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  ‘Really, you silly man. I love you, Danny. I’ve always loved you. From the moment you called me brat when I was five and you were eleven, I was a goner.’

  Sophie couldn’t believe that he still hadn’t moved to close the gap between them. She wanted to feel his lips against hers so badly she could practically taste him.

  ‘Danny! If you don’t kiss me in the next second I’m going to think this is all a cruel joke.’

  Sophie wasn’t sure if he kissed her or she kissed him in the end. All she knew was that she was in the arms of the man she loved and that finally everything was right with the world.

  ‘How are we going to tell the family?’ she asked some time later as she sat cuddled in his arms in the lounge chair.

  ‘I guess we’ll just show them the tape,’ Daniel said.

  Max chose that moment to barge into the room and spied his mother and uncle curled up together on the couch.

  ‘There you are, Mummy,’ he said, and plonked himself and Clementine between them. He squirmed a bit, making himself a nice comfy spot, and relaxed against Daniel’s chest.

  ‘Why are you hugging my mummy, Unca Dan?’ asked Max.

  ‘Um…ah..’ Daniel shrugged at Sophie, lost for words.

  ‘Do you love Mummy?’

  ‘Ah…yes, I do, actually, Max. Is that OK?’

  ‘Sure. Are you gonna marry her?’

  ‘As long as it’s OK by you,’ said Daniel, shooting a withering look at Sophie who was trying hard not to laugh.

  ‘Does that mean you’ll be my daddy?’

  ‘I guess it does.’

  ‘Will I have to call you Daddy or can I keep calling you Unca Dan?’

  ‘Whatever you want, Maxy,’ said Daniel, holding his breath for his son’s next decree.

  ‘I think I’ll call you Daddy.’

  ‘Okey-dokey,’ said Daniel, wanting to shout his joy from the rooftops. He ruffled Max’s hair instead, not wanting to frighten his son with the strength of his feelings.

  ‘That OK, Mummy?’ asked Max.

  ‘Sure,’ said Sophie, all choked up. She was thankful that Max was too engrossed in Clementine to pay any heed to the tears that were falling down her face.

  Daniel kissed her forehead and she was surprised to see moisture shimmering in his blue eyes.

  ‘I love you,’ she mouthed over the top of Max’s head, and he mouthed it back.

  The trio sat cuddling contentedly on the lounge, being the family they should have been before life had got in the way. Sophie stroked Max’s hair and reflected on the irony of the situation. The person who had kept them apart was the same person who had brought them back together. And now, thanks to Michael, they were finally free to love each other for ever.

  ISBN: 978-1-4603-5853-5

  THE NURSE’S SECRET SON

  First North American Publication 2006

  Copyright © 2006 by Amy Andrews

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

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