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A Pregnancy And A Proposal
Mindy Neff
Литагент HarperCollins EUR
Flynn O'Grady was floored: After leaving his had five months ago, Darcie Moretti walked back into his life–pregnant with his child! It took the single father of two all of twenty-four hours to figure out how to respond. He said, "Marry me, Darcie."Darcie knew family was priority #1 for Flynn–he'd do whatever it took to ensure their baby was born with his name. But Darcie wanted more than just a "pregnancy proposal." And she'd give Flynn four months to figure out what three other little words he had to say…The Daddy Club: From Diaper to Dating–These Single Dads Learn It All!
She knew she was already in too deep, knew that there was nothing she could do to turn off her traitorous emotions.
He angled her head for a kiss. Her pregnant belly was firm and spooned right into his stomach as though their bodies were made to fit that way….
The sound of her moan was lost in his mouth as his lips finally closed over hers. His kiss was sure and strong, yet soft and seductive. The joy he created with just that touch was potent, liberating. She wanted to take it further, to press closer, skin to skin—
The porch light winked on and off. She jumped, pulled back for an instant and once more met the heat of his eyes.
Flynn gave a strained laugh. “Been a while since I’ve worried about being caught necking on a girl’s front porch,” he said.
The explosion of emotions that burst through him took him by surprise. Darcie Moretti was no shrinking violet when it came to giving and taking…or kissing. She didn’t play games or wait for him to lead. She participated, gave it her all. And man alive! What that “all” did to him.
Dear Reader,
Welcome to another month of wonderful books from Harlequin American Romance! We’ve rounded up the best stories by your favorite authors, with the hope that you will enjoy reading them as much as we enjoy bringing them to you.
Kick-start a relaxing weekend with the continuation of our fabulous miniseries, THE DADDY CLUB. The hero of Mindy Neff’s A Pregnancy and a Proposal is one romantic daddy who knows how to sweep a woman off her feet!
Beloved historical author Millie Criswell makes her contemporary romance debut with The Wedding Planner. We are thrilled to bring you this compelling story of a wealthy bachelor out to find himself a bride…with a little help from the wedding consultant who wishes she were his only choice!
We’ve also got the best surprises and secrets. Bailey Dixon has a double surprise for Michael Wade in Tina Leonard’s delightful new Western, Cowboy Be Mine. And in Bonnie K. Winn’s The Mommy Makeover, a dedicated career woman is suddenly longing for marriage—what is her handsome groom’s secret?
With best wishes for happy reading from Harlequin American Romance…
Melissa Jeglinski
Associate Senior Editor
A Pregnancy and a Proposal
Mindy Neff
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
To Louise Weaver,
From girlhood to womanhood, through slumber parties
and heart valves and babies and weddings—
we’ve survived it all.
Thanks, girlfriend…and Happy Birthday!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Originally from Louisiana, Mindy Neff settled in Southern California where she married a really romantic guy and raised five great kids. Family, friends, writing and reading are her passions. When not writing, Mindy's ideal getaway is a good book, hot sunshine and a chair at the river’s edge with water lapping at her toes.
Mindy loves to hear from readers and can be reached at P.O. Box 2704-262, Huntington Beach, CA 92647.
Books by Mindy Neff
HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE
644—A FAMILY MAN
663—ADAM’S KISS
679—THE BAD BOY NEXT DOOR
711—THEY’RE THE ONE!
739—A BACHELOR FOR THE BRIDE
759—THE COWBOY IS A DADDY
769—SUDDENLY A DADDY
795—THE VIRGIN & HER BODYGUARD* (#litres_trial_promo)
800—THE PLAYBOY & THE MOMMY* (#litres_trial_promo)
809—A PREGNANCY AND A PROPOSAL
Upcoming topics
Week 1: Romantic Dinners for 2…or 3…or 4…Meals to woo a woman when your kids are dining
Week 2: Top Ten Tips on Teens
How to avoid the minefields in your house and give peace a chance
Week 3: Potty Training: It’s not for the weak!
Week 4: “You’re going to be a daddy…again!” How to survive—and thrive on—fatherhood, the second time around
Be there…
for vital information for every single father!
Contents
Chapter One (#u0d214071-df08-59fd-96a3-21e40ab9dd58)
Chapter Two (#u5c95eee1-20c9-50be-ae44-7e49f8a681f2)
Chapter Three (#ud9ffc087-92a6-5e00-aa1d-27499a56bcd5)
Chapter Four (#u799460e8-c09c-5931-96b8-4f7e0c29bb88)
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 One
During the last five months, Flynn O’Grady had visualized countless scenarios of meeting Darcie Moretti again. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that in the middle of a Daddy Club meeting, he would look up and see her walking toward him.
His heart pounded a fierce tattoo in his chest at the sight of her. Her hair was a mass of messy brown curls that she’d corralled with two barrettes and a couple of chopsticks. Millions of golden freckles dusted her skin, fascinating him.
Darcie Moretti had a way of looking at a man that made him feel aggressive and startled and special and primitive all at once. She didn’t shy away; her gaze didn’t skitter coyly.
