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Mixing Business...With Baby
Diana Whitney
Successful, handsome Rick Blaine wanted to know everything about his lovely new employee Catrina Mitchell. What did she like? What made her laugh? But when Rick learned Catrina's daughter was the source of joy in Catrina's luscious brown eyes, his racing heart came to a screeching halt.Having a little girl look up at him with hopeful eyes scared him to death. Children were a lifetime commitment–and he was a confirmed bachelor.But Catrina wasn't so easy to forget…. Should Rick start mixing business with romance–and both with a baby?
Catrina had been asleep for five hours. Rick would probably be ready to kill her.
The television was on in the living room. Catrina shaded her eyes and saw the top of a head barely visible above the back of the sofa.
With her heart pounding, she quietly walked around the sofa and nearly melted at what she saw. There was Rick Blaine, with orange stains on his shirt and spaghetti stuck to his hair, cradling the squeaky-clean, pajama-clad toddler in his arms. Both were sound asleep.
For a moment, Catrina just stood there, unable to trust her own eyes. Never in her life had she seen anything that touched her so deeply. This was the real Rick Blaine, she realized. Not the glib genius, not the brilliant bachelor. In one vulnerable, unguarded moment, she had glimpsed the soul of a man who had the power to change her life forever.
Dear Reader,
This holiday season, as our anniversary year draws to a close, we have much to celebrate. The talented authors who have published—and continue to publish—unforgettable love stories. You, the readers, who have made our twenty-year milestone possible. And this month’s very special offerings.
First stop: BACHELOR GULCH, Sandra Steffen’s popular ongoing miniseries. They’d shared an amazing night together; now a beguiling stranger was back in his life carrying Sky’s Pride and Joy. She’d dreamed Hunter’s Vow would be the marrying kind…until he learned about their child he’d never known existed—don’t miss this keeper by Susan Meier! Carolyn Zane’s BRUBAKER BRIDES are back! Montana’s Feisty Cowgirl thought she could pass as just another male ranch hand, but Montana wouldn’t rest till he knew her secrets…and made this 100% woman completely his!
Donna Clayton’s SINGLE DOCTOR DADS return…STAT. Rachel and the M.D. were office assistant and employer…so why was she imagining herself this widower’s bride and his triplets’ mother? Diana Whitney brings her adorable STORK EXPRESS series from Special Edition into Romance with the delightful story of what happens when Mixing Business…with Baby. And debut author Belinda Barnes tells the charming tale of a jilted groom who finds himself all dressed up…to deliver a pregnant beauty’s baby—don’t miss His Special Delivery!
Happy reading!
Mary-Theresa Hussey
Senior Editor
Mixing Business…with Baby
Diana Whitney
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
To Cinderella dreams, and those who dare believe in them.
Books by Diana Whitney
Silhouette Romance
O’Brian’s Daughter #673
A Liberated Man #703
Scout’s Honor #745
The Last Bachelor #874
One Man’s Vow #940
One Man’s Promise #1307
†† (#litres_trial_promo)A Dad of His Own #1392
‡ (#litres_trial_promo)Mixing Business…with Baby #1490
Silhouette Intimate Moments
Still Married #491
Midnight Stranger #530
Scarlet Whispers #603
Silhouette Shadows
The Raven Master #31
Silhouette Special Edition
Cast a Tall Shadow #508
Yesterday’s Child #559
One Lost Winter #644
Child of the Storm #702
The Secret #874
* (#litres_trial_promo)The Adventurer #934
* (#litres_trial_promo)The Avenger #984
* (#litres_trial_promo)The Reformer #1019
† (#litres_trial_promo)Daddy of the House #1052
† (#litres_trial_promo)Barefoot Bride #1073
† (#litres_trial_promo)A Hero’s Child #1090
‡ (#litres_trial_promo)Baby on His Doorstep #1165
‡ (#litres_trial_promo)Baby in His Cradle #1176
Who’s That Baby? #1205
†† (#litres_trial_promo)I Now Pronounce You Mom & Dad #1261
†† (#litres_trial_promo)The Fatherhood Factor #1276
‡ (#litres_trial_promo)Baby of Convenience #1361
Silhouette Books
36 Hours
Ooh Baby, Baby
DIANA WHITNEY
A three-time Romance Writers of America RITA Award finalist, Romantic Times Magazine Reviewers’ Choice nominee and finalist for Colorado Romance Writers’ Award of Excellence, Diana Whitney has published more than two dozen romance and suspense novels since her first Silhouette title in 1989. A popular speaker, Diana has conducted writing workshops, and has published several articles on the craft of fiction-writing for various trade magazines and newsletters. She is a member of the Authors Guild, Novelists, Inc., Published Authors Network and Romance Writers of America. She and her husband live in rural Northern California with a beloved menagerie of furred creatures, domestic and wild. She loves to hear from readers. You can write to her c/o Silhouette Books, 300 East 42nd Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10017.
Contents
Chapter One (#uc48dfa60-cfe4-533e-841a-6fd2b4956622)
Chapter Two (#uce515d37-704e-51ab-9fb0-d655291a7475)
Chapter Three (#u734d442c-d073-564d-8dee-3a2fc1d4da9b)
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)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One
“I got the job!” Rushing into the tiny, downtown book nook, a breathless Catrina Mitchell Jordan danced the gray-haired proprietor around shelves stacked with leather-bound tomes. “I got the job, I got the job, I got the job!”
Her final exuberant trill was completed by the blending of a rumbaesque hip check and the hip-wriggling victory dance of a football player after a game-winning touchdown.
“Of course you got the job.” Gracie Applegate chuckled, smoothing a ruffled strand of silver hair back into her gleaming chignon. “There was never a doubt in my mind.”
