What do you think?
Rate this book
Kings of California #15
Double the Trouble
Mills & Boon Desire series delivers powerful, passionate romances…
In this Billionaires & Babies novel by USA TODAY bestselling author Maureen Child, one night leads to two babies!
When Colton King ended his impetuous marriage to Penny Oaks after just twenty-four hours, it was out of sight, out of mind. But now, more than a year later, Colton discovers Penny's huge secret—actually two little secrets: a baby boy and a baby girl.
Colton's only option is to lay claim to his twins. But soon he finds himself laying claim to Penny all over again. Now they have to ask themselves: Was their whirlwind marriage meant to last a lifetime?
190 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 28, 2014
82 people are currently reading
285 people want to read
About the author
Maureen Child
1,146 books548 followersUSA Today best selling author Maureen Child is the author of more than ninety romance novels and novellas. Maureen is a five time nominee for the prestigious Rita award from Romance Writers of America.
One of her novels, A Pocketful Of Paradise, was made into a CBS-TV movie called The Soul Collector, starring Melissa Gilbert, Bruce Greenwood and Ossie Davis.
Over the years, she’s written under lots of different names and she prefers the term ‘pseudonym’ to ‘alias’. As Ann Carberry, she wrote western historical romances. As Kathleen Kane, she wrote not only Americana romances, but western paranormal romances as well. As Sarah Hart, she wrote one really spectacular western paranormal that is still one of her favorites. And once, Ann Carberry even wrote a Victorian historical which she absolutely loved doing.
Under her own name, Maureen writes short contemporary novels for Silhouette Desire—books she loves to write because of their fast pace and condensed story telling. Maureen is also writing funny, contemporary paranormal romances for NAL and darker paranormal stories for Silhouette Nocturne.
Maureen writes paranormal romance novels under the pesudonym of Regan Hastings
One of her novels, A Pocketful Of Paradise, was made into a CBS-TV movie called The Soul Collector, starring Melissa Gilbert, Bruce Greenwood and Ossie Davis.
Over the years, she’s written under lots of different names and she prefers the term ‘pseudonym’ to ‘alias’. As Ann Carberry, she wrote western historical romances. As Kathleen Kane, she wrote not only Americana romances, but western paranormal romances as well. As Sarah Hart, she wrote one really spectacular western paranormal that is still one of her favorites. And once, Ann Carberry even wrote a Victorian historical which she absolutely loved doing.
Under her own name, Maureen writes short contemporary novels for Silhouette Desire—books she loves to write because of their fast pace and condensed story telling. Maureen is also writing funny, contemporary paranormal romances for NAL and darker paranormal stories for Silhouette Nocturne.
Maureen writes paranormal romance novels under the pesudonym of Regan Hastings
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
March 5, 2014
Another fantastic book from Maureen Child. I loved the beginning as Colton King is punched by Penny's brother, just before he finds out that Penny has two children that are also his. Colt is stunned and furious that she didn't tell him. To a King there is nothing more important than family so he heads off to confront her about it. Penny has plenty to say about her reasons and she isn't going to apologize for it either. He wants to be involved but he has reasons he won't stay. Penny wants him to stay but has her own reasons for not depending on him.
Colton and Penny had met in Las Vegas and had a passionate week together. They got married the last night they were there, but the next morning Volt left, telling her it was a mistake "I don't want a wife. I don't want kids. My lawyer will take care of the divorce." Then he walked away and didn't look back. So Penny took him at his word and never contacted him. She's furious when he shows up and starts taking over. Even though she struggles to make ends meet, she knows she will do anything to make sure her children are safe and happy.
Penny doesn't want to depend on him. She is fiercely independent because she knows what it's like to depend on someone and then have them disappear. Colt has made no secret of the fact that he won't stay and she doesn't want to put herself and the twins through that emotional pain. But she also can't deny him the chance to get to know his kids so she lets him stay. I loved seeing him taking over everything as Penny recovers from her surgery. There's a great quote where he's talking to his brother about what he's been doing. "Never again will I say the phrase 'just a housewife.' How the hell do women do it? I've been here for two days and I'm beat. Cooking, cleaning, taking care of two babies... Women are made of way tougher stuff than us, Con. Trust me."
