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Prince Baby
SUSAN MEIER
Subject: DON'T PANIC ABOUT THE BABY! To: ty…bryant@bryantdevelopment…comFrom: seth…bryant@bryantdevelopment…comYes, the rumor that Princess Lucy Santos of Xavier Island went into labor moments after showing up on my doorstep is true. 'Fortunately, I've convinced Lucy to stay with me until we can resolve where baby Owen will be raised. Don't be concerned about Lucy and my past because that lust is all behind us. At least, I think it is. I'll do anything to ensure my son is raised as a normal boy–not a future king. Of course, making Lucy my wife so that we could be a normal family would just be +cing on the cake….
“I had hoped to help with Owen last night, but I never heard him cry.”
Seth Bryant turned from the kitchen counter and caught his ex-wife’s gaze. “I can’t believe he slept through the night.”
“He didn’t.” Lucy smiled at Seth as if she knew some great secret, which unfortunately triggered about eight powerful memories of when she’d given him that same smile—all of them sexual—and more than Seth’s chest tightened this time.
The one thing his buddies hadn’t factored into all of their instructions to prove to Lucy that he could be a good dad was that Seth had to be around Lucy. He hadn’t ever been around this woman for a full twenty-four hours without making love to her….
Dear Reader,
To me, September is the cruelest month. One minute it feels like just another glorious summer day. And then almost overnight the days become shorter and life just hits. It’s no different for this month’s heroes and heroines. Because they all get their own very special “September moment” when they discover a secret that will change their lives forever!
Judy Christenberry once again heads up this month with The Texan’s Tiny Dilemma (#1782)—the next installment in her LONE STAR BRIDES miniseries. A handsome accountant must suddenly figure out how to factor love into the equation when a one-night stand results in twins. Seth Bryant gets his wake-up call when a very pregnant princess shows up on his doorstep in Prince Baby (#1783), which continues Susan Meier’s BRYANT BABY BONANZA. Jill Limber assures us that The Sheriff Wins a Wife (#1784) in the continuing BLOSSOM COUNTY FAIR continuity, but how will this lawman react to the news that he’s still married to a woman who left town eight years ago! Holly Jacobs rounds out the month with her next PERRY SQUARE: THE ROYAL INVASION! title. In Once Upon a King (#1785), baby seems to come before love and marriage for a future king.
And be sure to watch for more great romances next month when bestselling author Myrna Mackenzie launches our new SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE miniseries.
Happy reading,
Ann Leslie Tuttle
Associate Senior Editor
Prince Baby
Susan Meier
Bryant Baby Bonaza
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Books by Susan Meier
Silhouette Romance
Stand-in Mom #1022
Temporarily Hers #1109
Wife in Training #1184
Merry Christmas, Daddy #1192
* (#litres_trial_promo)In Care of the Sheriff #1283
* (#litres_trial_promo)Guess What? We’re Married! #1338
Husband from 9 to 5 #1354
* (#litres_trial_promo)The Rancher and the Heiress #1374
† (#litres_trial_promo)The Baby Bequest #1420
† (#litres_trial_promo)Bringing up Babies #1427
† (#litres_trial_promo)Oh, Babies! #1433
His Expectant Neighbor #1468
Hunter’s Vow #1487
Cinderella and the CEO
#1498Marrying Money #1519
The Boss’s Urgent Proposal #1566
Married Right Away #1579
Married in the Morning #1601
** (#litres_trial_promo)Baby on Board #1639
** (#litres_trial_promo)The Tycoon’s Double Trouble #1650
** (#litres_trial_promo)The Nanny Solution #1662
Love, Your Secret Admirer #1684
Twice a Princess #1758
†† (#litres_trial_promo)Baby before Business #1774
†† (#litres_trial_promo)Prince Baby #1783
Silhouette Desire
Take the Risk #567
SUSAN MEIER
is one of eleven children, and though she’s yet to write a book about a big family, many of her books explore the dynamics of “unusual” family situations, such as large work “families,” bosses who behave like overprotective fathers, or “sister” bonds created between friends. Because she has more than twenty nieces and nephews, children also are always popping up in her stories. Many of the funny scenes in her books are based on experiences raising her own children or interacting with her nieces and nephews.
She was born and raised in western Pennsylvania and continues to live in Pennsylvania.
Contents
Chapter One (#u5bcee211-2b91-53d5-8521-1d22fab500b8)
Chapter Two (#uc15a263d-64f6-5efe-9516-2435420001f0)
Chapter Three (#ube60a9c7-eb2a-537b-b80f-c7e84339f6fb)
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)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One
Roaring thunder from a severe mid-September storm shook the windows of Seth Bryant’s enormous two-story brown brick house in Porter, Arkansas, but that didn’t prevent him from hearing the scream coming from his driveway. He bounced from his tall-back black leather chair and bounded out of his office, running up the slim corridor that led to the entryway.
When he reached the front window, he lifted the curtain, peering out into the darkness. In the muted glow of the lamp by his door, he saw Lucy Santos—Princess Lucy Santos—standing on his front stoop, and his look of concern shifted into a look of shock. He couldn’t stop the painful thud that seized his heart. Even wet and windblown she was beautiful. Her dark hair had been tucked under a navy-blue rain hat that matched the huge navy-blue raincoat she wore, but he could see her long, shapely legs. That easily conjured a vivid picture of what the rest of her looked like. Naked. In his bed.
