Restrained Desire — Monique Lamont

Beautiful dark-skinned Veronica Martinson is co-owner of a successful oceanfront hotel. Her life could not get any sweeter. But, when the aunt who has been a mother to her dies, she begins to yearn for more. Organized, driven and headstrong, Veronica is left with doubts about her personal life. She contrives a plan to get artificial insemination. The only problem is she cannot seem to find a match. The hotel has a costume charity auction and Veronica's bid wins her an evening with a man dressed as a cop--Mark Latten. Her search ends, when she decides brown hair, blue-eyed Mark, her best friend and co-owner, would be the perfect father. The only problem is he refuses to assist her unless they conceived the child the old-fashioned way, beginning with a ring. Veronica, who has always reached every goal she has set out to achieve, views the wedding to her friend as a snag in her overall plan. Unable to deny herself the baby she wants, they marry and becomes pregnant. Struggling with her own inadequacies, Veronica attempts to push Mark and the child away. Until the night, she's faced with losing everything and realizes that sometimes dreams are fulfilled in unlikely packages.