âMaybe you decided your night with me was so hot that you wanted a repeat of it. I wouldnât blame you if you did.â
âI try never to make the same mistake twice, Hassan. Any other suggestions?â
Dark clouds drifted into his mind. âOr our ill-judged liaison has left us with something other than regrets.â
She stared at him, because didnât his words make what she was about to tell him even more difficult? âThatâs the most cold-hearted description Iâve ever heard,â she whispered.
Her lack of denial unsettled him but Hassan kept his nerve. âThatâs because I am a cold-hearted man, Ella. Be in no doubt of that. And I havenât come here to play guessing games. What is it that you want to say to me?â
âThat youâre right!â She swallowed as she forced out the bitter truth. She looked into the narrowed black eyes and spoke in a low voice. âIâm having a baby, Hassan.â
Dear Reader,
One hundred. Doesnât matter how many times I say it, I still canât believe thatâs how many books Iâve written. Itâs a fabulous feeling but more fabulous still is the news that Mills & Boon are issuing every single one of my backlist as digital titles. Wow. I canât wait to share all my stories with you - which are as vivid to me now as when I wrote them.
Thereâs BOUGHT FOR HER HUSBAND, with its outrageously macho Greek hero and A SCANDAL, A SECRET AND A BABY featuring a very sexy Tuscan. THE SHEIKHâS HEIR proved so popular with readers that it spent two weeks on the USA Today charts andâ¦well, I could go on, but Iâll leave you to discover them for yourselves.
I remember the first line of my very first book: âSo youâve come to Australia looking for a husband?â Actually, the heroine had gone to Australia to escape men, but guess what? She found a husband all the same! The man who inspired that book rang me up recently and when I told him I was beginning my 100>th story and couldnât decide what to write, he said, âWhy donât you go back to where it all started?â
So I did. And thatâs how A ROYAL VOW OF CONVENIENCE was born. It opens in beautiful Queensland and moves to England and New York. Itâs about a runaway princess and the enigmatic billionaire who is infuriated by her, yet who winds up rescuing her. But then, she goes and rescues him⦠Wouldnât you know it?
Iâll end by saying how very grateful I am to have a career I love, and to thank each and every one of you who has supported me along the way. You really are very dear readers.
Love,
Sharon xxx
Mills & Boon are proud to present a thrilling digital collection of all Sharon Kendrickâs novels and novellas for us to celebrate the publication of her amazing and awesome 100th book! Sharon is known worldwide for her likeable, spirited heroines and her gorgeous, utterly masculine heroes.
SHARON KENDRICK once won a national writing competition, describing her ideal date: being flown to an exotic island by a gorgeous and powerful man. Little did she realise that sheâd just wandered into her dream job! Today she writes for Mills & Boon, featuring her often stubborn but always to-die-for heroes and the women who bring them to their knees. She believes that the best books are those you never want to end. Just like lifeâ¦
To Max Campbell, for ensuring that my iPhone
plays more than one Beatles song.
WOULD this damned party never end?
In the softly lit anteroom of his friendâs palace, Sheikh Hassan Al Abbas let out an irritated breath and turned to the man standing a few deferential paces away from him.
âDo you think thereâs any chance I could just slip away and leave them to get on with it, Benedict?â he demanded, knowing only too well how his loyal English aide would respond.
There was a pause. âYour absence would almost certainly be noticed, Your Highness,â answered Benedict carefully. âSince you are one of the most esteemed guests present. And furthermore it would offend your oldest friend if he knew that you could not be bothered to stay to wish him happiness on the night of his engagement.â
Hassanâs fists clenched against the unaccustomed lounge suit which clothed his hard body, hating the strictures of collar and tie. He wished he was wearing soft and silken robes against his naked skin. That he was galloping free on his horse, with the warm desert wind blowing against his face. âAnd what if I believed deep in my heart that such a wish would not only be futile but hypocritical?â he iced back. âThat I think Alex is about to make the biggest mistake of his life?â
âIt is often difficult for two men to see eye to eye when it comes to the subject of women,â answered Benedict diplomatically. âParticularly regarding the subject of marriage.â