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Denim and Diamond
Moyra Tarling
SHE WAS HIS HOPEYears ago Piper Diamond had sorely tempted Kyle Masters's rough-hewn masculinity. Though he'd ached to know the fulfillment of the promise he could taste on her lips, he'd manfully sent her on her way. Kyle was too honorable to snatch a young girl's innocence.HE WAS HER DREAMNow Piper was back, pregnant, unwed, and looking for a father for her child. Still compassionate and caring, Kyle was exactly the man Piper needed. But getting rugged, sexy Kyle Masters to agree to a marriage of convenience wasn't enough. Because Piper wanted a real husband…
“Thank you for everything, Piper,”
Kyle said, his tone sincere. “I don’t quite know what little April and I would have done these past two weeks if you hadn’t been here. If there’s ever any way I can return the favor, all you have to do is ask.”
Piper’s heart thudded to a standstill at Kyle’s words. Her nerves were jumping, her pulse racing.
Slowly she turned to meet his gaze. “Well, actually, there is something you could do for me,” she said.
“Name it,” Kyle responded.
“Marry me.”
Dear Reader,
Looking for sensational summer reads? All year we’ve been celebrating Silhouette’s 20th Anniversary with special titles, and this month’s selections are just the warm, romantic tales you’ve been seeking!
Bestselling author Stella Bagwell continues the newest Romance promotion, AN OLDER MAN. Falling for Grace hadn’t been his intention, particularly when his younger, pregnant neighbor was carrying his nephew’s baby! Judy Christenberry’s THE CIRCLE K SISTERS miniseries comes back to Romance this month, when sister Melissa enlists the temporary services of The Borrowed Groom. Moyra Tarling’s Denim & Diamond pairs a rough-hewn single dad with the expectant woman he’d once desired beyond reason…but let get away.
Valerie Parv unveils her romantic royalty series THE CARRAMER CROWN. When a woman literally washes ashore at the feet of the prince, she becomes companion to The Monarch’s Son…but will she ever become the monarch’s wife? Julianna Morris’s BRIDAL FEVER! persists when Jodie’s Mail-Order Man discovers her heart’s desire: the brother of her mail-order groom! And Martha Shields’s Lassoed! is the perfect Opposites Attract story this summer. The sparks between a rough-and-tumble rodeo champ and the refined beauty sent to photograph him jump off every page!
In future months, look for STORKVILLE, USA, our newest continuity series. And don’t miss the charming miniseries THE CHANDLERS REQUEST…from New York Times bestselling author Kasey Michaels.
Happy reading!
Mary-Theresa Hussey
Senior Editor
Denim & Diamond
Moyra Tarling
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Books by Moyra Tarling
Silhouette Romance
A Tender Trail #541
A Kiss and a Promise #679
Just in Time for Christmas #763
All About Adam #782
No Mistaking Love #907
Just a Memory Away #937
Christmas Wishes #979
Finally a Family #1081
It Must Have Been the Mistletoe #1122
Twice a Father #1156
Marry in Haste #1242
Wedding Day Baby #1325
The Baby Arrangement #1367
* (#litres_trial_promo)A Diamond for Kate #1411
* (#litres_trial_promo)The Family Diamond #1428
* (#litres_trial_promo)Denim & Diamond #1458
MOYRA TARLING
was born and raised in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was there that she was first introduced to and became hooked on romance novels. In 1968 she immigrated to Vancouver, Canada, where she met and married her husband. They have two grown children. Empty-nesters now, they enjoy taking trips in their getaway van and browsing in antique shops for corkscrews and button-hooks. But Moyra’s favorite pastime is curling up with a great book—a romance of course! Moyra loves to hear from readers. You can write to her at P.O. Box 161, Blaine, WA 98231-0161.
Contents
Chapter One (#uc56ca7a2-a830-537b-9f35-e8e95f206d74)
Chapter Two (#u188e5f88-5fee-5193-9d28-954bb756f4ea)
Chapter Three (#u301f16ec-28d9-59ab-9f26-65cc88f08827)
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)
Chapter One
“Sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you.”
Piper Diamond felt her breath catch when she recognized the deep resonant voice.
She’d been visiting the stables at her parents’ California ranch located on the outskirts of Kincade, when she heard footsteps approaching. She’d expected to see her brother, but the tall black-haired man standing before her wasn’t Spencer.
Though she hadn’t seen Kyle Masters in eight years, she’d have known his darkly handsome features and stormy gray eyes anywhere.
“I thought you were Spencer,” Piper said as the baby nestled beneath her heart give a sharp kick.
“He’ll be along in a minute,” Kyle replied as his gaze dropped to where her right hand rested on her rounded stomach, and for a fleeting moment she caught a flicker of emotion in the depths of his eyes.
“You must be here to see Firefly,” Piper said, wondering about the sudden erratic beat of her pulse.
“Yes,” Kyle replied, but he made no move toward the mare’s stall. “So the rumors I’ve been hearing in town are true,” he said. “Congratulations.” His gray eyes held hers, their expression unreadable.
“Thank you,” Piper said, wondering not for the first time, what it was about Kyle Masters that stirred her senses. Years ago she’d had a monumental crush on him, and she remembered all too well during those fun-loving, carefree days that she only had to catch sight of him for her heart to kick into high gear, just like it was doing now.