Colt finds himself getting more and more attached and it scares him to death. He feels guilty for something that happened ten years earlier, when he believes he let down someone who was depending on him. That ended tragically and he's been running from commitment ever since. Besides his love for the twins, he realizes that he has never stopped loving Penny. She has also never stopped loving him and though she knows he will leave, decides to take things day by day and enjoy what time they have together. The heat between them is intense and while both want to continue neither can easily let go of their fears.
When Penny confronts him about his upcoming departure, he finally tells her about his past. He is stunned by her reaction and the things she tells him. I loved the way she tried to get through to him and her actions when she couldn't. As seems typical of the King men it seems to take awhile for things to penetrate their hard heads, but when they do the results are magnificent.
Colton and Penny had met in Las Vegas and had a passionate week together. They got married the last night they were there, but the next morning Volt left, telling her it was a mistake "I don't want a wife. I don't want kids. My lawyer will take care of the divorce." Then he walked away and didn't look back. So Penny took him at his word and never contacted him. She's furious when he shows up and starts taking over. Even though she struggles to make ends meet, she knows she will do anything to make sure her children are safe and happy.
Penny doesn't want to depend on him. She is fiercely independent because she knows what it's like to depend on someone and then have them disappear. Colt has made no secret of the fact that he won't stay and she doesn't want to put herself and the twins through that emotional pain. But she also can't deny him the chance to get to know his kids so she lets him stay. I loved seeing him taking over everything as Penny recovers from her surgery. There's a great quote where he's talking to his brother about what he's been doing. "Never again will I say the phrase 'just a housewife.' How the hell do women do it? I've been here for two days and I'm beat. Cooking, cleaning, taking care of two babies... Women are made of way tougher stuff than us, Con. Trust me."
Colt finds himself getting more and more attached and it scares him to death. He feels guilty for something that happened ten years earlier, when he believes he let down someone who was depending on him. That ended tragically and he's been running from commitment ever since. Besides his love for the twins, he realizes that he has never stopped loving Penny. She has also never stopped loving him and though she knows he will leave, decides to take things day by day and enjoy what time they have together. The heat between them is intense and while both want to continue neither can easily let go of their fears.
When Penny confronts him about his upcoming departure, he finally tells her about his past. He is stunned by her reaction and the things she tells him. I loved the way she tried to get through to him and her actions when she couldn't. As seems typical of the King men it seems to take awhile for things to penetrate their hard heads, but when they do the results are magnificent.
November 30, 2016
Dos Pequeños Secretos de Maureen Child fue una lectura mas floja de lo que esperaba, no queria una gran historia pero tampoco imaginaba que este libro fuera tan superficial.
Fue predecible y simple, y eso no esta mal ( he leido muchos libros asi ) pero por alguna razon esta historia se me hizo muy repetitiva, quizas porque he leido demasiadas novelas Harlequin xDD.
En conclusion, cumple su funcion de entretener pero es bastante olvidable.
2 Estrellas!
September 28, 2020
Yet another whirlwind affair, hidden pregnancy, daddy hero returns into the family fold story. But the devil is in the detail, or angel in this case ! Because the good old cliched plot gets a lively and charming makeover in this one.
Its not just a one night stand. But a one day Vegas wedding, next day divorce in this one, before the hero bolts from the cozy family scene. The usual commitment phobia, a tough premise to swallow in general but decently handled in this one.
He reenters not by some queer chance. The girls brother sees her suffering and comes over to the hero'es place and punches his face straight! Wow, that made for a great opening paragraph in the story!
So the hero comes into the scene and finds his one day wife battling with 8 month old twins !!! Another reason why this story works better than most. The kids are not yet talking. Authors seldom get their kiddy talk right, it becomes difficult to relate to a sweet kid if the character isn't etched out well.
