After That Night

by Ann Evans

Jenna Rawlins is a straitlaced kind of woman. As fate would have it, the one night she goes a little crazy and allows herself to be seduced, she becomes pregnant. It's bad timing, since she's trying to claim her independence from her overprotective family, but she's bound and determined to have this baby - alone. After all, she's successfully raising two boys by herself after kicking out her good-for-nothing husband. Another baby she can handle. Another man - forget it.

Mark Bishop has discovered Jenna's condition and wants to be part of his child's life. But Jenna doesn't believe the confirmed bachelor is up to the challenge. So she tests him - making him spend time with her boys, showing him what it's like to be a parent. The problem is, he loves this life that's been thrown at him - the boys, the child on the way...and Jenna.

Genres: Harlequin, Romance, Contemporary

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 2003

About the author

As a lifelong procrastinator, I spent twenty years polishing up the same story. It took a loving push from friends and family for me to finally walk into a local Romance Writers of America meeting to find out how to submit my work to a publisher.

I almost couldn't do it at all. I'm irrationally intimidated by women in hats, and one of the members was wearing a snazzy little red one that practically shouted 'Professional Writer.' I was afraid they'd laugh me out of the room for daring to think my writing could be taken seriously. Lucky for me, they were a great bunch of people who made me feel right at home. They also helped me to see all the things I was doing wrong, like having no conflict and no plot. With the help of a strong critique group and generous fellow writers, I began to understand just how a book ought to be structured. A year later I won the Golden Heart from Romance Writers of America for Best Short Contemporary of 1989.

Since that time I have sold regularly to the Harlequin Superromance line. I'm not a slow writer, I swear – just a slow typist! I love writing for the Harlequin Superromance series as they publish the kinds of books I like to read, so I don't feel that anything could have been a better match for me! I was born and raised in Florida, but now live in Orlando where I continue the love/hate relationship with my computer. I adore bobbing around in the pool, hot fudge sundaes, collecting antique postcards and finding any excuse to travel.

I still hate hats and refuse to own one.

Reviews

[Debra Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like kids....

This book is for you. Adorable book featuring a couple of precocious little boys playing match maker. I personally am a sucker for romance books with children as there is such an opportunity for humor and tenderness and endless material to draw from. Ms. Evans did a remarkable job of writing realistic dialogue and incorporating romance and humor. Highly recommend.

[Tiff91 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a sweet read!!

[Sati Marie Frost · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jenna is an accountant and part-owner of Fairytale Weddings, a magazine she started with two close friends. She's also mom to two boys, as well as the only female in a family of overprotective men. So when she gets sent to New York to fill in for the magazine's usual reporter, she enjoys the rare opportunity to let her hair down - which comes in the form of a night with Mark, the wealthy bachelor she interviewed for the magazine. But her comfortable family life is thrown off-course when she finds out that she's pregnant with Mark's child - and he has every intention of being a hands-on father...

This is a strange book. I've read it three times, and while reading it, I find myself thinking, This is so sweet and funny and great. And after I finish it, I completely forget about it. It's like cotton candy for the brain.

Pete and JD, Jenna's kids, are hilarious, and really make the book for me. Some of the things they get up to - including the way they brought Mark back into Jenna's life - absolutely kill me. I'm not always a fan of books with kids, but these two are brilliant. The sexual tension - and eventually romance - between Mark and Jenna is both hot and sweet, and the family dynamics I found quite touching.

The only real criticism I have is that the book felt quite scripted - right from the beginning you knew exactly how this would play out, and aside from the kids, there were no surprises. This is something inherent in romance novels - you know that you're going to end up with a HEA - but it's particularly glaring in this one.

An enjoyable read, but not one that I'll notice the loss of if I donate it - I may not even remember it. 3.5 stars.

[Margaret Mechinus · Rating 1 out of 5]

73% but 4 hours left?? I’m done. Did not want to waste anymore time on this. Also had to keep turning it off if anyone else was listening. Really rough language and not just the descriptions of the rapes, but the metaphors she used were nasty and unnecessary also. I won’t repeat them here. I thought I would hang on for the “who done it” ending but decided I didn’t care.

[Tia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually re-read this novel and decided to put in a review, since it didn't have one before. I fond the hero to be alright, I never felt his emotions really until the end portion of the novel. As for the heroine, she seemed strong and capable. The two little boys in the novel were the sweetest things ever!

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute, enjoyed it. strong woman, emotionally distant man...can they make it? You bet

[Wanda Sabin · Rating 3 out of 5]

enjoyable to read, loved all the family dynamics from over protective dad and brothers to precious little boys.