âIâm talking about a marriage of convenience here, a business arrangement.â
Brady gave her a hard look that challenged her veracity as he settled back against the headboard.
âWeâre partners,â Kelsey continued stubbornly.
âAnd man and wife,â he muttered in a low tone that carried no farther than their bed, âwhoâthanks to your impulsivenessâare now sharing a bed for the night.â
âWhat choice did we have?â Still holding on to the covers, she clamped her arms in front of her and stared straight ahead. âI am not giving up this ranch.â
âWell, there we agree, anyway,â Brady said, lying down and stretching out beside her.
Was it her imagination, Kelsey wondered, or was this bedroom getting smaller and more intimate by the minute? Beside her, Brady shifted around and sighed loudly. Kelsey rolled her eyes. âNow whatâs wrong?â
âThis bed is awfully smallâ¦.â
Dear Reader,
Spring is the perfect time to celebrate the joy of romance. So get set to fall in love as Harlequin American Romance brings you four new spectacular books.
First, weâre happy to welcome New York Times bestselling author Kasey Michaels to the Harlequin American Romance family. She inaugurates TEXAS SHEIKHS, our newest in-line continuity, with His Innocent Temptress. This four-book series focuses on a Texas family with royal Arabian blood who must fight to reunite their family and reclaim their rightful throne.
Also, available this month, The Virgin Bride Said, âWow!â by Cathy Gillen Thacker, a delightful marriage-of-convenience story and the latest installment in THE LOCKHARTS OF TEXAS miniseries. Kara Lennox provides fireworks as a beautiful young woman whoâs looking for Mr. Right sets out to Tame an Older Man following the advice of 2001 WAYS TO WED, a book guaranteed to provide satisfaction! And Have Baby, Need Beau says it all in Rita Herronâs continuation of her wonderful THE HARTWELL HOPE CHESTS series.
Enjoy Aprilâs selections and come back next month for more love stories filled with heart, home and happiness from Harlequin American Romance.
Wishing you happy reading,
Melissa Jeglinski
Associate Senior Editor
Harlequin American Romance
The Virgin Bride Said, âWow!â
Cathy Gillen Thacker
Cathy Gillen Thacker is a full-time wife/mother/author who began typing stories for her own amusement during ânap timeâ when her children were toddlers. Twenty years and more than fifty published novels later, Cathy is almost as well-known for her witty romantic comedies and warm family stories as she is for her ability to get grass stains and red clay out of almost anything, her triple-layer brownies and her knack for knowing what her three grown and nearly grown children are up to almost before they do! Her books have made numerous appearances on bestseller lists and are now published in seventeen languages and thirty-five countries around the world.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
âThey turned us down again, didnât they?â Brady Anderson guessed, as Kelsey Lockhart strode across the sunny pasture toward him, her cheeks pink with temper, her tousled hair glowing as cinnamon-red as the leaves in the maple trees around them.
Kelseyâs long slender legs continued eating up the ground until she reached his side. Tipping her flat-brimmed hat back off her forehead, she met his searching gaze and reported unhappily, âYep, they sure did. Thatâs the fifteenth bank thatâs said no to us because we didnât have enough collateral.â
Brady grinned, trying, as always, when he was this close to her, not to notice how very pretty Kelsey was in an outdoorsy, lady rancher sort of way. Personally, heâd never been much for redheads. They were a bit too temperamental for his taste. And Kelsey Lockhart, the youngest of the four delectable Lockhart sisters of Laramie, Texas, was that, for sure. But there was something about the pale gold freckles dotting her smooth golden skin, the lusciousness of her full lips that had his gaze returning to her face again and again. Chuckling, he looked into her dark green eyes, which were now flashing with both frustration and impatience, as he commiserated humorously, âYouâd think weâd get the hint, wouldnât you?â
Kelsey leaned against the part of the aging wooden fence he hadnât yet treated with wood preservative. Unlike him, she refused to take this latest rejection in stride. She folded her arms in front of her contentiously and glared at him, wanting answers. Now. This instant. âWhat are we going to do?â Her expressive red brows slammed down over her long-lashed eyes. âWe canât buy the rest of the horses and cattle unless we get a loan. And since no bank will give it to us, and we havenât had the resources to make a killing in the stock market againâ¦â Kelseyâs voice trailed off in discouragement.
Brady shared Kelseyâs frustration about that, since it was a talent for investing that had drawn them together initially and enabled them both to come up with the cash for the down payment on their ranch the previous summer. If they had another six months and enough seed money to get started, maybe they could do it again. Maybe. But they didnât have either the time or the seed money. Which left them fewer options. Brady put down his brush and wiped his hands with the cloth he had looped into his belt. The rest of the painting would have to wait. âThen we look for a venture capitalist to underwrite the rest of our setup expenses,â Brady said, having already anticipated just such a move being necessary. He put the lid back on the bucket of wood preservative, picked up his brush and gave Kelsey a confidence-inspiring look. âAnd I know just the one.â