She knew she was already in too deep, knew that there was nothing she could do to turn off her traitorous emotions.
He angled her head for a kiss. Her pregnant belly was firm and spooned right into his stomach as though their bodies were made to fit that way….
The sound of her moan was lost in his mouth as his lips finally closed over hers. His kiss was sure and strong, yet soft and seductive. The joy he created with just that touch was potent, liberating. She wanted to take it further, to press closer, skin to skin—
The porch light winked on and off. She jumped, pulled back for an instant and once more met the heat of his eyes.
Flynn gave a strained laugh. “Been a while since I’ve worried about being caught necking on a girl’s front porch,” he said.
The explosion of emotions that burst through him took him by surprise. Darcie Moretti was no shrinking violet when it came to giving and taking…or kissing. She didn’t play games or wait for him to lead. She participated, gave it her all. And man alive! What that “all” did to him.
Dear Reader,
Welcome to another month of wonderful books from Harlequin American Romance! We’ve rounded up the best stories by your favorite authors, with the hope that you will enjoy reading them as much as we enjoy bringing them to you.
Kick-start a relaxing weekend with the continuation of our fabulous miniseries, THE DADDY CLUB. The hero of Mindy Neff’s A Pregnancy and a Proposal is one romantic daddy who knows how to sweep a woman off her feet!
Beloved historical author Millie Criswell makes her contemporary romance debut with The Wedding Planner. We are thrilled to bring you this compelling story of a wealthy bachelor out to find himself a bride…with a little help from the wedding consultant who wishes she were his only choice!
We’ve also got the best surprises and secrets. Bailey Dixon has a double surprise for Michael Wade in Tina Leonard’s delightful new Western, Cowboy Be Mine. And in Bonnie K. Winn’s The Mommy Makeover, a dedicated career woman is suddenly longing for marriage—what is her handsome groom’s secret?
With best wishes for happy reading from Harlequin American Romance…
Melissa Jeglinski
Associate Senior Editor
A Pregnancy and a Proposal
Mindy Neff
To Louise Weaver,
From girlhood to womanhood, through slumber parties
and heart valves and babies and weddings—
we’ve survived it all.
Thanks, girlfriend…and Happy Birthday!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Originally from Louisiana, Mindy Neff settled in Southern California where she married a really romantic guy and raised five great kids. Family, friends, writing and reading are her passions. When not writing, Mindy's ideal getaway is a good book, hot sunshine and a chair at the river’s edge with water lapping at her toes.
Mindy loves to hear from readers and can be reached at P.O. Box 2704-262, Huntington Beach, CA 92647.
Books by Mindy Neff
HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE
644—A FAMILY MAN
663—ADAM’S KISS
679—THE BAD BOY NEXT DOOR
711—THEY’RE THE ONE!
739—A BACHELOR FOR THE BRIDE
759—THE COWBOY IS A DADDY
769—SUDDENLY A DADDY
795—THE VIRGIN & HER BODYGUARD*
800—THE PLAYBOY & THE MOMMY*
809—A PREGNANCY AND A PROPOSAL
Upcoming topics
Week 1: Romantic Dinners for 2…or 3…or 4…Meals to woo a woman when your kids are dining
Week 2: Top Ten Tips on Teens
How to avoid the minefields in your house and give peace a chance
Week 3: Potty Training: It’s not for the weak!
Week 4: “You’re going to be a daddy…again!” How to survive—and thrive on—fatherhood, the second time around
Be there…
for vital information for every single father!
Contents
Chapter One
During the last five months, Flynn O’Grady had visualized countless scenarios of meeting Darcie Moretti again. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that in the middle of a Daddy Club meeting, he would look up and see her walking toward him.
His heart pounded a fierce tattoo in his chest at the sight of her. Her hair was a mass of messy brown curls that she’d corralled with two barrettes and a couple of chopsticks. Millions of golden freckles dusted her skin, fascinating him.
Darcie Moretti had a way of looking at a man that made him feel aggressive and startled and special and primitive all at once. She didn’t shy away; her gaze didn’t skitter coyly.
So why had she disappeared on him that night at the hotel? He had so many questions. Where had she been? Why had she left him without even saying goodbye, without giving him a phone number? And—
“Your daughter just called the runaway hot line.”
She was standing in front of him now, those