Also by Fern Michaels

  FEAR THY NEIGHBOR

  SANTA CRUISE

  NO WAY OUT

  THE BRIGHTEST STAR

  FEARLESS

  SPIRIT OF THE SEASON

  DEEP HARBOR

  FATE & FORTUNE

  SWEET VENGEANCE

  HOLLY AND IVY

  FANCY DANCER

  NO SAFE SECRET

  WISHES FOR CHRISTMAS

  ABOUT FACE

  PERFECT MATCH

  A FAMILY AFFAIR

  FORGET ME NOT

  THE BLOSSOM SISTERS

  BALANCING ACT

  TUESDAY’S CHILD

  BETRAYAL

  SOUTHERN COMFORT

  TO TASTE THE WINE

  SINS OF THE FLESH

  SINS OF OMISSION

  RETURN TO SENDER

  MR. AND MISS ANONYMOUS

  UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

  FOOL ME ONCE

  PICTURE PERFECT

  THE FUTURE SCROLLS

  KENTUCKY SUNRISE

  KENTUCKY HEAT

  KENTUCKY RICH

  PLAIN JANE

  CHARMING LILY

  WHAT YOU WISH FOR

  THE GUEST LIST

  LISTEN TO YOUR HEART

  CELEBRATION

  YESTERDAY

  FINDERS KEEPERS

  ANNIE’S RAINBOW

  SARA’S SONG

  VEGAS SUNRISE

  VEGAS HEAT

  VEGAS RICH

  WHITEFIRE

  WISH LIST

  DEAR EMILY

  CHRISTMAS AT TIMBERWOODS

  The Sisterhood Novels

  19 YELLOW MOON ROAD

  BITTER PILL

  TRUTH AND JUSTICE

  CUT AND RUN

  SAFE AND SOUND

  NEED TO KNOW

  CRASH AND BURN

  POINT BLANK

  IN PLAIN SIGHT

  EYES ONLY

  KISS AND TELL

  BLINDSIDED

  GOTCHA!

  HOME FREE

  DÉJÀ VU

  CROSS ROADS

  GAME OVER

  DEADLY DEALS

  VANISHING ACT

  RAZOR SHARP

  UNDER THE RADAR

  FINAL JUSTICE

  COLLATERAL DAMAGE

  FAST TRACK

  HOKUS POKUS

  HIDE AND SEEK

  FREE FALL

  LETHAL JUSTICE

  SWEET REVENGE

  THE JURY

  VENDETTA

  PAYBACK

  WEEKEND WARRIORS

  The Men of the Sisterhood Novels

  HOT SHOT

  TRUTH OR DARE

  HIGH STAKES

  FAST AND LOOSE

  DOUBLE DOWN

  The Godmothers Series

  FAR AND AWAY

  CLASSIFIED

  BREAKING NEWS

  DEADLINE

  LATE EDITION

  EXCLUSIVE

  THE SCOOP

  eBook Exclusives

  DESPERATE MEASURES

  SEASONS OF HER LIFE

  TO HAVE AND TO HOLD

  SERENDIPITY

  CAPTIVE INNOCENCE

  CAPTIVE EMBRACES

  CAPTIVE PASSIONS

  CAPTIVE SECRETS

  CAPTIVE SPLENDORS

  CINDERS TO SATIN

  FOR ALL THEIR LIVES

  TEXAS HEAT

  TEXAS RICH

  TEXAS FURY

  TEXAS SUNRISE

  Anthologies

  HOME SWEET HOME

  A SNOWY LITTLE CHRISTMAS

  COMING HOME FOR

  CHRISTMAS

  A SEASON TO CELEBRATE

  MISTLETOE MAGIC

  WINTER WISHES

  THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME

  WHEN THE SNOW FALLS

  SECRET SANTA

  A WINTER WONDERLAND

  I’LL BE HOME FOR

  CHRISTMAS

  MAKING SPIRITS BRIGHT

  HOLIDAY MAGIC

  SNOW ANGELS

  SILVER BELLS

  COMFORT AND JOY

  SUGAR AND SPICE

  LET IT SNOW

  A GIFT OF JOY

  FIVE GOLDEN RINGS

  DECK THE HALLS

  JINGLE ALL THE WAY

  Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation

  Three's a Crowd

  FERN MICHAELS

  ZEBRA BOOKS

  KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.

  www.kensingtonbooks.com

  All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

  ZEBRA BOOKS are published by

  Kensington Publishing Corp.

  119 West 40th Street

  New York, NY 10018

  Three’s a Crowd © copyright 2020 by Fern Michaels

  Fern Michaels is a registered trademark of KAP 5, Inc.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

  To the extent that the image or images on the cover of this book depict a person or persons, such person or persons are merely models, and are not intended to portray any character or characters featured in the book.