But in this one, the kiddos - a boy and girl - are having a whale of a time with bath sessions, cheerios, toys, yogurt and what not!! And they really make a charming closing scene. When the HEA confession is seriously in progress, the little fellow manages to stand on his feet, the little girl utters her first words! Howz that for overshadowing a romantic HEA and stealing the thunder from the leads. It was great fun to read.
The heroine is a well carved out character too. She loves the guy, marries him. Devastated when he walks out on the marriage within a day. But rebuilds her life nicely. No excessive self pity. Runs a modest photography business.
When the hero comes back, she gives him a real piece of her mind. And never shies away from admitting that she loved him all along. But that does not mean she will come crawling to him. Or let him lord over her.
The hero is an adventure sports guy, the outdoor type, the run away from domesticity type. Reason, some guilt trip about his parents death. That was the least convincing part of the story.
But support characters, the dialog, the story pace were all very good. The leads were relatable and worth rooting for. The kiddos were awesome!! 4 stars :)
Its not just a one night stand. But a one day Vegas wedding, next day divorce in this one, before the hero bolts from the cozy family scene. The usual commitment phobia, a tough premise to swallow in general but decently handled in this one.
He reenters not by some queer chance. The girls brother sees her suffering and comes over to the hero'es place and punches his face straight! Wow, that made for a great opening paragraph in the story!
So the hero comes into the scene and finds his one day wife battling with 8 month old twins !!! Another reason why this story works better than most. The kids are not yet talking. Authors seldom get their kiddy talk right, it becomes difficult to relate to a sweet kid if the character isn't etched out well.
But in this one, the kiddos - a boy and girl - are having a whale of a time with bath sessions, cheerios, toys, yogurt and what not!! And they really make a charming closing scene. When the HEA confession is seriously in progress, the little fellow manages to stand on his feet, the little girl utters her first words! Howz that for overshadowing a romantic HEA and stealing the thunder from the leads. It was great fun to read.
The heroine is a well carved out character too. She loves the guy, marries him. Devastated when he walks out on the marriage within a day. But rebuilds her life nicely. No excessive self pity. Runs a modest photography business.
When the hero comes back, she gives him a real piece of her mind. And never shies away from admitting that she loved him all along. But that does not mean she will come crawling to him. Or let him lord over her.
The hero is an adventure sports guy, the outdoor type, the run away from domesticity type. Reason, some guilt trip about his parents death. That was the least convincing part of the story.
But support characters, the dialog, the story pace were all very good. The leads were relatable and worth rooting for. The kiddos were awesome!! 4 stars :)
August 16, 2019
historia pasable, personajes pasables, al menos me entretuvo un rato mientras lo leía.
Calificación 3 ESTRELLAS
Calificación 3 ESTRELLAS
March 9, 2014
While DOUBLE THE TROUBLE is shown as a Harlequin Desire/Billionaires & Babies story, the hero Colton King is a member of the ongoing King Family series. The family is mentioned frequently and Colt's King background is key to the hang-ups the heroine, Penny Oaks, has with him.
The story itself is excellent, a quickie marriage mistake that results in unknown kids. It's a quick read with great characters.
The story itself is excellent, a quickie marriage mistake that results in unknown kids. It's a quick read with great characters.
January 3, 2016
Good read. Lots of nicely done angst, though the hero was almost too over-the-top arrogant for me, and I really didn't get why he was so upset over not knowing about the babies when he didn't plan to stick around anyway. Still, I enjoyed it.
April 3, 2014
Kind of a typical secret baby book! It just didn't grip me, heroine is the I will do it alone despite the bills piling up type, hero is hung up on his parent's death. Very average read.
