“I—I want you to be my husband.”
T.J. choked on his lemonade. “Say again?”
Emily swallowed hard and squared her shoulders. “I said I want you to be my husband.”
T.J. blinked. If she’d announced a meteor was hurtling toward earth and was about to land at his feet, he couldn’t have been more surprised. Either he was a victim of sunstroke or a stranger had asked him to be her husband!
“You’ve got the wrong man. You’ll have to find someone else to give you a wedding ring.”
“Wait! I only intended to ask you to pretend to be my husband. And only for one day.”
“The answer is no, not for five minutes, let alone one day.” Red-blooded man that he was, T.J. might have given Emily Holmes his attention, all right, but she wasn’t going to have him for a husband, no matter how tempting she looked in that wisp of a dress she was wearing….
Dear Reader,
This month, Mills & Boon American Romance delivers your favorite authors and irresistible stories of heart, home and happiness that will surely leave you smiling.
TEXAS SHEIKHS, Mills & Boon American Romance’s scintillating continuity series about a Texas family with royal Arabian blood, continues with His Shotgun Proposal by Karen Toller Whittenburg. When Abbie Jones surprised Mac Coleman with the news of her pregnancy, honor demanded he give her his name. But could he give his shotgun bride his heart?
Another wonderful TOTS FOR TEXANS romance from bestselling author Judy Christenberry is in store for you this month with Struck by the Texas Matchmakers, in which two children in need of a home and several meddling ladies play matchmakers for a handsome doctor and a beautiful lawyer. Mills & Boon American Romance’s theme promotion, THE WAY WE MET…AND MARRIED, about marriage-of-convenience romances, begins this month with Bachelor-Auction Bridegroom by Mollie Molay. And old passions heat up in Leandra Logan’s Family: The Secret Ingredient when Grace North’s first crush, now a single father, returns to town with his precocious little girl and ends up staying under the heroine’s roof.
Enjoy this month’s offerings and come back next month for more stories guaranteed to touch your heart!
Wishing you happy reading,
Melissa Jeglinski
Associate Senior Editor
Mills & Boon American Romance
Bachelor-Auction Bridegroom
Mollie Molay
“For Jennifer Walsh, thank you. Here’s to a great future!”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
After working for a number of years as a logistics contract administrator in the aircraft industry, Mollie Molay turned to a career she found far more satisfying—writing romance novels. Mollie lives in Northridge, California, surrounded by her two daughters and eight grandchildren, many of whom find their way into her books. She enjoys hearing from her readers and welcomes comments. You can write to her at Mills & Boon Books, 300 East 42nd St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10017.
Books by Mollie Molay
MILLS & BOON AMERICAN ROMANCE
560—FROM DRIFTER TO DADDY
597—HER TWO HUSBANDS
616—MARRIAGE BY MISTAKE
638—LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
682—NANNY & THE BODYGUARD
703—OVERNIGHT WIFE
729—WANTED: DADDY
776—FATHER IN TRAINING
779—DADDY BY CHRISTMAS
815—MARRIED BY MIDNIGHT
839—THE GROOM CAME C.O.D.
879—BACHELOR-AUCTION BRIDEGROOM
BACHELOR #46
| Name: | T. J. Kirkpatrick |
| Age: | 33 |
| Hair: | Blond |
| Eyes: | Blue |
| Occupation: | Building restorer. Can also be persuaded to masquerade as a pretend husband for a distressed beauty left in the lurch by his look-alike younger brother. Any job—or wife—he accepts gets his full attention! |
| Best Qualities: | Muscled shoulders. A willingness to break the rules now and again and to respond to the burgeoning chemistry with his pretend spouse makes him irresistible. |
| Weaknesses: | Beautiful women…one in particular! |
Contents
Prologue
The auctioneer called for a minimum bid of one hundred dollars. A timid voice at the front of the room echoed the bid. Emily raised her hand and shouted, “One hundred and twenty-five!”
“He’s mine,” a voice at the back of the room yelled enthusiastically. “Two hundred!”
Emily bit her lower lip and clutched her purse. Her funds were severely limited, and she was rapidly reaching the bottom of her wallet. But time was running out, and she had to have the man. “Two hundred and twenty-five!”
“Let’s get real here,” called her bidding rival. “The guy’s mine. I bid three hundred!” The man on the stage grinned, stuffed his hands in his pockets and winked at Emily.
Emily blinked at the blatant invitation from Number 46. Her first reaction was to brush him off and wait for the next man. After all, she reminded herself, what she had in mind was a business arrangement, not a seduction.
Her second and involuntary reaction surprised her. “Three hundred and fifty!”