  If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

  Zebra and the Z logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

  ISBN: 978-1-4201-4609-7

  ISBN-13: 978-1-4201-5575-4 (eBook)

  ISBN-10: 1-4201-5575-X (eBook)

  Table of Contents

  Also by

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Three’s a Crowd - FERN MICHAELS

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Epilogue

  SPIRIT OF THE SEASON

  CUT AND RUN

  Three’s a Crowd

  FERN MICHAELS

  Prologue

  Miami, Florida

  Samantha Stewart swallowed, her throat as dry as the dust that had gathered on her dressing table. Being promoted to senior international correspondent at WNN, World Network News, would send her to countries that she’d call home for an indefinite length of time. Though she had wanted this job for as long as she could remember, now that she’d actually achieved the goal she’d worked for so hard, she wasn’t sure if accepting the new position with WNN was the right decision. For the first few months, she would be embedded with the military, which branch still undetermined. It didn’t really matter; she would be doing an excellent service for her country just by reporting on the never-ending conflicts that continued to make headlines.

  Samantha was thirty years old, and with no serious relationship to keep her stateside, she was prepared to take the assignment as soon as the network wanted her to start. Her roommate, Maria Salvatore, head meteorologist at Miami’s affiliate station, MWNN, knew she’d been waiting for this opportunity, and both were prepared for her absence. She’d sublet her share of the apartment as agreed upon, and when she returned to the States, she would find a new place. Sam knew she’d never find another roommate like Maria, but at thirty years old, she secretly hoped her next roommate would be a partner, preferably a husband. Not that she was actively looking, but her biological clock was ticking. While she was a long way from being too old to have children, as an only child, she had always wanted a family and at least three children. Maybe more. Her parents were the best, and though they’d already been in their early forties when she was born, she’d always longed for a brother or a sister. Growing up in Naples, Florida, she’d been surrounded by aunts and uncles, and a dozen cousins, but at the end of the day, she was still an only child. Someday, she wanted a big family of her own. Samantha never told her parents she had these thoughts though they’d always been in the back of her mind.

  Now, having achieved her lifelong career ambition, Samantha knew that her dreams of a family and happily-ever-after would have to be put on hold, and right now she was okay with that. In her line of work, she’d had to learn to adjust to whatever circumstances she found herself in, which hardly ever involved establishing a normal daily routine. One day, she’d be reporting in Miami, and the next day she would be chief White House correspondent, working out of Washington but ready, on a moment’s notice, to travel wherever the political news of the moment took her. It was an exciting life, and knowing that her political reporting days were numbered, Samantha felt a shimmer of excitement at what lay ahead. What with a new beginning in a foreign country, she knew this assignment would be the riskiest of her career, even life-altering, but she’d dreamed of this for so long that she was able to put aside the normal fears of embarking on such an assignment. Tonight, she would make a trip to Naples to deliver the news to her parents. It was too important to tell them about it over the phone. Knowing that her parents would be against her taking this assignment, which carried no little risk, she would do her best to assure them of her safety and convince them that she would stay in touch as much as the
situation allowed. This would do very little to ease her mother’s anxiety, but it was the best she could offer.

  Though she was the wife of a retired police officer and thereby accustomed to fearing for her husband’s safety, her mother was cursed with an overactive imagination. Add to that the addiction to mystery novels she had developed as a librarian, her mother was a worrier. To provide her parents with some extra assurance, Samantha would teach them how to use FaceTime on the new phones she’d given them for Christmas. Just the knowledge that her mother could actually see her would probably do much to alleviate the anxiety of having her only daughter in danger.

  Samantha had a zillion things to take care of before her trip across Alligator Alley this evening. Life was about to change, and she was so over the moon, it was all she could do to contain herself. Smiling, she set about finishing her final day as chief White House correspondent.

  Chapter 1

  Three years later

  On the plane, Samantha took a small powder compact case out of her bag, snapped it open, and glanced at her image. Almost that of a funhouse freak, she thought as she closed the mirror. She’d aged more in the past three years than most women did in ten. Her once-lustrous blond hair, now lackluster, hung limply to her shoulders. Dark blue eyes that normally shimmered like sapphires were dull and flat. There’s plenty of reason for the way I look, she observed, tossing the case back in her bag. She had only spent a few weeks as an embedded reporter when the Powers That Be gave her the new title of chief senior international correspondent. Spending most of her time watching the war and reporting the often-devastating news left little time for a social life, but in spite of the war-torn area she’d temporarily called home, love had found its way to her when she’d least expected it, slamming into her heart and soul with as much force as the bombs that fell around her, so much so that they almost became white noise.

  Almost.

