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Baby Included
Mary Lyons
You are (secretly!) invited to attend Lord Ratcliffe's surprise fortieth birthday party at Ratcliffe Hall…As if turning forty wasn't bad enough, Ace Ratcliffe had recently inherited a dilapidated manor house and a title! At least before settling down to playing lord of the manor he had enjoyed a brief vacation. Which was how he had met Eloise… . The sexy American had walked into his life and out again just as quickly… .Only now the real surprise at Ace's party was one of the guests - Eloise. Far from being an ordinary tourist, Eloise was none other than international sex symbol Lois Shelton… and Lois had another secret she was determined to keep. She was having his baby!
“It’s absolutely crazy, of course,” she agreed breathlessly. (#ub70d2e1a-dc56-59ea-ae01-5bd92b18e386)Letter to Reader (#u8992d076-0f6b-5fe8-a091-3fa9d1408277)Title Page (#ubfdc09d9-0197-5dc6-b0b3-5d58c31a9175)CHAPTER ONE (#u4e8be85f-3fbb-5d27-b7eb-f9ce9c0f1d1f)CHAPTER TWO (#ucb0370fd-9be0-5f01-b25e-40b968eb7c49)CHAPTER THREE (#u29052bdc-134b-5e7b-99c7-da7b7c912751)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)Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
“It’s absolutely crazy, of
course,” she
agreed breathlessly.
“Absolutely crazy,” Ace agreed softly, his gray eyes darkening momentarily as she nervously moistened her dry lips with her tongue.
“However, before I completely lose all control of my senses, I think you’d better tell me to go away,” he added thickly, his heart pounding like a sledgehammer as she responded to his light caress with a low moan. “Quite frankly—we’re both likely to be in a whole lot of trouble, if I remain here any longer.”
Dear Reader,
Welcome to the final book in our miniseries:
Everyone has special occasions in their life—times of celebration and excitement. Maybe it’s a romantic event, an engagement or a wedding—or perhaps a wonderful family occasion, such as the birth of a baby. Or even a personal milestone—a thirtieth or fortieth birthday!
These are important times in our lives and in THE BIG EVENT! you can see how different couples react to these events. Whatever the occasion, romance and drama are guaranteed.
This month’s book is the sassy and sensational Baby Included! by Mary Lyons. We hope you have enjoyed this series.
Happy reading!
The Editors
Baby Included!
Mary Lyons
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
CHAPTER ONE
‘THE darkest hour is that before the dawn...’
As he recalled the old proverb, a grim smile flickered across the hard, tanned features of the man leaning casually against a pillar on the wide, shady veranda of his luxurious casita.
Well... at least it’s a comforting thought, Ace told himself wryly. After the string of disasters which had recently been inflicted on his family he could certainly do with a bright ‘new dawn’.
Fast approaching the watershed of his fortieth birthday, it seemed to Ace as if every single part of his life was now in the process of a dramatic change. Even as he stood here—sipping a long cold drink and gazing out at the dazzling snow-white beach of this exclusively private Philippine island resort—he knew there could be no escape from the many problems which awaited his return to Britain.
The younger son of a younger son, Ace had never—not even in his wildest dreams—imagined that he would one day find himself inheriting both his uncle Hector’s title of Lord Ratcliffe and the large estate in the south of England. Which was why, as a very junior member of his family, he’d been able to choose his own path in life, first studying law at university, before going on to forge a successful career in the City of London.
Unfortunately, the past few years had proved to be disastrous, with one dreadful tragedy being quickly followed by another.
His own father’s death, following a long, brave and valiant fight against cancer, had not being entirely unexpected. However, the horrific car accident, mainly due to thick fog on the motorway, which had claimed the lives of his uncle Hector’s son, wife and young family, had led to a profound and devastating series of events as far as Ace was concerned.
His uncle, Lord Ratcliffe, had never really recovered from the shock of losing his only son and heir. His death soon afterwards, following a massive stroke, had meant that Ace’s much loved older brother, Mark, had inherited the title. But tragically he, too, had been killed in a completely unforeseen accident while skiing in Switzerland, just under a month ago. And now Ace found himself the sole survivor of a family which had been virtually wiped out within the short space of two years.
