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Surprise Baby, Second Chance
Therese Beharrie
Reunited for one night…bound forever by the consequences!Rosa had her reasons for leaving husband Aaron. Yet, stranded together for one night during a storm, they are forced to confront their past and infinite attraction. And when she discovers she’s pregnant Rosa knows it’s time to fight for their future.
Reunited for one night...
Bound forever by the consequence!
Determined never to become a burden on the person she loves most, Rosa walked away from her husband, Aaron. Now she’s back on his island home for a family party, and they end up stranded together during a storm! Forced to confront the past and their infinite attraction, a kiss leads to one more night... And when she discovers she’s pregnant, Rosa knows it’s time to fight for their future.
Being an author has always been THERESE BEHARRIE’s dream. But it was only when the corporate world loomed during her final year at university that she realised how soon she wanted that dream to become a reality. So she got serious about her writing, and now writes books she wants to see in the world, featuring people who look like her, for a living. When she’s not writing she’s spending time with her husband and dogs in Cape Town, South Africa. She admits that this is a perfect life, and is grateful for it.
Also by Therese Beharrie (#ulink_30696190-e6b5-5e0b-a815-cbfda91ed296)
The Tycoon’s Reluctant Cinderella
A Marriage Worth Saving
The Millionaire’s Redemption
Tempted by the Billionaire Next Door
Conveniently Wed, Royally Bound miniseries
United by Their Royal Baby
Falling for His Convenient Queen
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk).
Surprise Baby, Second Chance
Therese Beharrie
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-07798-9
SURPRISE BABY, SECOND CHANCE
© 2018 Therese Beharrie
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Grant.
Thank you for keeping me steady through my anxieties.
My ROSA Typewriter Club.
I’m so lucky to have found you both.
Thank you for believing in me.
Always remember how much I believe in you.
And Megan.
Thank you for your patience with me.
You’ve taught me so much. I can’t wait for the rest of our books together—sorry, I couldn’t resist!
Contents
Cover (#ube3e62c5-1f5d-50aa-907d-432035cae26b)
Back Cover Text (#u231f7ef4-fdcc-58b5-b605-e50b82174e8c)
About the Author (#u5552a2d2-1f44-5ef2-a6a3-5d0d91fb2446)
Booklist (#ulink_29a2f744-af75-5a30-9451-1596c2c2f07f)
Title Page (#u6276476f-95a3-5d9c-9644-33d9931f3944)
Copyright (#uc1967bde-7a56-5cba-bd3b-eb5d100599b6)
Dedication (#u22b09b7c-5989-5864-9e96-3953d5ef17be)
CHAPTER ONE (#u24d5ceea-e676-58d0-a18d-8d97941f1956)
CHAPTER TWO (#u700e57cd-9a5e-5c7e-a251-8aa722cdffc4)
CHAPTER THREE (#uaa04bbc3-43cc-5616-97a0-3d40c41ba00c)
CHAPTER FOUR (#ud4a21f3f-7f54-57da-8400-358de1301bbd)
CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FIFTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIXTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINETEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWENTY (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ONE (#ulink_73c65d56-4482-5cf2-ab9c-a3289bde3c67)
ROSA SPENCER HAD two options.
One: she could get back into the taxi that had brought her to the house she was currently standing in front of.
Two: she could walk into that house and face the man she’d left four months ago without any explanation.
Her husband.
When the purr of the car grew distant behind her she took a deep breath. Her chance of escape now gone, she straightened her shoulders and walked down the pathway that led to the front door of the Spencers’ holiday home.
It could have been worse, she considered. She could have bumped into Aaron somewhere in Cape Town, where she’d been staying since she’d left him. And since they’d lived together over a thousand kilometres away in Johannesburg, Rosa would have been unprepared to see him.
Since she worked from home most days, she would have probably been wearing the not-quite-pyjamas-but-might-as-well-be outfit she usually wore when she ventured out of the house during the week. Her hair would have been a mess, curls spiralling everywhere—or piled on top of her head—and her face would have been clear of make-up.
Exposed, she thought. Vulnerable.
At least now she was prepared to see him.
Her gold dress revealed generous cleavage and cinched at her waist with a thin belt. Its skirt was long, loose, though it had a slit up to mid-thigh—stopping just before her shapewear began—to reveal a leg that was strong and toned: one of her best assets.
Her dress made her feel confident—after all, what was the point of being a designer if she couldn’t make clothes that did?—as did the mass of curls around her face, and the make-up she’d had done before she’d got onto the private plane her mother-in-law had sent for her.
She hadn’t seen Liana Spencer in the four months since she’d left Aaron either. And perhaps that was part of the reason Rosa had agreed to attend a birthday party that would put her face to face with the man she’d walked away from.
The other reason was because of her own mother. And the birthday parties Violet Lang would never get to celebrate.
Rosa took another breath, clinging to the confidence she’d fought for with her dress. It was a pivotal part of the armour she’d created when she’d realised she’d be seeing Aaron again.
She needed the armour to cloak the shivering in the base of her stomach. The erratic beating of her heart. The combination of the two was so familiar that she didn’t think she’d ever truly lived without it. Though that hadn’t stopped her from running from it all her life.
The door of the house was open when she got there and Rosa slipped inside, thinking that it would be easier than to announce her arrival by ringing the bell. There was nothing to indicate a celebration on the first floor—just the usual tasteful but obviously expensive furniture and décor—though that wasn’t surprising. Liana usually went for lavish, which meant the top floor. The one where the walls were made entirely of glass.
It offered guests an exceptional view of the sea that surrounded Mariner’s Island just off the coast of Cape Town. Of the waves that crashed against the rocks that were scattered at the beach just a few metres from the Spencer house. And of the small town and airport that stood only a short distance away from the house too.
Rosa held her breath as she got to the top of the stairs, and then pushed open the door before she lost her nerve.
And immediately told herself that she should have escaped when she had the chance.
There was no party on this floor. Instead, it looked like it usually did when there were no events planned. There was a living area and a bed on one side of the room—the bathroom being the only section of the floor with privacy—and a dining area and kitchen on the other side.
There was an open space between the two sides as if whoever had designed the room had decided to give the Spencers an area to be free in.
But in that open space stood her husband. Only her husband.
And the last thing Rosa thought of was freedom.
His back was to her, and she thought that she still had the chance to escape. He didn’t know that she was there. If she left he wouldn’t ever have to know. What harm would it do?
Except that when she turned back to the door it was closed. And when she looked over her shoulder to see if he’d noticed her she saw that Aaron was now facing her, an unreadable expression on his face.
‘Running?’
‘N-no.’ Be confident.
His mouth lifted into a half-smile. ‘No?’ he asked in a faintly mocking tone.
Her face went hot. The shivering intensified. Her heart rate rocketed. But, despite that, she was able to offer him a firm, ‘No’.
