A CONFLICT OF INTEREST – Barbara Dunlop
Daughters of Power: The Capital , Book 1
Harlequin Desire #2204
ISBN: 978-0-373-73217-3
January 2013
Series Romance

Washington, DC and Montana – Present Day

An affair between a member of the President's communications staff and a reporter would be scandalous and start conflict of interest innuendos. But even hot shot newsman Max Gray can't quite believe Cara Crashaw's declaration that their fling is over. He met her months before the election, but she has called things off now that the president is in office. However, Cara gets busy as things turn hot for the President when a rival station reveals that he has a daughter he didn't know about. Cara has to juggle finding the truth and not letting reporters get to the woman before she does. Max is one of the newsmen assigned to the story, so it's inevitable the two run into each other. For Cara, not only does she have to be careful about what she knows to Max, but not reveal to him that she is pregnant with his child…

While Max has had his share of flings over the years, he makes it perfectly clear he's not family material. He understands Cara's reluctance about making their relationship public, since it could call into question his loyalty to stories involving the President. But Cara is one lady he can't resist, and when they're forced into close quarters, nothing can stop them from being together. Yet Cara continues to push him away, telling him to stay away from her. Is it due to her job or is there something else? Will pursuing the truth about the elusive President's daughter bring them together?

Washington politics has had its share of drama the past few years, and in A CONFLICT OF INTEREST readers are introduced to hardworking Cara, who doesn't want her scandalous affair with Max to come out. Alas, her unexpected pregnancy has her scrambling to hide the truth from Max and figuring out the best course of action to deal with it. The revelation that the president may have fathered a baby in his teens has set the press off in the pursuit of being the first to scoop out the details. It's up to Cara and the other members of the president's staff to get at the truth and decide how to make it work best for him. Max—and his own quest for the story—leaves Cara distracted. She enlists the help of her sister, Gillian, for support, but instead her sister wants to be a bit of a matchmaker. How can Cara convince Gillian that Max wouldn't be the perfect daddy for her baby?

Max is a celebrity in his own right in the news business with his own show. His stories are hard hitting, and if the news got out that he was involved with Cara, it would call into question his neutrality when it came to political stories. Max has no plans to settle down due to constant traveling as an investigative reporter and has made that fact clear to Cara. He can't get Cara out of his mind, yet he can't explain to himself why she matters so much. But keeping an eye on her just might lead him to the president's presumed illegitimate daughter. Or is that an excuse to see Cara?

A CONFLICT OF INTEREST is the start of the new series for Desire, Daughters of the Capitol , and readers get a look at the inside of politics and the news reporters who cover them. It's a race to uncover the latest on the developing scandal about the President's secret daughter. But above all, A CONFLICT OF INTEREST is filled with sizzling chemistry between Max and Cara as they try to deny that they love each other. How will Max discover he's about to be a daddy, and what will he do? Can Cara protect the president and her secret? Find out in the intriguing and deliciously romantic A CONFLICT OF INTEREST.

Patti Fischer