Well...that wasn’t strictly true, he reminded himself quickly. There was his own daughter, Emily.
He dearly loved the fourteen-year-old girl—at present living with his ex-wife, and going through a rather ‘difficult’ stage of adolescence. Ace, with grim memories of his own misspent youth, was determined to be a helpful, understanding and supportive father. Maybe the recent family tragedies would help to bring them both closer together?
However, while anxious to improve his future relationship with Emily, he was now going to have to take some immediate and far-reaching decisions about his inheritance. Having lived and worked in London for most of his life, his current existence was a million light years away from ten thousand acres and the huge Palladian mansion currently referred to in the tourist guides as ‘a classic example of a stately home’.
The people who write those books should try spending a night in the vast, crumbling old pile, Ace thought grimly. Because it had certainly never occurred to his uncle Hector—a tight-fisted, miserly old skinflint if ever there was one!—that he had both a duty and a responsibility to care for the large house on behalf of future generations of his family.
So, the net result was that Ratcliffe Hall was now a huge white elephant. Not only did it have a badly leaking roof—which let in more of the elements than it kept out—but also a mass of crumbling stonework and rotten timbers. Ace knew that it would need a fortune just to install some decent, modern plumbing—let alone try to do something about repairs to the basic structure.
Moreover, it wasn’t just a case of bracing one’s shoulders and facing up to personal tragedy. With each successive death he’d also found himself having to deal with the additional heavy burden of massive taxation.
As the senior partner of a large firm of lawyers, specialising in corporate tax and finance, he might well have the professional expertise to cope with the problem. But, following the tragic loss of his brother, Mark—only a few months after his inheriting the land and title from their uncle Hector—Ace had known that he would have little time to mourn. Not only had his brother left his affairs in a mess, but all too soon Ace knew that he was going to be faced with demands by the Inland Revenue, requiring payment of yet another large amount of death duties.
Although he, like everyone else in the land, hated having to pay taxes, Ace was certainly wealthy enough in his own right not to have a problem in finding the money. But exactly how he was going to deal with a large agricultural estate when he knew absolutely nothing about farming, he had no idea. In fact...
A slight movement at the corner of his eye distracted his gloomy thoughts for a moment. Turning his dark head, he watched a distant figure walking slowly across the white sand, before disappearing behind some palms at the far end of the beach.
‘There she goes again—regular as clockwork,’ he murmured to himself. Hardly needing to glance down at his watch, he knew that the stranger would be returning to her beach-side cottage, some hundred yards away from his own, in approximately one hour.
Did she spend her time sunbathing? Or merely sitting on the glistening white sand and gazing out at the ocean? Of course, there was always the possibility that she might be interested in exploring the coral reef. In which case...
‘Oh, come on! Grow up!’ he snapped irritably, his lips tight with exasperation at the thought of himself behaving in such a juvenile manner.
Following his attendance at an international tax conference in Manila, and desperately needing some peace and quiet in which to sort out his personal problems, Ace had decided to take a week’s vacation. This remote island resort—only capable of being reached by private plane, and where guests were guaranteed total privacy—had sounded ideal. Which was why he was now so thoroughly annoyed with himself. It was clearly ridiculous—and a total waste of his valuable time—to be indulging in foolish, idle speculation about a fellow guest.
However, the facts were that he’d been at first intrigued and then increasingly curious as to why, in this scorching heat, anyone should feel it necessary to clothe themselves from head to toe in long flowing robes which completely concealed their figure. Nor could he understand why she wore such a very large, floppy hat, which effectively kept her face always hidden from view. Not exactly, in this day and age, the normal beach attire of a young woman.
Because, yes—mostly because of the wide-brimmed hat—he was now quite certain that the distant figure was that of a woman. And from her sometimes quick, lively stride along the edge of the ocean he’d guessed that she must also be fairly young and agile. But why shroud herself in such a heavy disguise?
Amongst the many scenarios which had occurred to him, Ace had finally settled for the supposition that she might be someone famous, or in the public eye. But, if so, she certainly didn’t seem to be typical of any prominent personalities he’d come across. Having been briefly married to a well-known model, it was his experience that such celebrities only thrived when fully exposed—and thus able to gain as much adulation and publicity as possible.