July 1, 2021
Borrowed from the online library…this is very fantasy like. Billionaire guy (Cole) meets girl (Penny) next door type in Vegas…they spend a week together…get married impetuously on last night. Next morning he realizes it’s a mistake…harshly rejects her…says doesn’t want wife or kids. Doesn’t look back. 2 years later, Penny’s younger brother walks into Coles office and punches him then tells him about his twins. Cole is suddenly furious that Penny didn’t tell him. She is in the hospital so he goes there and has a tantrum…basically shows his ass and gets up in her business 🙄 like that would happen…they have lots of sex…lots of sex and navel gazing for Cole. Then he buys her a bunch of stuff and says he loves her and wants to be a husband and dad. And she’s like yes, you are my crazy. Come on most women would RUN!
November 30, 2017
This is a book that you have to take your time with.
In the beginning, you get bored of the back and forth between the two main characters. Their bickering gets annoying really fast. Mainly because it was always the same argument. And it needed more... substance.
But in the end, it was a nice story. It just took me a while to like it.
In the beginning, you get bored of the back and forth between the two main characters. Their bickering gets annoying really fast. Mainly because it was always the same argument. And it needed more... substance.
But in the end, it was a nice story. It just took me a while to like it.
June 8, 2019
Ehh 🤷🏽♀️, the H/h fall in love get married and divorced within 24h but that’s not what behooved me, what behooved me was that she was in love with him, he was the best sex she ever had yet when she fell pregnant 🤰🏾 she didn’t bother to tell him about the twins. She struggled trying to take care of her twins even though the H was filthy rich 🙄🙄🙄! I can’t 🤦🏾♀️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 14, 2025
Cute Double Trouble
Actually, Daddy Colton, one of a set of twins himself, seems like more trouble than the baby twins Reid and Riley who are the cutest ever. Colton is an adrenalin junkie, always chasing the next dangerous stunt. Can he put aside his high risk ways and become the Dad his children need?
Actually, Daddy Colton, one of a set of twins himself, seems like more trouble than the baby twins Reid and Riley who are the cutest ever. Colton is an adrenalin junkie, always chasing the next dangerous stunt. Can he put aside his high risk ways and become the Dad his children need?
July 18, 2025
Colton King was in partnership with his twin but he was the dare devil. He spent a week with Penny in Vegas, married her and 24 hours divorced her not wanting commitment or children. Penny, 18 months later has surgery. Her brother huts Colton and says he better step up and take some responsibility for his children. Colton can't live with them, but he can't live without them
June 24, 2020
I had a lot of trouble identifying with the male lead Colton. As stated in the teaser, he ended their marriage after only 24 hours and I just couldn't adjust to his belief that kept up throughout the book that he "Had" to leave....
Story was ok, but not that great.
Story was ok, but not that great.
July 14, 2020
Don't like that he dumped her and then had sex with "dozens of temporary women" during the 18 month separation. Also it was so ridiculous that he bulldozed his way into her and the children's lives when he had no intention of staying. P.
November 30, 2024
The premise and the two main characters were too weak to support the story’s evolution. He was a narcissistic man-child & she was a simpering, spineless codependent. I did finish it but mainly to get feel for the author because this was my first (& probably last,) book of hers.
March 4, 2018
note to self: H was an un-redeemable jerk
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 31, 2018
Meh.
February 2, 2024
***AUDIOLIBRO***
March 20, 2021
Such a cute book. The babies were adorable.
February 21, 2017
Kimg ante todo
March 3, 2014
Colton King married and left Penny Oaks in 24 hr period. He thought that was in the past, out of sight, out of mind. That was until Robert Oaks marched into his office and punched in the jaw and informed him, he has two little babies.
Penny is in the hospital after her emergency surgery when she gets a surprise visit from a furious Colton King. She has a lot to answer for but stands by her decision to keep the babies from him.
Colt is a force to be reckoned with, he stays with Penny to help take care of the twins while she recovers. But he also pays off all her bills, has the roof fixed and many other things that Penny finds irritating that he is practically taking over, but she is secretly relieved that weight is off her shoulders.
Both of their past keep them back. Penny refuses to lean on anybody especially Colt for help. Colt refuses to let anybody especially Penny and his kids to depend on him.
Penny loves Colt and she is going to take a risk on him
Colt realizes that what happened in the past wasn't his fault. He loves Penny and will do whatever it takes to make her his.
