than anything else. They had an exceptional marriage. He would do whatever it took to preserve the great love they shared. She was his life!

While Cal finished getting dressed for work, he decided to call his friend and suggest that they get together for lunch later in the day. Maybe Roman had new information on the subject.

His hand no sooner reached for the phone to call Roman than it rang again. When he picked up the receiver and said hello, he learned it was the hospital disturbing him for the second time. His brows formed a dark frown line.

“Mr. Rawlins? You do live at 18 Haxton Place here in Salt Lake?”

“Yes? But as I told you before, we don’t have a baby.”

“Nevertheless this woman says she’s the baby’s mother. We checked her driver’s license. The address is listed as 18 Haxton Place, the same as yours.” An odd chill passed through his body. “She’s five feet six inches, long blond hair, green eyes, one hundred and twenty-four pounds.”

Tightening his grip on the receiver he said, “That’s my wife. Would it be possible to speak to her?”

“Not right now. As I told you a few minutes ago, the fall dazed her.”

When did she fall? Where?

“I’ll be right there.”

Feeling like he’d been kicked in the gut, he raced out of the house. Disobeying the speed limit, he drove his Saab to the hospital in record time.

He swallowed hard when he spotted her white Buick parked halfway up the block. Its presence confirmed that she had indeed driven to the hospital earlier that morning. She’d only been gone from the house a little more than an hour.

What in the hell had happened in that amount of time? The mention of a baby made no sense at all.

“I’m Mr. Rawlins,” he said the second he reached the admission desk outside the emergency room doors. “I’d like to see my wife, Diana.”

“Take a seat over there and someone will be right with you.”

With his adrenaline pumping, Cal preferred to remain standing. He would just as soon not have to look at all the anxious people who filled the reception area.

Thankfully the person who’d called the house had reassured him Diana’s condition wasn’t serious.

“Mr. Rawlins? I’m Dr. Farr, the one who first examined your wife. Come on in here and we’ll talk.”

Relieved to get some answers at last, Cal followed the short, wiry doctor through another set of doors to an empty examination room. He thought of course the other man would take him straight to Diana. The fact that he didn’t, served to deepen the pit in Cal’s stomach.

“Is my wife all right? That’s all I want to know.”

Dr. Farr looked up at Cal. “When she fell, she hit the back of her head hard enough to break the skin and form a small lump. The X ray didn’t reveal anything abnormal, but her concussion has left her disoriented. I’ve asked Dr. Harkness, a neurosurgeon on staff at the hospital, to come down and examine her. He should be here shortly.”