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Innocent's Nine-Month Scandal
Dani Collins
“If you’re pregnant… …you’ll marry me. ” Control is everything to billionaire Viktor Rohan. Then Rozalia Toth appears on his mansion’s doorstep, looking for a family heirloom, and throws his world into chaos! Her sweetness intrigues him beyond measure…and as their inescapable chemistry explodes, Viktor realises Rozi’s innocence isn’t an act! But their passion has consequences, and Viktor refuses to let scandal ruin his family again. Their baby will be legitimate! And Rozi? She will be his…
“If you’re pregnant...
...you’ll marry me.”
Control is everything to billionaire Viktor Rohan. Then Rozalia Toth appears on his mansion’s doorstep, looking for a family heirloom, and throws his world into chaos! Her sweetness intrigues him beyond measure...and as their inescapable chemistry explodes, Viktor realizes Rozi’s innocence isn’t an act! But their passion has consequences, and Viktor refuses to let scandal ruin his family again. Their baby will be legitimate! And Rozi? She will be his...
Discover this dramatic surprise pregnancy story!
Canadian DANI COLLINS knew in high school that she wanted to write romance for a living. Twenty-five years later, after marrying her high school sweetheart, having two kids with him, working at several generic office jobs and submitting countless manuscripts, she got The Call. Her first Mills & Boon novel won the Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best First in Series from RT Book Reviews. She now works in her own office, writing romance.
Also by Dani Collins (#ud185ade9-8e6a-5dcb-b7f2-fb62a8c21df6)
Bought by Her Italian Boss
The Secret Beneath the Veil
Xenakis’s Convenient Bride
Consequence of His Revenge
Claiming His Christmas Wife
Innocents for Billionaires miniseries
A Virgin to Redeem the Billionaire
Innocent’s Nine-Month Scandal
The Sauveterre Siblings miniseries
Pursued by the Desert Prince
His Mistress with Two Secrets
Bound by the Millionaire’s Ring
Prince’s Son of Scandal
Bound to the Desert King collection
Sheikh’s Princess of Convenience
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk).
Innocent’s Nine-Month Scandal
Dani Collins
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-08759-9
INNOCENT’S NINE-MONTH SCANDAL
© 2019 Dani Collins
Published in Great Britain 2019
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.
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www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
To my son, Sam, who made the mistake of calling me
when I was stuck after bringing Rozalia and Viktor to
the chalet in the Carpathians. Sam suggested they go
dancing in the village square, with lights strung above
the dance floor and arches of flowers, like at a wedding.
I had to cut the scene in later drafts, but the image
got me writing. So, thank you, Sam. I only wish I could
offer such elegant coding solutions should you
ever be stuck while programming. xo
Contents
Cover (#u63e80293-5a79-5c07-935d-5de868075238)
Back Cover Text (#u022a36ab-a923-5486-8d2b-175b9d6b4e9d)
About the Author (#u7f63c2be-fd8c-5dc4-a80e-0612e79a213d)
Booklist (#u48020803-1d65-5596-a7f1-0ce627d788a1)
Title Page (#u98796581-52f1-539e-9948-62cda2451c1b)
Copyright (#u5dc83cc0-e264-5147-a0a0-d5132d7bca6a)
Dedication (#u55b65354-051b-5d2e-a6a8-8f6fd2bea9c1)
CHAPTER ONE (#ue645bee5-d009-521b-b1f3-0a98e6fdc3cb)
CHAPTER TWO (#u49c1a14f-1ac7-5b65-8c18-c084db0ccfb1)
CHAPTER THREE (#ud064ea9d-3c4b-54b2-8e1e-420b8b461a72)
CHAPTER FOUR (#litres_trial_promo)
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)
EPILOGUE (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ONE (#ud185ade9-8e6a-5dcb-b7f2-fb62a8c21df6)
“NO ENTRY, MISS.”
The middle-aged man in a uniform spoke in heavily accented English. He wore an air of boredom, not even looking at Rozalia Toth as he turned her away from the gate of Kastély Karolyi.
“The best photos are from up the hill.” He pointed.
She couldn’t blame him for thinking she was one more tourist milling on the sidewalk, eager for shots of the gorgeous architecture here in Budapest. On her way to the gate, she had snapped the front of the Rohan family home, thinking to show it to her family when she got back to New York.
