âI want the whole thing, Nate. I want a family. I want kidsâand a husband. The whole package.â
Nate leaned in, so that they were nearly nose to nose. âSince when, Josey? You love being single. How many times have you waxed philosophical about how impossible it must be to find the right man and so you werenât going to bend over backwards to do it?â
âSo what?â Her voice turned stubborn. âI canât change my mind?â
âYou can change your mind, but this is a complete about-face. Itâs weird.â
âOh, Iâm so glad you think Iâm weird.â
âJosey, Iâm sorry,â he said, grabbing her hand. âItâs just surprising. But I think itâs wonderful. I wish you luck. I really do.â
âYou do?â she asked, her voice tripping with excitement.
Nate wondered why she was getting so emotional. âYou know I do. Youâre my friend and Iâll do anything to make sure youâre happy.â
A huge grin spread across her face. âIâm so glad you said that, you have no idea. Now I can get to what I really wanted to ask you tonight. I need your helpâ¦.â
Dear Reader,
Well, the new year is upon usâand if youâve resolved to read some wonderful books in 2004, youâve come to the right place. Weâll begin with Expecting! by Susan Mallery, the first in our five-book MERLYN COUNTY MIDWIVES miniseries, in which residents of a small Kentucky town find loveâand scandalâamidst the backdrop of a midwifery clinic. In the opening book, a woman returning to her hometown, pregnant and alone, finds herself falling for her high school crushânow all grown up and married to his career! Or so he thinksâ¦.
Annette Broadrick concludes her SECRET SISTERS trilogy with MacGowan Meets His Match. When a woman comes to Scotland looking for a job and the key to unlock the mystery surrounding her family, she finds bothâwith the love of a lifetime thrown in!âin the Scottish lord who hires her. In The Black Sheep Heir, Crystal Green wraps up her KANEâS CROSSING miniseries with the story of the town outcast who finds in the big, brooding stranger hiding out in her cabin the soul mate sheâd been searching for.
Karen Rose Smith offers the story of an about-to-be single mom and the handsome hometown hero who makes her wonder if she doesnât have room for just one more male in her life, in Their Baby Bond. THE RICHEST GALS IN TEXAS, a new miniseries by Arlene James, in which three blue-collar friends inherit a million dollarsâeach!âopens with Beautician Gets Million-Dollar Tip! A hairstylist inherits that wad just in time to bring her salon up to code, at the insistence of the infuriatingly handsome, if annoying, local fire marshal. And in Jen Safreyâs A Perfect Pair, a woman who enlists her best (male) friend to help her find her Mr. Right suddenly realizes heâs right there in front of her faceâi.e., said friend! Now all she has to do is convince him of thisâ¦.
So bundle up, and happy reading. And come back next month for six new wonderful stories, all from Silhouette Special Edition.
Sincerely,
Gail Chasan
Senior Editor
To Bobbi Lerman,
a fantastic writer and friend, who coaxed this story out of me even when it felt impossible. We did it!
grew up in Valley Stream, New York, and graduated Boston University in 1993. She is a nearly ten-year veteran of the news copy desk at the Boston Herald. Past and present, she has been a champion baton twirler, an accomplished flutist, an equestrienne, a student of ashtanga yoga and a belly dancer. Jen would love to hear from readers at [email protected].
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Nate heard a woman shout in the apartment above, but he couldnât make out the words.
The abrupt, angry sound pierced the silence in which Nate had been sitting at the kitchen table, spooning up Cheerios. He jumped slightly and a few Cheerios dripped onto his lap. He lifted the window curtain, opened the window and peered out. Squinting and tilting his face up to the early afternoon sun, he saw the open windows above him. After a few weeks of crisp, cold weather, the unusually mild November day had likely prompted his neighbor to air out her place. Nate silently waited a few moments. Nothing.
Slightly tense, he picked the Cheerios off his lap and reluctantly went back to eating. Still hearing nothing, he slurped on the spoon a little, quickly intercepting a stream of milk down his chin with a napkin. He hoped that one shout was the end of whatever was going on. As he scooped up the last Cheerio, he caught himself trying not to tap the bowl with the spoon, trying to stay quiet, his ears alert as a foxâs for another sign of discord.
He forced himself to relax his shoulders, to breathe normally. He reminded himself that one distinct drawback to living in Boston was getting to know neighbors intimately, whether he wanted to or not. And today, like most days, it really was ânot.â Heâd allowed himself the Sunday luxury of sleeping in as long as he couldâuntil after noonâthen heâd cracked open his briefcase and worked about an hour before heâd realized heâd forgotten to eat breakfast.