So, what mystery lay behind this woman’s definitely unusual and baffling behaviour... ?
‘Forget it! It’s none of your damn business,’ he told himself roughly, putting down his empty glass and striding over to the desk, set in a shady corner of the wide veranda. Firmly banishing all thought of the strange woman, he sat down and began sorting through the large pile of papers in front of him, resolutely determined to concentrate on trying to sort out his late brother’s tangled affairs.
Swimming slowly, just beneath the almost still surface of the ocean, Lois gazed down in wonder at the hidden world of the coral reef. Despite coming here as often as possible during her brief stay on this lovely island, she never ceased to marvel at the brilliant, iridescent colours of the tiny fish, darting and weaving their way through the long, pale knobbly fingers of the coral.
Although she’d spent the last few months travelling all over the globe, this enchanting subterranean world of pink and green sea anemones, and strangely coloured sea urchins, whose jelly-like fronds waved to and fro in the gentle ocean current, was certainly one of the highlights of her trip.
Having worked flat out for the last five years, Lois reckoned she’d been fully entitled to take a three-month vacation. It would, she reasoned, not only give her the opportunity of seeing some far-flung corners of the world, but would also be a good time to reassess her career. To think hard and long about what she wanted to do in the future.
From the moment when she’d gained a small role in Ring of Destiny right through to her last, Oscar-winning film, Fear No Evil, she’d hardly had time to draw breath—let alone take any time off to really consider where her career was heading.
Not that she was likely to face too many problems straight away. Winning an Oscar for Best Actress in her last film would certainly guarantee that she’d be offered just about any film she liked to star in when she returned to Hollywood. Playing ‘feisty’, modern heroines was all very well. But maybe it was about time that she extended her range by acting one of the more classical roles?
Oh, come on—who are you kidding? she asked herself roughly as she trod water for a moment, adjusting her snorkel. While the future direction of her career was very important, it was no good trying to pretend that it was the sole reason for taking such a long break from her work. Because, of course, the main impetus behind wanting to ‘get away from it all’ had been the urgent need to help cure her broken heart.
Unlike most of her fellow actresses, who seemed to have no problem flitting from one lover to another, Lois had finally forced herself to face the facts. She was, it seemed, one of those boring creatures: a nice, old-fashioned girl. Not that she was actively looking for a husband, she assured herself hurriedly. But one-night stands were definitely not her ‘thing’. Which meant she’d found no problem turning down some of the well-known male Hollywood stars for whom ‘commitment’ was clearly a dirty word.
And that only goes to prove that pride comes before a fall! she told herself with disgust. Because what had she done? She’d just gone and fallen head over heels in love with a married man—that was what she’d done!
As the star of her last film, she might have been expected to fulfil that old Hollywood cliché and fall in love with her leading man. But, not her—oh, no! She had to be different, right? She had fallen hook, line and sinker for Ross Whitney—author of the best-selling novel Fear No Evil on which the film was based, who’d also written the screenplay.
It wasn’t until they were halfway through shooting the film that she met Ross. He, as it turned out, actively hated the whole Hollywood scene, only agreeing to join the film crew on location to make necessary alterations to the script. So it was there, miles away from civilisation—and only too easy to forget the real world—that Lois had suddenly found herself fathoms deep in love with the tall, dark and diabolically handsome Englishman.
To be fair, Ross had behaved like a perfect gentleman. And that had been the trouble, of course. Maybe, given an ounce of encouragement, she might have cast her scruples to the wind and indulged in a really hot, scorching affair. Unfortunately, he’d kept her very firmly at arm’s length.
In her own defence, it was fair to say that Lois hadn’t known Ross Whitney was a married man. Well, not at first, anyway. And by the time she did find out it was far too late. In fact, when she’d gone completely over the top, and arrived uninvited at his privately owned Caribbean island, she had been in grave danger of making an absolute fool of herself.
Luckily, Ross and his estranged wife, Flora, had proved to be really nice people. And, of course, as soon as she’d sussed out the real situation, Lois had managed to find some hidden depths of pride and resolution. Just enough to enable her, however shakily, to retire from the field with her head held high.
