Praise for Kate Hardy:
âWhen you pick up a romance novel by Kate Hardy you know that youâre going to be reading a spellbinding novel which you will want to devour in a single sitting, and A CHRISTMAS KNIGHT is certainly no exception.â
âCataRomance.com
âKate Hardy has written an awesome story with an amazing build-up.â
âHarlequinJunkie.com
âNEUROSURGEON ⦠AND MUM! is a spellbinding tearjerker readers will want to read again and again. Written with plenty of sensitivity, understanding and heart, NEUROSURGEON ⦠AND MUM! is the latest winner by this outstanding storyteller!â
âCataRomance.com
KATE HARDY lives in Norwich, in the east of England, with her husband, two young children, one bouncy spaniel and too many books to count! When sheâs not busy writing romance or researching local history, she helps out at her childrenâs schools. She also loves cookingâspot the recipes sneaked into her books! (Theyâre also on her website, along with extracts and stories behind the books.)
Writing for Mills & Boon>® has been a dream come true for Kateâsomething she wanted to do ever since she was twelve. Sheâs been writing Medical Romances⢠for over ten years now. She says itâs the best of both worlds, because she gets to learn lots of new things when sheâs researching the background to a book: add a touch of passion, drama and danger, a new gorgeous hero every time, and itâs the perfect job!
Kateâs always delighted to hear from readers, so do drop in to her website at www.katehardy.com
Dear Reader
I love writing continuity stories, as itâs a great excuse to work with my fellow authors and bounce ideas around. When my editor suggested this one to me I leapt at the chance. Special thanks to Louisa George, Amy Andrews and Scarlet Wilson for letting me take liberties with their characters, and being so brilliantly accommodating. Thanks to my son, Chris Brooks, for answering questions about military stuff, and to Chris Craig for technical advice about the kind of workouts that Marco could do post-injury.
Becca Anderson and Prince Marco come from completely different worlds. And although thereâs a lot of attraction between them they also need to learn to trust each other before they can reignite their past love and get their happy ending. I love the way that Beccaâs managed to rise above such an awful past and a total lack of family supportâand that she eventually finds the support and the family she deserves in Prince Marco. I also enjoyed giving Marco a tough time; for someone whoâs used to a life of action, having to wait and let things take their natural course is really, really difficult. And Becca most definitely teaches him patience â¦
I hope youâll enjoy Marcoâs fabulous house on the edge of Regentâs Park. And the tango at the salsa club (we learned a couple of new steps in the tango at dance class while I was writing this, so it was great to do a bit of personal research!). But most of all I hope youâll enjoy seeing Becca and Marco fall in love all over again and this time learn to trust each other.
Iâm always delighted to hear from readers, so do come and visit me at www.katehardy.com
With love
Kate Hardy
Dedication
For the 200 Harley Street authorsâI loved working with you! Also, special thanks to Chris Brooks for technical help with military stuff, and to Chris Craig for technical help with workout programmes following injuryâmuch appreciated, guys :)
Cover
Praise for Kate Hardy
About the Author
Title Page
Dedication
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
EPILOGUE
Copyright
THAT WAS THE last of the men.
Safe.
Or were they? The rescue had been slightly too easy for Marcoâs liking. The insurgents didnât usually give up that quickly. And this definitely felt like a false sense of security, he thought as he drove the Jeep back towards base.
âPedro, I need you to keep a close eye out on the way back. Anything that makes you even slightly uneasy, you tell me immediately,â he said to his second-in-command.
âSir. Youâre expecting an ambush?â
âMaybe.â
Pedro had worked with him long enough to follow his train of thought. âYouâre right. It was a bit too easy. Theyâre probââ
The word was cut off by a loud boom.
Bomb, Marco thought, and was about to slam on the brakes when the blast wave smashed into the Jeep, cracking the screen. Marco put his left hand up automatically to shield his eyes; even as he did so, he was aware of splintering glass spiking into his skin.
But he didnât have time to worry about the pain. The blast wave had made the Jeep slew. He tried to steer out of the skid, but the blast wave was just too strong and the car rolled.
Everything went into slow motion, and Marcoâs senses were working overtime. Everything felt magnified. The bang of the rest of the glass imploding, the scrape of metal, the salty, rusty smell of blood.