I always look forward to books from Maureen Child that have the Kings of California in them and they never disappointment me. Double the Trouble was a sweet desirable romance. I absolutely loved it. I look forward to more books from the Kings of California series.
Penny is in the hospital after her emergency surgery when she gets a surprise visit from a furious Colton King. She has a lot to answer for but stands by her decision to keep the babies from him.
Colt is a force to be reckoned with, he stays with Penny to help take care of the twins while she recovers. But he also pays off all her bills, has the roof fixed and many other things that Penny finds irritating that he is practically taking over, but she is secretly relieved that weight is off her shoulders.
Both of their past keep them back. Penny refuses to lean on anybody especially Colt for help. Colt refuses to let anybody especially Penny and his kids to depend on him.
Penny loves Colt and she is going to take a risk on him
Colt realizes that what happened in the past wasn't his fault. He loves Penny and will do whatever it takes to make her his.
I always look forward to books from Maureen Child that have the Kings of California in them and they never disappointment me. Double the Trouble was a sweet desirable romance. I absolutely loved it. I look forward to more books from the Kings of California series.
March 29, 2017
Colton King met Penny Oaks while in Vegas on a convention. They spent a fantastic week together and married the day before he left. He walked out on her the next morning telling her he was divorcing her and she would hear from his lawyer. He was an unbelievable jerk but he never forgot about the woman who stole his heart during that week-long stay.
Penny's brother shows up at Colton's office 18 months after their marriage and divorce and blasted Colton with the news that Penny was in the hospital with appendicitis and he and his fiancee were left to care for Penny's twins...his twins. Colton is furious that he was kept in the dark but Penny had/has her reasons, very valid reasons.
It all hits the fan when Colt arrives at the hospital throwing around accusations at Penny.
I enjoyed this book and recommend it.
Penny's brother shows up at Colton's office 18 months after their marriage and divorce and blasted Colton with the news that Penny was in the hospital with appendicitis and he and his fiancee were left to care for Penny's twins...his twins. Colton is furious that he was kept in the dark but Penny had/has her reasons, very valid reasons.
It all hits the fan when Colt arrives at the hospital throwing around accusations at Penny.
I enjoyed this book and recommend it.
September 13, 2021
Double the Trouble is part of the King Family series by Maureen, but it can be easily read as a stand-alone. And like the other books in the series, this one is also an enjoyable read about second chance romance with a secret pregnancy plot and twin babies.
I enjoyed reading about Colton's story. There's no secret of how much I adored King Men. And I also liked Penny's character. She's such a strong heroine and wonderful Mom. I totally understand her reasons for not telling Colton about the twins. But I'm glad that they found each other again and got their much-deserved happy ending.
I also liked the secondary characters, especially Colton’s twin brother, Connor. I loved the relationship between them. And I can't wait to read Connor's story. Hopefully soon.
I enjoyed reading about Colton's story. There's no secret of how much I adored King Men. And I also liked Penny's character. She's such a strong heroine and wonderful Mom. I totally understand her reasons for not telling Colton about the twins. But I'm glad that they found each other again and got their much-deserved happy ending.
I also liked the secondary characters, especially Colton’s twin brother, Connor. I loved the relationship between them. And I can't wait to read Connor's story. Hopefully soon.
February 11, 2014
This book was about a couple. They got married for a day after being together for a week. And the story began with two years after and twin.
From there, Colt's life changed radically. A man who left and divorced his wife, adrenaline junkie and with mysterious past. But a real family guy but why would he want to run away that fast.
As for Penny, she also had a past which would explain some things but those didn't matter in tbe beginning not that much since Colt was the main reason in that story.
so this book was sweet in regard for Colt because he was there and done the right thing for the wrong reason. but how he loved his children.
From there, Colt's life changed radically. A man who left and divorced his wife, adrenaline junkie and with mysterious past. But a real family guy but why would he want to run away that fast.