  And that’s what had aged her. The days spent with the soldiers, her sources, the fixers, her driver and interpreter, searching for the latest stories fit for the evening news, then hurriedly wiping her face with wet wipes, tugging her hair in a ponytail, and swiping on some lipstick to ensure she’d look halfway decent on camera. She would spend about five minutes reporting, then slip into her flak jacket, dust off her Blundstone boots, and prepare for a special report if called on. She’d been embedded with the army for only six weeks when she learned of her new assignment. Part of her felt relief, but another part of her was sad to leave the men and women she’d grown close to in such a short period of time. It was just another aspect of her job, one she didn’t like too much, but it is what it is, she’d told herself.

  Now, here she was on a plane headed back to the States, back to Florida, to spend Mother’s Day with her mom for the first time in three years. As planned, she’d kept in close contact with her family through e-mails, an occasional letter, and FaceTime chats. She’d missed her parents more than she would admit and hoped they would slip into the familiar ease they’d always shared. More mature than when she’d left three years ago, Samantha had witnessed so much violence and sometimes death that it had hardened her. The soft edges of her former self were nothing more than a sweet memory. She smiled, recalling her arrival in Afghanistan. Despite the culture shock, she’d quickly learned the ropes and jumped into her new position as though she’d been doing it her entire life. But it was now time to look to the future as she had enormous, completely life-changing responsibilities.

  “Ma’am, you’ll need to buckle your seat belt, we’re ready to taxi,” a pretty young flight attendant instructed her.

  Samantha had been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn’t paid attention to what was going on around her. She fastened her seat belt, then adjusted the belt securing the infant seat next to her. Caroline was sound asleep.

  Her daughter, almost eight months old, was used to travel. Samantha marveled at how adept she’d become in her short life. They’d been on the move two weeks after she’d given birth in Italy, and travel was just a part of their routine. She’d taken a leave of absence from the network when she was six months pregnant, telling her parents that her on-air assignment had changed. She still FaceTimed them, but she was always careful not to show anything more than her face. Her mother had mentioned a few times that she had a glow about her, and Samantha told her it was a new face cream she was using. She hated to deceive her mother, but she would learn the truth soon enough; there was no way around it.

  The network had been supportive of her choice and sent a new—and much younger—reporter to take her place. Samantha had taken an assignment as a staff reporter of sorts for the Associated Press, e-mailing her articles to them daily. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it would keep her out of the States for a few months.

  She’d reluctantly given her flak jacket to the new girl. The young reporter knew what it was and how hard they were to come by. She had been in tears when she placed her arms through the holes and fastened the closures that kept the life-saving armored vest close to her torso.

  Samantha knew that returning to Florida would have its ups and downs, but she hoped for more ups than downs. She’d been very secretive about her life for the past few years, and she would have a lot of explaining to do when she arrived home.

  First and foremost, Caroline’s existence would need an explanation. Samantha had arranged to stay at a bed-and breakfast in Naples for a few days before she went to her parents’ home. She needed time to prepare her story, adjust to life in the States again, and continue her search, which she would not go into details about should the topic come up. It was too personal, and she was not ready to talk about that aspect of her life.

  The flight had been uneventful—Caroline slept the entire time—and when they landed in Orlando, Samantha wheeled her daughter into the nearest ladies’ room, changed and fed her, then headed for the car rental agency’s booth. She decided to drive to Naples rather than catch a connecting flight because she wanted to think; she needed time to decide how she was going to explain Caroline. Nine months of pregnancy, then nearly eight months of having Caroline all to herself without telling her parents was not going to be easy to explain. And her child’s father? That was a matter for another time; it was a subject she would not discuss with either parent no matter how much they insisted. And she knew they would because that’s just how they were.

  She knew the drive from Orlando to Naples took roughly four hours, having made the drive more than once. Samantha prepared to make several stops as she couldn’t feed and change her daughter and drive at the same time, but she would also need the break. The traffic on I-4 was horrendous, and it made her a bit nervous since she hadn’t driven much in the past three years. Forty-five minutes later, she was through the worst of the traffic, noting that even though it was May—not the normal tourist season—Orlando was already packed with tourists wearing their Disney gear, Mickey Mouse ears, and all that went with the whole Disney experience. She would take Caroline as soon as she was old enough to appreciate it, but that was still years away. As she drove out of Orlando, she passed all the theme park billboards, hotels offering family discounts, and restaurants enticing customers by advertising that children could eat free. Samantha smiled. Not much had changed about the tourist traps, but that was Florida. With no real industry to speak of, tourism was it. There was a great deal of competition, and businesses had to do all they could to grab the attention of potential customers. That would never change.

  When she reached Tampa, she stopped at a McDonald’s. Caroline perked up as soon as Samantha turned off the engine. Baby jabbering and a toothless smile met Samantha as she took Caroline from her car seat. “You are a cutie, little lady,” Samantha said to her daughter, grabbing the diaper bag and her large tote. Once inside the restaurant, the smell of greasy burgers and fries hit her. She’d craved Mickey D’s cheeseburgers when she was pregnant, and though she’d had a few in her travels as a reporter, none were as tasty as those in America.