“Well, there was plenty of doubt in my mind. If not for that tip you gave me, I’d still be scouring the want ads and wondering how to pay next month’s rent.” Suddenly limp with relief, Catrina sagged against the checkout counter fighting foolish tears. She’d been out of work for weeks, and her meager savings account was nearly drained. “I don’t know who you called, or how you managed to work this miracle, but I’m forever in your debt. Thank you so much.”
Gracie flicked her wrist as if shooing a pesky fly. “Pish and silliness, child. It’s Blaine Architectural that should be thanking me for sending over the best accounts receivable clerk they’ll ever lay eyes on. I’m sure my dear friend Martha in the personnel department would agree.”
“Is there anyone in Los Angeles that you don’t personally know?”
“Oh, I imagine a few folks have slipped past, but one of the perks of owning the finest antique and rare book establishment in the county is the pleasure of meeting lots of lovely, intelligent people. Speaking of which…” Angling a sly glance, she feigned interest in refilling a crystal bowl with fragrant potpourri. “Did you have an opportunity to meet the head honcho himself?”
“Mr. Blaine?” Catrina shook her head, still a bit nervous about meeting the fellow that every employee to whom she’d been introduced had described in the most glowing terms. “Apparently a group of managers had negotiated a lucrative contract to renovate a downtown office complex so he took them all to lunch as a reward.”
“How nice. Why are your eyebrows all scrunched up, dear?”
“He took them to lunch in San Francisco, Gracie. Just piled them into a rented plane and flew it himself.” Catrina shuddered. “Rich people make me nervous. My sister Laura made the mistake of marrying a rich man. He nearly destroyed her.”
Of course, another rich man had galloped to the rescue, just like Prince Charming on the proverbial snow-white steed, although Catrina considered that to be sheer luck.
Gracie tsk-tsked, skimming a disapproving frown in Catrina’s direction. “Now, now, dear, you can’t judge all well-to-do folks by the actions of a few. Besides, if Rick Blaine were as rich as the rumors imply, he wouldn’t have had to rent a plane would he?”
Catrina couldn’t help but smile. “No, I suppose not.”
A wreath of laugh lines bracketed the older woman’s thin mouth, and her blue eyes twinkled with peculiar slyness, as if she knew something that nobody else knew.
And she probably did. Gracie Applegate was a dichotomy, equal parts of grandmotherly wisdom and elfin mischief blended with a pinch of mystery and a dash of clairvoyance. Catrina adored her.
So did Heather.
A cranky gurgle caught Catrina’s attention. She moved through the open doorway into the bookstore office to retrieve her sleepy toddler from a playpen that had been set up behind Gracie’s desk. “There, there, sweetums, did you have a nice nap?”
The baby’s hair was moist and tangled. A reddened pressure mark stained her right cheek. She fussed, stretched, patted Catrina’s face. “Gamma Gracie gave me apple.”
“Did she now?” Catrina widened her eyes, affectionately exaggerating interest in the mundane information. “That was very nice of Gamma Gracie wasn’t it?”
As Heather bobbed her little head in agreement, Catrina angled a questioning glance at the older woman in the doorway.
“Humor an old woman’s small pleasures,” Gracie replied, displaying her gift for reading Catrina’s thoughts. “Since my son has decreed himself a confirmed bachelor for life, the only way I’ll ever hear a child call me ‘grandma’ is if I bribe one to do it. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course I don’t mind. Every child needs a doting grandmother. My own mom passed away several years ago, and Heather’s paternal grandparents live 3,000 miles away.”
“Ah. That’s too bad.”
“It’s for the best. They are nice people, I suppose, but they were never into the grandparent scene. I got the impression that they were relieved enough to have survived raising one child, and weren’t anxious to get involved with another one.” She shifted the child against her shoulder, nuzzling her soft skin and inhaling the sweet baby fragrance. “Given the pathetic result of their initial foray into parenthood, I can’t say as I blame them.”
Gracie smiled, but her eyes were sad. “The young man must have had some redeeming characteristics, or an intelligent woman such as yourself wouldn’t have married him in the first place.”
A warning chill slipped down Catrina’s spine. The divorce had been messy, bitter, and the sour taste of failure hung heavily on her tongue. “Dan had always been a sullen, unhappy man. I thought I could change that. I couldn’t.”
Squeezing her eyes shut, she hugged Heather so tightly that the child squirmed in her arms. She loosened her grip, murmuring soft reassurances as the baby popped a wet thumb back into her mouth. A pang of regret and uncertainty stung Catrina, as it always did when she fretted about how the choices she’d made would affect Heather’s future, just as her own mother’s choices had affected Catrina’s past.
Catrina had grown up without a father. He’d deserted the family when she’d been an infant. That loss had always haunted her. Now it would haunt her beloved daughter too, since Dan hadn’t even requested visitation privileges. He’d never really wanted a child.
As it turned out, he’d never wanted a wife, either. He’d wanted a housekeeper, a scapegoat, and a convenient bed partner. Soft footsteps scuffled closer, and she knew Gracie was beside her before she felt the woman’s gentle touch on her shoulder. “Sometimes we have to endure the bad times in order to recognize the good ones.”
Catrina sniffed, juggled the child in the crook of her arm to free a hand and wipe a stray tear from her own cheek. “I know. But when I think of my daughter growing up with the knowledge that her own father doesn’t care about her, it breaks my heart.”
Gracie opened her mouth, closed it, and took another moment to consider her words. When she finally spoke, her voice carried a peculiar quiver. “Maybe it just takes some men a while to figure out what’s truly important in life. You’ll find the right one someday. Just give it time, dear.”