Cursing himself for being an idiot, he dropped the curtain and strode to the hall closet where he extracted his shotgun. Lucy might appear to be alone, but he knew better. Undoubtedly, two bodyguards lurked in the shadows, and even if she somehow had managed to escape them for the night, her chauffeur, Tony, a guy about half the size of a travel trailer, would be with her.
Seth cocked the gun. There was no way in hell she was getting into his house—his life. He didn’t even want her on the same planet with him!
Aiming the shotgun with his left hand, he opened the door with his right. Shirtless and barefoot, dressed only in threadbare jeans, and pointing a weapon, he knew he probably looked like her royal bodyguards’ worst nightmare. A crass commoner with a firearm. He smiled. It was too bad King Dad wasn’t here to see this.
“What do you want?”
“Seth!” Lucy said his name like a gasp, then—as if she didn’t see he had a loaded gun—she fell against him.
He caught her with his free arm but not before her cheek pressed into his bare chest. Shivers of joy ricocheted through him, but he gritted his teeth and squelched them. She’d brought him more pain than joy, and ultimately more anger than pain. He didn’t want anything to do with this woman.
He nearly shoved her away from him. Then her weight and the shape of the body that collapsed against him caused him to realize that her raincoat was huge because she was pregnant!
“Oh, this is rich!” he said, just barely keeping his voice from becoming a shout, though he silently savored his anger. He had earned it. She had disposed of their marriage with a quick, easy annulment. Now it appeared she’d hidden her pregnancy from him. He had every reason in the world to be furious.
He didn’t intend to let her see she still had the power to move him, not even to anger, so he softened his tone. “You’re pregnant! You…Princess!” he said the title like a curse, because to him it now was.
Rain sparkled on her smooth, pale skin. Gazing up at him with dark eyes that glistened, she drew a quick, shallow breath and said only, “Help.”
The distress in her voice caused Seth to forget their fight and to remember that a scream had brought him to his front door. Her scream.
He glanced outside to confirm that she was without her bodyguards and he saw that she’d driven the little red Chevy she sometimes used to sneak out when she wanted privacy.
He peered at her pain-filled face. “Lucy?”
“I think I’m in labor.”
“Oh, my God.” Before Seth could prevent it, a protective instinct rose up in him. As quickly as he could, he carefully leaned his shotgun against the wall, scooped Lucy into his arms and carried her across the pale tile floor of his entryway, through the dining room and into the living room where he deposited her on his white sofa.
“Not here!” Lucy groaned. “This is your living room!” Her eyes bore into his. “If I’m really in labor, we’ll ruin your sofa!”
Seth scowled and he set her down anyway. Damned princess! “Even in pain, you’re worried about possessions.”
“I’m not worried about possessions! I’m being practical. You used to like that about me.” She blew her breath out in three quick puffs, then ran her trembling fingers over her forehead. “The contraction is over.”
Realizing her problem wasn’t life-threatening, Seth tamped down his panic and allowed his anger to return. Still, he didn’t let any emotion to filter into his tone when he said, “While I call an ambulance, maybe you would like to explain what you’re doing here.”
Lucy drew a quiet breath. “Okay.” Her voice shook. Her eyes stayed downcast. “I left Xavier Island when I realized I was pregnant. I needed to finish the mansion in Miami, but I also wanted time alone to decide what to do. In the end I couldn’t keep your baby from you.”
Seth snorted in disbelief as he picked up the receiver of the portable phone on the end table by the sofa. Eight months ago, she’d let her father’s representative end their marriage. Now she expected him to think she considered his feelings? His interests?
“Yeah. Sure. I believe that. I also have some swampland that would make a perfect retreat for your dad. Lots of alligators.”
“Seth,” she implored, grabbing his hand. “I know things ended badly between us.” She caught his gaze. “You also have a right to be skeptical. I wasn’t going to tell you about the baby because I thought it best that we never see each other again, but…”
She broke off with a gasp, then groaned loudly.
Seth’s knees turned to rubber again. “Lucy! Do not have this baby on my sofa!”
She squeezed his hand. “Seth, something is wrong. Everything’s happening too fast…I’m not even due for four weeks! Otherwise, I wouldn’t have risked this long trip!”
“I think your doctor may have miscalculated your due date.”
She closed her eyes and, between pants of air, she said, “That would mean I got pregnant the first night we made love…Aghghghgh!”
Ignoring the vivid images that assailed him when he thought of the heart-stopping passion that had propelled him and Lucy to the bed of his Miami hotel room before they’d even had their first date, Seth punched 911 on the phone’s keypad. When the dispatcher answered, he said, “I have a woman in my house who is in labor.”
“How far apart are her contractions?” the dispatcher calmly asked.
Seth faced Lucy. “How far apart are your contractions?”
Lucy panted a few times before she said, “I had one pain when I got out of the car. One when you opened the door. And now the pain is back. It hasn’t even been a minute. It’s almost like the contractions don’t stop!” She drew a quick breath then groaned again.
Seth said, “There doesn’t seem to be any time in between the pains.”
“Hold on, sir, while I fix your location…” Obviously tracing his address from his phone number, the cool, calm and collected dispatcher said, “I have you listed as Johnson Road. You’re not very far…”
Seth glanced at Lucy. When he saw she was gasping for breath, he said, “Just get someone here!”
