The Twin Birthright

They said goodbye months ago.

So why can’t he walk away from her...or her twin babies?

Delivering his ex-fiancée’s twins in a snowstorm is a brave new world for innovator Royce Miller. Despite the pain in their past, he’s driven to protect Naomi Steele and her babies. That means facing the mistakes they both made—and resisting the heat they still can’t deny. Will forgiveness lead to forever this time?

An Alaskan Oil Barons Novel

USA TODAY bestselling author CATHERINE MANN has won numerous awards for her novels, including both a prestigious RITA® Award and an RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Award. After years of moving around the country bringing up four children, Catherine has settled in her home state of South Carolina, where she’s active in animal rescue. For more information, visit her website, www.catherinemann.com.

Also by Catherine Mann

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Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

The Twin Birthright

Catherine Mann

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-07645-6

THE TWIN BIRTHRIGHT

© 2018 Catherine Mann

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

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www.millsandboon.co.uk

“A daughter may outgrow your lap,

but she will never outgrow your heart.” —Anonymous

To my daughters, Haley and Maggie.

It’s been a joy and honor having watched you both grow into miraculous women. I love you!

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Epilogue

Extract

About the Publisher

One

Some women dreamed of giving birth in a hospital, husband holding her hand.

Some visualized delivering at home, man of her dreams breathing alongside.

No one fantasized about bringing a new life into the world in an SUV, in a snowstorm, with her ex-fiancé playing “catch the baby.” Or in Naomi Steele’s case, babies. Plural. Two of them. The first of which was due to make an appearance with the next...

“Push! Push, Naomi, push,” Royce Miller’s soft, deep voice radiated confidence in the confines of his Suburban, heater blasting inside, snow pelting the vehicle outside.

“I am pushing, damn it. I’ve been pushing.” Because there wasn’t any need to wait. No help was on the way. Cell phone reception was almost nil on a deserted highway north of Anchorage, Alaska. Sporadic bursts of connectivity offered only minimal reassurance that anyone had heard their pleas for rescue when she’d gone into labor a month early.

Even if help could make it to them through this Alaska blizzard.

The seats of the SUV had been flattened, blankets under her, an emergency kit including first aid spread out beside her. Thank goodness he’d kept his vehicle well stocked in the event of being stranded in a storm. But then of course he had. He was always analytical, organized, the brilliant scientist and professor who planned for any—and every—contingency.

She had her own analytical side as an attorney, but was more known for her flair for the dramatic, which had served her well in the courtroom more than once.

Royce knelt on the floor, his muscular body wedged in, but he still managed to look comfortable. At ease. In control.

Pain ripped through her, her whole body locked in one big muscle spasm beyond anything she’d read about or heard about in child birthing classes. She understood intellectually that a couple of pushes wouldn’t get the job done, especially for a first-time mom, but she was so done. Ready to quit. Close to tears and burning to scream, but she didn’t want to put any additional burden on Royce when he had to be afraid, in spite of his calm demeanor.