It was so beautiful, who could resist? Intricate gray brickwork was covered in centuries of vines and framed by lush old maples and oaks. The scrupulously manicured flower beds splashed color around the wide staircase that formed the covered entryway. Tall windows were spaced evenly across both floors with wrought iron balconies jutting out from a few at the top. Adorable round gables and a chimney on top made it storybook perfect.
She would have been charmed even without the familial connection—of which hers was virtually nonexistent. Even so, she intended to exploit it.
“I have an appointment with Mara Rohan,” she said in Hungarian.
“Name?”
“Rozalia Toth. She’s expecting my cousin, Gisella Drummond. I’ve come in her place.” She had thought about emailing ahead to warn about the change of plan, but had gambled they would be less likely to turn her away if she was here in person.
She gazed on the house again, listening to the guard radio her name, sorry that Gisella couldn’t be here with her. Through childhood and years of schooling, as they both gained their degrees and apprenticed as goldsmiths, they had longed to see their family’s “old country.”
Rozalia, in particular, had always been curious about the family history. But rather than walk the narrowest alleys of Budapest to find the walk-up where their grandmother had been born, or drive into the countryside to locate her own grandfather’s birthplace, she had been drawn here to Kastély Karolyi.
Istvan Karolyi would have been her grandfather if he hadn’t died in the revolution. Instead, he was only Gisella’s grandfather. Their grandmother, Eszti, had met him while they were attending university. When she became pregnant, Istvan asked her to marry him, offering a pair of family earrings in lieu of an engagement ring. He then sent her to America ahead of him, to escape the unrest. He died before he could join her and Eszti later married Rozalia’s grandfather, but still held a small torch for her first love.
That sort of titanic romance went straight to Rozalia’s soft heart. She needed to know everything about it.
And, like Gisella, she yearned to get her hands on those earrings, separated just as Eszti and Istvan had been. Rozalia and her cousin had searched for years for them, wanting to give them back to their grandmother so she could hold again that token from her first love.
A message came back to the guard that Mara Rohan had left town. The guard asked if someone else would take the meeting.
Rozalia perked up in anticipation that Mara’s son, Viktor, would admit her. He was gorgeous. And a count, not that Hungary allowed their nobility to use their titles, but it was one more thing that made him ultraintriguing.
From the moment Rozalia had searched his name, she’d been enthralled with the look of him—all dark and brooding with short black hair, a strong brow line and a squared-off, clean-shaven jaw. His mouth was the most intriguing. His upper lip was narrow, but formed with two well-defined peaks. The bottom was full and bitable—not that she had ever let herself go enough to nibble on a man’s bottom lip, but he certainly put the idea into her head.
One near-naked shot of him on the beach had jump-started a million fantasies. She was only human, for heaven’s sake. He’d been caught as he emerged with snorkel and fins in his hands, the most impossibly small bathing suit straining to cover his naughty bits. The rest of him was pure muscle, abs flat, dark nipples sharpened by the chill against the swarthy plane of his chest. His expression as he realized he was being photographed was positively filthy, he was so disgusted at whoever had taken the shot.
Why that made her laugh, she didn’t know, but she had been drawn here as much by the opportunity to meet that man as she was by the chance to acquire her grandmother’s earring.
The security guard received a response and shook his head, repeating in English the message she had understood in Hungarian as clearly as he had.
“Your appointment is canceled.”
So much for showing up in person making it harder to turn her away. Rozalia set her back teeth and found a pleasant smile. “May I reschedule?”
“No.” He didn’t bother checking with the voice on the radio for that one.
“May I leave a note?”
His cheek ticked, but he let her stand there and scribble in her notebook. She said she was sorry to have missed the chance to speak with the family and that she would be in the city for several more days, then added the name of her hotel and her contact details.
She tore out the sheet and handed it to the guard. He would no doubt crumple it, but she thanked him and started back to her hotel.
She waited until she was out of his earshot before releasing her disparaging snort.
She had spent the best part of a decade tracking her grandmother’s earrings. She wasn’t about to give up that easily.
* * *
Viktor Rohan was mentally sorting a dozen priorities as he left Rika Corp and descended the stairs toward his waiting car.