As for Penny, she also had a past which would explain some things but those didn't matter in tbe beginning not that much since Colt was the main reason in that story.
so this book was sweet in regard for Colt because he was there and done the right thing for the wrong reason. but how he loved his children.
March 18, 2014
Double The Trouble by Maureen Child is a good book. Colton King was a weeks fling with Penny Oaks and they got married. When the week was over he said he wasn't a family man and was filing for a divorce. 18 months later Penny's brother punched Colton. Told him Penny was in the hospital and that he had twins who are eight months old. A boy and a girl. Colton is mad. He should have been told he figured. He moves in with Penny and helps her with the twins. A lot of tension. He didn't think he could be a family man because of past history. He ends up loving the twins and his ex. A great romance story.
October 30, 2016
First read - 24 to 25 March, 2014
3.5 stars
Really enjoyed Double the Trouble. Colt was a perfect alpha hero and Penny was the best woman for him. I wish there had been more moments between Colt and the babies but there was plenty of sexual chemistry, laughs, conflict and romance to compensate. Definitely going to look for more Kings of California books.
Second read - 30 October, 2016
DNF
Unfortunately, I couldn't get into this book this time around. I found the pacing too slow (it was over halfway through the book before Colt even met the babies) and for a secret baby romance there really weren't enough scenes with the children. This was a DNF for me this time.
3.5 stars
Really enjoyed Double the Trouble. Colt was a perfect alpha hero and Penny was the best woman for him. I wish there had been more moments between Colt and the babies but there was plenty of sexual chemistry, laughs, conflict and romance to compensate. Definitely going to look for more Kings of California books.
Second read - 30 October, 2016
DNF
Unfortunately, I couldn't get into this book this time around. I found the pacing too slow (it was over halfway through the book before Colt even met the babies) and for a secret baby romance there really weren't enough scenes with the children. This was a DNF for me this time.
July 3, 2014
Not much depth to this. The author kept talking about the chemistry the couple felt, but as a reader, I saw very little between them. Actually, Colt, the hero was a cold, unfeeling ass who divorced his basic one night stand shortly thereafter. Even when it came out why he did it, I still didn't like him and wasn't sympathetic toward him. He left Penny twice, yet she proclaimed that she loved him. I just didn't buy it.
This wasn't the worst book I've ever read, and I did so for free, so I can't complain too much. It was a very quick read anyway.
This wasn't the worst book I've ever read, and I did so for free, so I can't complain too much. It was a very quick read anyway.
December 10, 2016
Bueno es una historia muy simple con pocos personajes y sin complejidades, con un pasado oscuro que no lo era tanto y con cosas que incomodaban, como ponerse vaqueros después de una apendicectomía, eso me suena muy doloroso; o como que los niños fueran llamados siempre "gemelos" pero eran de diferente sexo, lo cual es muy, muy raro, a menos que haya síndrome de Turner, y en tal sentido creo que eran mellizos (nunca se habló de que fueran un caso raro) , y bueno, no investigar esto tan básico me parece que no cuadra, aunque pudo ser problema del traductor. Bien para pasar el rato.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 17, 2014
Penny & Colt ktmu di sebuah konvensi di Vegas, saling tertarik, ML, (langsung?) married, divorce 24 jam kmdian, lahirlah twin baby. Colt baru tau setelah baby berumur 8 bln itupun setelah Robert-adik Penny yg memberi info. Alasan Penny merahasiakan hal ini krn terakhir sblm divorce, Colt dgn tegas mengatakan tdk tertarik dgn perkawinan aplg anak. Bukannya bersimpati tp malah jd membosankan bgaimana keras kepalanya Penny menolak bantuan finansial (walaupun memang butuh bgt) dr Colt.
May 29, 2014
Very good, mostly because the Alpha male, Colton King, was only an ass for all of a day. When he thought about the situation he realized why the heroine, Penny Oaks, did what she did. His twin brother, Connor King, also called him out for his behavior too, so he had nobody who was telling him he his stupid actions were good. The babies were cute and I love how Colton interacted with his kids.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews