Balancing Act

by Lilian Darcy

"ARE WE TOGETHER BECAUSE OUR DAUGHTERS ARE TWINS? OR COULD THIS BE THE REAL THING?"

Four days ago, Libby McGraw had never even heard of Brady Buchanan. But if his claim was true, her carefully constructed life was about to be blown apart. One glance at the silky-haired baby cradled in Brady's arms told Libby more than any blood test could. Her adopted daughter had an identical twin sister!

Libby wanted to believe she was only marrying Brady to keep the girls together, but her heart wasn't buying that malarkey. Not when the feel of Brady's lips on hers told her they might be destined for a more powerful union….

Genres: Romance

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2003

About the author

Women's fiction and romance author Lilian Darcy has written more than eighty novels for Harlequin, Silhouette, Mira Australia, and Mills & Boon. Under another name she has also written for Australian theater and television.
Lilian's career highlights include many appearances on the Waldenbooks Romance Bestsellers list, five nominations for the Romance Writers of America's presitious Rita Award, and translation into twenty different languages.
Lilian has an active family life involving kids, chickens, cats, music, scouting, gardening, hiking and horses. Oh, and there's a husband in there somewhere, too.

Her upcoming releases include the first book in her Cherry Sisters trilogy, "The One Who Changed Everything" from Harlequin Special Edition, and a novella, "Marry Me, Cowboy" for Tule Publishing's Copper Mountain Rodeo mini-series, part of the exciting new Montana Born series, with authors such as Jane Porter, Megan Crane and C.J. Carmichael.

Reviews

[Robin Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

What would you do if you discovered that your adopted toddler daughter had a twin sister who had been adopted by someone else? Libby packs up her belongings and moves across the country. A bit grudgingly, but in order for the girls to have a relationship and grow up together they need to live near each other, and Libby is in a better position to move than Brady, who owns a construction company.

They laughed, and looked at each other, and the kiss they were both thinking about seemed so real that Libby could almost see it in the air.

Of course Libby and Brady are immediately attracted to each other, but they've both been through bad marriages, and Libby and her daughter, Colleen, are only staying with Brady and his daughter, Scarlett, until Libby can find a job and a permanent place to live.

Like a good romance should, there is plenty of conflict between Libby and Scarlett. Neither completely trusts the other, and both agree that they just need to get along for the sake of the girls. But while Libby is the one who uprooted her life and moved, I still felt Brady got the short end of the stick more often. He seemed to try harder, make more of an effort, while Libby was secretive and standoffish. Even towards Scarlett a little bit. I get that she was afraid of getting too attached to Scarlett, in case things went south and she and Brady went their separate ways, but still.

After awhile I got a little tired of Libby keeping things from Brady and trying so hard to maintain her independence. Not that there's anything wrong with independence. But again, Brady was making an effort, and to his credit he would back off when he realized he was pushing her too much.

By the time Libby needed to have fibroid surgery, she and Brady had slept together. Yet she did not tell him about her upcoming surgery and the more she kept putting off telling him the more irritated I felt towards her. She didn't like her new doctor, so she arranged a trip home to finish packing up her house and decide whether to sell it or rent it out, and scheduled the surgery with her previous doctor to coincide with the trip, asking her mother to also fly out to help with Colleen. I really thought that something was going to go wrong with the surgery and her life would be hanging in the balance and mom would call Brady and the thought of Libby possibly dying would make him realize how much he loved her and he would rush to be at her side. To my surprise that's not what happened, and I was pretty happy at how it was all finally resolved in the end.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Libby got the shock of her life when she discovered that her adopted daughter had a twin sister. The other little girl's adoptive father was just as stunned. After meeting, they agreed that they wanted the two girls to get to know each other. This would require Libby to move from her home in Minnesota to Columbus, Ohio, where Brady had his home and business.

This was an interesting predicament that Libby and Brady were in. It was no one's fault and pure Fate that they even knew it had happened. Both Libby and Brady are very wary of each other and how they are going to manage the situation. Complicating matters is the attraction that has sparked between them.

The development of the relationship between Brady and Libby was not a smooth one. Brady's wife had died in a car accident with another man. She had been a woman who had no trouble keeping secrets and lying to Brady. This has made him very sensitive when it comes to communication. Libby had married young to a man who was older than she was. He turned out to be rather controlling, one who didn't listen to her or pay attention to what she needed. She learned quickly to keep her thoughts and emotions to herself. Since his death from cancer, she has worked hard to build her independence.

Libby and Colleen moved into Brady's house while she looked for a job and a place of her own. Being that close gave them all the chance to get to know each other, but it also emphasized their issues. It was very easy for Brady to feel a sense of family. He enjoyed the feeling of having someone to come home to. But he was also constantly on the lookout for signs that Libby was keeping secrets or lying to him. Libby had spent so long keeping things inside that she doesn't know how to break the habit. She is also afraid of being rejected or put down if she does say something. The only place they don't seem to have any issues is in the bedroom when they leave everything else outside. Their decision to marry is a practical one, made for the sake of the children. But there is still one big thing that Libby has kept from Brady, and when it comes out, they have to decide if they can overcome it, or if it will pull them apart.

I liked Brady. He was a good man and a loving father who had been burned once. He was reluctant to risk his heart again, but he couldn't deny his growing feelings for Libby. He was a bit more aware of his issues, knowing that he is a little oversensitive to any hint of deception. I found it a little harder to like Libby. I understood her need to be in control of her feelings, but her unwillingness to really connect with little Scarlet drove me nuts. She knows she is holding back, and is even somewhat aware of why, but she can't seem to make herself change. I ached for her when everything finally came out. I liked their determination at the end to completely clear the air and how they were both able to share their fears before moving on to the future.

[Maria do Socorro Baptista · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uma história de amor diferente, mas bastante interessante.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story about Libbie and Brady.They were widowed. Lib'd husband was a control freak and father fill in who died of cancer. Brady's wife was a laying cheating woman that died in a car wreck with a lover. Both Lib and brady had adopted a baby girl from out of the country and after brady's mother saw a baby on the cover of a publishing they realized the babies were twins. To give the girls their sister they made changes in their lives, and worked through troubles to find love and family.

This was a really good quick read.