So why had she disappeared on him that night at the hotel? He had so many questions. Where had she been? Why had she left him without even saying goodbye, without giving him a phone number? And—
“Your daughter just called the runaway hot line.”
She was standing in front of him now, those quick-to-smile, clever lips set in a grim line.
“Did you hear what I said, Flynn?”
“Yes, I—” His brain finally absorbed the full impact of her words. He uncrossed his legs. His foot dropped to the floor. His body tightened, poised in that split instant of fight or flight, as though the folding chair had just collapsed beneath him, as though his world were collapsing, as well.
He felt the blood drain from his face, forgot that six single fathers were sitting in a semicircle around him at the Hardware and Muffins store in Princeton, each of them part of a Wednesday-night school for hapless fathers. “What did you say?”
“Heather’s planning to run away…if she hasn’t already.”
He leaped to his feet, never thinking to ask how she knew his daughter, or even where she would get such a ludicrous idea. They’d slept together once, on a sultry, late-summer evening when he’d been drowning his woes in a bottle of whiskey. She’d been like a breath of fresh air that night, a balm to his bruised soul.
But he didn’t recall mentioning his family.
“She can’t run away! I just saw her thirty minutes ago. At home. I haven’t been gone long enough.” Fear and disbelief battered him at once. Was there no end to the nightmares a parent could suffer? Horrible thoughts crossed his mind of what could happen to his little girl out on the streets. Never mind that the Princeton suburb they lived in was touted as one of the safest places in New Jersey. A young girl could make poor choices. Hell, she could slip on the ice and be buried under a foot of snow in less than an hour.
Darcie automatically reached out and placed a hand on Flynn’s arm. She saw his skin pale with genuine distress, and like always, she responded to that distress. She shouldn’t. God knows she’d gotten herself in plenty of trouble with her soft heart—a prime case in point was that night five months ago in a Philadelphia hotel room.
But darn it all, this man needed help.
When Heather O’Grady had called the runaway hot line where Darcie volunteered, Darcie had nearly had a stroke. She’d told herself every morning for the last three months that she should and would contact Flynn O’Grady. And every morning she’d chickened out.
His daughter, in a wild twist of fate, had settled the dilemma—and presented a whole new one. One that nearly ripped Darcie’s heart in two.
“Where did she go?” Flynn asked. “Did she say where she was going? What did she say?” The questions were fired one right after the other. “Is she still at home?”
“I doubt it,” Darcie said, hating the crestfallen look on his face.
“I’ve got to find her, call the cops…”
She shouldn’t get involved, should turn this case over to someone else. But that mushy heart of hers was already crying out its intentions. Not only were those intentions going to be dangerous, they were likely going to cause her great heartache. She’d felt the chemistry moments ago—right before she’d dropped her bombshell. In just a split second of eye contact, she felt him draw her in with those watch-out-woman bedroom eyes and knew he’d been remembering their night together. And her body had reacted to that sexual pull in a giddy flutter of hormones…in an exquisite, bittersweet wash of remembrance.
She wanted to just stand there and stare, to soak up every nuance of his GQ model looks, his scent, the way the white shirt rode his broad shoulders and the silk tie hung from his neck, the way the belt circled his trim waist, his pants draping and kissing his lean hips…
Well, honestly, Darcie, just stop it!
She reached for his arm again, stopping him from charging out of the store.
“I know a little about the way the police department works, and you’re not going to make headway at this early stage of the game.”
“Early? She’s thirteen years old and she just said she was going to run away!” He pinned her with a look. “And why did she tell you? How do you know my daughter?”
“I volunteer for a runaway hot line here in town.” Her hand tightened on his arm. He looked like he was going to pass out. She eased up against him, bolstered him with her body.
Oh, no, she nearly groaned. Bad move. The feel of his warm body pressed against her sent her hormones right off the charts. He needed her help. Not her fantasies.
The way he was looking at her made her squirm. Flynn O’Grady was a sexy mixture of worry, confusion and questions. She understood his worry, sympathized with his confusion and feared his questions.
“Are you okay?” she asked, easing a fraction of an inch away, still watching him in case he did indeed faint.
“No, I’m not. I’ve got to find my daughter.” He shoved his arms through his coat as he headed for the door. Then he stopped as though he’d forgotten something vital.
“The baby,” he muttered, and changed direction, striding toward Ruth Naomi Steadwell, the owner of Hardware and Muffins. The Daddy Club participants gave him room. Panic and determination radiated from him. He hitched a diaper bag over his shoulder, scooped Mary Beth into his arms and gave Ruth Naomi a distracted thank-you.
Darcie watched all this, her emotions reeling once more. She’d known he had children. If you wanted to learn anything about anybody, Ula Mae Simmons—one of the KoffeeKlatch regulars—would happily tell you. Still, seeing him with one-year-old Mary Beth in his arms jolted her.
Reining in the emotions, she barely stopped herself from shaking her head. He was like a bull charging blindly. His heart and intentions were in the right place, but he was very likely going to screw up royally. She didn’t want to see that happen.
Darcie stepped in his path. “Flynn, wait.”
He seemed confused, surprised that she was there. “Do you know where my daughter is? Where I can look?”
