Dear Reader
As I started writing this book about a surrogate mother who keeps her baby I automatically called it my ‘bad surrogate’ story. Poor Gemma. The last way she should be described is as a bad surrogate.
Needless to say my heroine with a difference has a very genuine and valid reason for keeping her baby. But she’s been labelled that way by the press after a prolonged court case and she comes to the Scottish island of Arran for a fresh start for her and her daughter.
Arran is a beautiful island just off the west coast of Scotland. The places described on the island are factual, as is Crocodile Rock on Millport, the Isle of Cumbrae, but the people, of course, are entirely fictional.
My hero Logan has lived on the island most of his life and has a real connection with and love for the people there. But like in any small community as soon as he’s seen with the new lady doctor rumours start to fly.
Logan turns out to be Gemma’s knight in shining armour—only his white horses are on the sea rather than on dry land!
I love to hear from readers. Feel free to contact me via my website: www.scarlet-wilson.com
Happy reading!
Love
Scarlet
SCARLET WILSON wrote her first story aged eight and has never stopped. Her family have fond memories of Shirley and the Magic Purse, with its army of mice, all with names beginning with the letter ‘M’. An avid reader, Scarlet started with every Enid Blyton book, moved on to the Chalet School series and many years later found Mills & Boon®.
She trained and worked as a nurse and health visitor, and currently works in public health. For her, finding Mills & Boon® Medical Romance™ is a match made in heaven. She is delighted to find herself among the authors she has read for many years.
Scarlet lives on the West Coast of Scotland with her fiancé and their two sons.
A Mother’s Secret
Scarlet Wilson
Recent titles by Scarlet Wilson:
200 HARLEY STREET: GIRL FROM THE RED CARPET† HER FIREFIGHTER UNDER THE MISTLETOE ABOUT THAT NIGHT …** THE MAVERICK DOCTOR AND MISS PRIM** AN INESCAPABLE TEMPTATION HER CHRISTMAS EVE DIAMOND A BOND BETWEEN STRANGERS* WEST WING TO MATERNITY WING! THE BOY WHO MADE THEM LOVE AGAIN IT STARTED WITH A PREGNANCY *The Most Precious Bundle of All **Rebels with a Cause †200 Harley Street
These books are also available in eBook format from www.millsandboon.co.uk
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my long-suffering work colleagues and partners in crime Kathleen Winter and Sharon Hardie.
Is it Friday yet?
It’s also dedicated to my lovely, shiny new editor Laurie Johnson.
I’m sure I’ll wear you down at some point!
Praise for Scarlet Wilson:
‘HER CHRISTMAS EVE DIAMOND is a fun and interesting read. If you like a sweet romance with just a touch of the holiday season you’ll like this one.’
—harlequinjunkie.com
‘WEST WING TO MATERNITY WING! is a tender, poignant and highly affecting romance that is sure to bring a tear to your eye. With her gift for creating wonderful characters, her ability to handle delicately and compassionately sensitive issues and her talent for writing believable, emotional and spellbinding romance, the talented Scarlet Wilson continues to prove to be a force to be reckoned with in the world of contemporary romantic fiction!’
—cataromance.com
Contents
CHAPTER ONE
‘LOOK, MUMMY, THAT’S our island!’
Isla was bouncing up and down and pointing through the ship’s railings. Gemma put her bags at her feet and rested her elbows on the railings. ‘Yes,’ she said quietly, ‘it is.’
The ship gave another shudder as it moved away from Ardrossan Harbour and out into the Firth of Clyde. Arran looked so close she could almost reach out and touch it. But, then, it had looked that way the whole time they had driven along the Ayrshire coast.
Her stomach gave a little flip—and it wasn’t from the choppy waters. Her hand settled on Isla’s shoulder next to her little red curls—the only permanent reminder of her father. This would be better. This would be safer for them both.
A chance for a new start. A chance for some down time.
A chance to meet some new friends who knew nothing about her past and wouldn’t stand in judgement of her. Glasgow and the surrounding area had been just too small. Everywhere she’d gone someone had known Patrick or Lesley. They’d gone to medical school together, or been on a course with one of them, or knew a neighbour. The list was endless.
As were the whispers. The bad surrogate. The woman who’d made the papers when she’d ‘stolen’ another couple’s baby. Not strictly true. But true enough that it had caused her a world of pain, a court case and five years of sleepless nights.
But now it was finally over. Now she could finally move on.
Now, in accordance with the law, Isla was officially hers.
She stared out across the water. Arran. Twenty miles long and ten miles across. A population of ten thousand that swelled to twenty thousand over the summer holidays.
It was perfect. Even down to the cottage she’d purchased