“I’m sure you and your fiancé will work it out.
Especially now that he’s about to become a proud papa.”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure Paul and I won’t be working out anything.”
Reid’s brows knit at that, but he kept his lips tightly shut. The sooner he distanced himself, the better.
“If running away from the wedding wasn’t enough to put an end to things, finding out about this baby sure as heck will be.”
He gave a snort of derision. He hadn’t meant to, it just sort of came out. “And why is that? I’d think good ole Paul would be even more eager to hustle you down the aisle now that you’re pregnant with his kid. Wouldn’t an illegitimate heir tarnish his sterling reputation?”
Juliet inhaled deeply, her chest rising as her lungs filled.
“That’s just it,” she said on a whisper of air. “It’s not his baby. It’s yours.”
* * *
Project: Runaway Bride is part of the Project: Passion series:
For these designing women, love is the latest look.
Project:
Runaway Bride
Heidi Betts
An avid romance reader since junior high, USA TODAY bestselling author HEIDI BETTS knew early on that she wanted to write these wonderful stories of love and adventure. It wasn’t until her freshman year of college, however, when she spent the entire night before finals reading a romance novel instead of studying, that she decided to take the road less traveled and follow her dream.
Soon after Heidi joined Romance Writers of America, her writing began to garner attention, including placing in the esteemed Golden Heart competition three years in a row. The recipient of numerous awards and stellar reviews, Heidi’s books combine believable characters with compelling plotlines, and are consistently described as “delightful,” “sizzling” and “wonderfully witty.”
For news, fun and information about upcoming books, be sure to visit Heidi online at www.heidibetts.com.
In memory of my grandmother,
Genevieve Gehrlein stock.
She absolutely hated what I do,
and this story probably would have upset her more
than most. But I like to believe that deep down,
she was still proud of me.
So like it or not, Gram, this one’s for you!
Contents
One
Juliet Zaccaro stared down at the little plastic wand she was clutching between shaky, white-knuckled fingers.
It was one of those kits that promised 100 percent accuracy. No doubts. No second-guessing. And that was definitely a giant blue plus sign, glaring back at her like a flashing Broadway marquee.
She was pregnant.
Her stomach tightened; her lungs following suit. Knees growing weak, she took a single stumbling step sideways and sank onto the closed toilet lid in a cloud of gauzy white crepe and tulle.
A laugh verging on hysterical tickled its way up her throat, but she tamped it down. Pressed her lips together to keep it from spilling out, because she knew if she didn’t, she might never stop.
It was her wedding day. Here she was in the cramped bathroom off the small-but-serviceable room at the rear of the church where she’d been getting ready, and she was very unexpectedly, very this-is-not-good-news pregnant.
She should have taken the test days ago rather than waiting until her hair and makeup were done and she was trussed up in her one-of-a-kind fairy-princess gown designed and hand sewn by her sister Lily. Hadn’t she suspected for more than a week now that the dizziness, the headaches, the upset stomachs were more than simply prewedding jitters? But she’d been so afraid she was right, so afraid she might actually be pregnant that she couldn’t bear to find out for sure.
And then she’d looked at herself in the mirror, seen herself as a bride about to walk down the aisle and realized she wasn’t blushing, she was flushed. She wasn’t glowing with happiness; she was radiating dread. And that was just at the prospect of saying “I do.”
When she stopped to consider the fact that she might indeed be pregnant, all of her doubts, all of her fears, all of her second thoughts just grew louder and louder until they were a nearly deafening cacophony inside her head. That was when she knew she couldn’t wait any longer to take the test and find out for sure.
Now she knew...but she had no idea what to do about it. She couldn’t very well walk down the aisle and start a new life with a man who most likely wasn’t—most likely? Who was she kidding?—definitely wasn’t the father of her child.
Dear God, her child. A baby. She was really and truly pregnant. Which meant it wasn’t just about her anymore. She wasn’t going to be the only one affected by whatever decisions she made from this moment forward. She had to start thinking like a mother, putting her child’s safety and happiness ahead of her own.
A tap on the bathroom door startled her out of her deeply spiraling dark thoughts. She lifted her head as her sister’s muffled voice came from the other side.
“Juliet. We’re ready for you, sweetie,” Lily said. “It’s time to become Mrs. Paul Harris.”
Her words were happy, encouraging, meant to uplift. Instead, they made Juliet’s stomach drop.
She didn’t know if she could become Mrs. Paul Harris. Or even if she should.
Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she called out, “I’ll be right there. Just one more minute.”
“All right. We’ll be waiting in the vestibule.”