“When’s the baby due?”
“Mid-November,” she replied, wishing now she hadn’t ventured down to the stables. Being around horses had always helped soothe her, but finding herself alone with Kyle Masters was having the opposite effect.
“Piper! So this is where you got to,” Spencer said as he joined them. “Ah…I see you’ve met Kyle. Kyle, you remember my sister, Piper?”
“Yes, I remember Piper,” Kyle replied, and hearing the hint of amusement in his voice, Piper felt a warmth creep up her neck, as the memory of her last encounter with him returned.
“If you’ll excuse me,” Kyle added, “I’d better take a look at Firefly. Nice to see you again, Piper.” He opened the door to the mare’s stall.
“Come on, Sis. I’ll walk you back to the house.” Spencer put his arm through Piper’s and led her out into the afternoon sunshine.
“Does Kyle come to the ranch often?” Piper ventured to ask as they headed down the path to the security gates.
“He’s here once a week during the racing season or if one of the mares is pregnant,” her brother explained.
“I suppose he’s working with Henry Bishop now,” she said, remembering Kyle had been helping out at the veterinary clinic the summer she graduated from high school, the summer she made a complete and utter fool of herself.
“Henry retired. He moved to Arizona to live with his sister three years ago,” Spencer said. “They worked together for a few years, then Kyle took over the clinic.”
“Is he married?” she asked in a casual tone, curiosity getting the better of her.
“Divorced.”
She threw her brother a startled glance as he punched in the security code and opened the gate.
“He doesn’t talk about it much,” Spencer continued as they climbed up the path. “He has a daughter, April. She’s a real cutie. She’s four.”
“How often does he see her?”
“Every day,” Spencer replied. “Kyle has sole custody,” he explained. “You might remember his wife, Elise Crawford. She was a couple of years ahead of you in high school.”
Piper cast her mind back, recalling the striking blonde. “Didn’t she go off to New York to take up acting?” she asked.
“That’s right,” Spencer confirmed. “She didn’t have much luck and came home shortly before her mother died. I think that’s when she hooked up with Kyle.”
“I see.”
“But, it turned out she was still hankering for a shot at the big time after all, and a few days after April was born she packed her bags and hightailed it back to New York.”
“That must have been hard on Kyle, being left with a newborn baby to care for,” she commented.
“He’s not one to complain,” Spencer said. “And believe me, he’s had his share of things to complain about. I don’t imagine it’s been easy running a business and raising a daughter alone.”
“Other people seem to manage juggling family and a career,” Piper said, strangely reluctant to feel any sympathy for him.
“That’s true. But he was just telling me earlier that ever since his receptionist quit a month ago he’s had trouble finding a replacement. He’s put an ad in several newspapers, but so far he’s had no response.”
They approached the stairs leading to the wide veranda that surrounded the two-story ranch house.
“Enough about Kyle. I’m more concerned about you,” Spencer continued. “You’ve been here a week, and you’ve hardly said a word,” he chided gently. “I know we didn’t get a chance to talk much back in June, what with the wedding and everything, but you must have been pregnant then, right? So why didn’t you tell us?”
Piper flashed a smile. “Because, silly, it was yours and Maura’s big day, and I didn’t want to steal your thunder,” she said teasingly.
Besides she’d had a lot on her mind at the time, not the least of which was the fact that prior to her departure from London to attend Spencer’s wedding, she’d broken up with Wesley Adam Hunter, the baby’s father.
She’d been grateful that the bustle and activity surrounding her brother’s wedding had kept the focus away from her. Barely three months along, no one had noticed she was pregnant, and she hadn’t volunteered the information, still trying to come to terms with the news herself.
When the doctor told her that the cause of her continuous nausea wasn’t flu-related, she’d been stunned. In fact the idea of becoming a mother sent her anxiety levels soaring.
Being the baby of the family herself, she’d had very little contact with small children. She’d never even had a baby-sitting job. Her career had always come first; that’s why she’d risen so far so quickly, and while she’d watched several of her friends get married and start a family, that hadn’t been on her own list of priorities.
Truth be told it was actually the impending birth itself that terrified her. She hadn’t spoken of her fears to anyone, not even her mother.
She knew that giving birth was a normal and natural occurrence, and women did it all the time, but Piper couldn’t seem to get her mind around it.
She’d tried to tell herself she was being ridiculous, that it would be a wonderful and memorable experience but that did nothing to diminish the fear embedded deep inside her.
“What about Wes? He must be pleased.” Her brother’s comment brought Piper’s thoughts back to the present. “He is going to join you isn’t he, or is he off on another one of his daring assignments? I hope you told him you caught Maura’s bouquet and that means you’re next in line to get married.”
Emotion suddenly clogged Piper’s throat threatening to choke her. “There isn’t going to be a wedding,” she told him. “Wes is dead. He was killed in an accident in Asia while I was here at your wedding. I didn’t find out about it till I got back to London.”
Spencer’s shock was evident on his face. “Piper…My God! I’m so sorry.” He hauled her into his arms and held her for several long seconds before pulling away to look at her once more. “I don’t remember seeing anything in the papers.”
Piper’s smile held a hint of bitterness. “His family had it hushed up.”