In fact, she wasn’t at all sure that it hadn’t been her best performance: acting the part of a woman with clearly not a care in the world—and blithely wishing the two of them the very best of luck—before returning to the sanctuary of her own home and giving way to deep misery as she tried to mend her fragile, broken heart.
Still...no matter how hard she’d tried, and the many strict lectures she’d given herself, Lois had found it almost impossible to put Ross out of her mind—and her heart. Which was why this vacation had seemed such a very good idea. And. of course, that old proverb ‘time is the best healer’ had eventually proved to be true.
Somewhere...somehow, between viewing the Aztec ruins in Mexico and exploring the old city of Delhi, she’d managed to pull herself together. By the time she was recovering from a nasty dose of food poisoning—and being so kindly nursed back to health in that wonderfully luxurious hotel in Jaipur—Lois had woken up one morning to discover, to her complete astonishment, that she was no longer totally and irrevocably in love with Ross Whitney.
He would always have a special place in her heart, of course,. But now she felt confident of being able to take that flight home to America tomorrow—quite safe in the knowledge that she was now ready to start a new life.
All the same...just make sure that in future you stay well away from any tall, dark and ruthlessly attractive Englishmen! she warned herself grimly, before turning to swim slowly back to the shore.
‘That’s odd...’ Ace muttered, frowning as he glanced down at his wristwatch. It was the first time, during the past four days, when the weirdly dressed woman had not kept to her rigid timetable.
Not that it was anything to do with him, of course. Absolutely not! In fact, it was definitely about time he learnt to mind his own business.
However, some ten minutes later he was still feeling slightly uneasy. He didn’t want to make a nuisance of himself, of course. But perhaps it might be a good idea to take a stroll along the beach? Just to make sure that the woman really was all right... ?
Rising from his seat behind the desk, he walked slowly down to the water’s edge. And then, just as he was taking himself to task for being a fool, and about to return to his own casita, he heard a faint cry in the distance.
‘Are you all right?’ he called out some moments later as he ran swiftly towards the crumpled figure sitting hunched on the sand beside the ocean.
‘No...I guess I’ve got myself into some...some sort of mess,’ the woman replied, her American-accented voice sounding muffled beneath the hat and the voluminous gauzy outfit. She appeared to be concentrating on gripping hold of her foot with both hands.
It was only as he approached her and bent down that Ace was able to see blood seeping from between the fingers of the hands clasped so tightly about her ankle.
‘Good Lord! What’s happened?’
‘I don’t know how I could have been such an idiot.’ The woman’s voice was stronger now, and heavy with self-disgust. ‘I didn’t look where I was going. And I forgot just how sharp the coral can be.’ She nodded towards the ocean, where the line of her footsteps, intermingled with some spots of blood, was clearly visible on the white sand.
‘I think...well, I’ve got a horrid feeling that I may have cut into a vein, or something,’ she continued with a slight wobble in her voice. ‘Because, however hard I try, I can’t seem to stop it bleeding.’
‘There’s no need to panic. Just try and stay calm,’ Ace told her, swiftly assessing the situation. ‘However, it’s important to maintain pressure on the wound. So, keep holding on while I fix some bandages to tie around your ankle. OK?’
‘OK.’ She nodded. And then, as he quickly seized hold of some of the thin material swathed about her body, and began tearing it into strips, she cried, ‘Hey—don’t do that! I’ve got to keep out of the sun. Otherwise I’ll burn to a crisp.’
‘God preserve me from damn stupid women!’ he muttered grimly. ‘Do you want to get slightly burnt—or do you want to bleed to death?’ he added, taking no notice of her protests as he carefully removed her fingers before binding the gauze ‘bandages’ tightly about her ankle.
‘OK—OK...’ she sighed. ‘I guess I’ve been a bit of a fool. And I really ought to thank you for coming so promptly to my rescue.’
‘That might not be a bad idea,’ he agreed, with a sharp bark of sardonic laughter.
‘I’m sure I’ll be all right now,’ she said as he rose to his feet, frowning anxiously down at his amateur handiwork, not at all sure how long it would hold the wound together.
‘No. I think you’re very far from “all right”,’ he told her firmly. ‘You’re going to need some professional help—and as soon as possible. Have you got a first aid kit in your bungalow?’
‘I...I don’t think so,’ she muttered, burying her face in her bloodstained hands for a moment.
Ace’s mouth tightened grimly. It was difficult to see anything under that damned hat. But, from what little he could see of her face, it was obvious that the woman’s cheeks were deathly pale. Clearly there was no time to be lost in getting her some serious medical attention.
‘Well, there’s no point in hanging around here,’ he told her firmly, before quickly bending down and scooping her up into his arms.
‘Hey—what do you think you’re doing?’ she shrieked in a much stronger voice, the heavy voluminous garments hampering her movements as she tried to wriggle out of his grip. ‘Put me down at once!’
Ignoring the frantic twisting and turning of the lightweight figure in his arms, Ace began striding rapidly back up the beach.
‘I take it that you’re not entirely stupid? So, don’t you think it’s time you started using your brain?’ he demanded curtly.
When her only reply was a short, startled intake of breath, he continued grimly, ‘That’s only a temporary bandage which I’ve placed around your ankle. I don’t expect it will hold the bleeding for very long. And especially not if you try to walk back up the beach to your bungalow. Got the message?’
‘Oh, sure, I’ve got the message—you bully!’ she retorted with a shaky laugh, before muttering something else under her breath.
‘I’m sorry...I didn’t quite catch what you said.’
‘You weren’t meant to!’ she retorted. ‘But if you must know I was reminding myself that I’d vowed to stay well away from tall, dark-haired Englishmen. And especially ones who are clearly hard, tough and very bossy!’
He glanced down at the girl in his arms. Somewhere along the line, possibly due to her frantic struggling, she seemed to have lost her wide-brimmed hat. However, it wasn’t possible to tell the colour of her hair, since it was totally covered by a thick black scarf, knotted at the back of her head. Her face didn’t look particularly appetising either—her bloodstained fingers having left ugly-looking russet-brown streaks across her pale cheeks and forehead.
Only the wide blue eyes, heavily fringed by dark lashes, which appeared to be glinting with some emotion—although he wasn’t quite sure whether it was anger or laughter—gave any hint that there might be a lot more to this woman than appeared obvious at the moment.
‘Well, if it’s any consolation,’ Ace drawled as he mounted the steps to her veranda, ‘I’m normally a very polite man. In fact, I wouldn’t dream of being either “hard” or “bossy”. Unless, of course, I find myself rescuing a grumpy American lady—who’s clearly determined not to listen to any of my good advice!’ he added with a dry bark of sardonic laughter.
Striding swiftly into the cool, dim interior of the cottage, whose lay-out was similar to that of his own, he entered the bedroom and laid her gently down on the large four-poster bed.
‘Oops! I guess that’s put me well and truly in my place...huh?’ She gave a heavy, almost theatrical sigh as she leaned back against the pillows. ‘It must be really, really great to know that whatever happens in the big, bad world—you are always right.’
Staring grimly down at her, Ace had no problem in thinking of several crushing remarks which would put this irritating female very firmly in her place. And then, as he viewed the pale face, and slightly trembling hands, he realised that he’d been far too rough on this poor girl, who was now looking a lot younger than he’d at first supposed.
‘I’m sorry. I should apologise for being so rude,’ he said quietly. ‘It’s just that I was worried about the wound to your ankle. Believe me, you really must have it seen to by a doctor—and as soon as possible.’
‘Yes, well...I guess it’s my turn to apologise. I’ve obviously been a real pain in the neck,’ she admitted, gazing up in some bewilderment at the deeply tanned, hawk-like features of the tall, dark and remarkably handsome man who’d just rescued her from a nasty predicament.
‘I...I can’t think what’s come over me,’ she continued in a slightly weak, breathless tone of voice. ‘Because, I don’t...I really don’t usually behave like this.’
‘I’m sure you don’t. And—although you may find it difficult to believe—neither do I!’ He grinned. ‘So, I’m just going to ring through to the main hotel and ask them to provide some medical assistance. Once I’m satisfied that help is on the way, I promise to leave you well alone. OK?’
