Natalie Patrick - The Millionaire's Proposition

I love kids and they love me. When the time comes, I think I’d be a very good mother. I love kids and they love me. When the time comes, I think I’d be a very good mother. Becky’s words echoed through Clark’s mind. Clark did not often run into women like Becky. The novelty of her spirit and innocence intrigued him, stirred something up in him. Flawless-as-cream skin, hair that looked like the spun gold curls straight off a Christmas angel and every bit as wholesome. And she was a virgin, too. He’d stake his fortune on that fact. That “fact” touched something in him, awakened his male protective instinct and made him feel proprietary, even though he hardly knew Becky. And any woman who did that for a man like Clark deserved due consideration. Yes...Becky Taylor might just be exactly what he was looking for.... Letter to Reader Dear Reader, The end of the century is near, and we’re all eagerly anticipating the wonders to come. But no matter what happens. I believe that everyone will continue to need and to seek the unquenchable spirit of love...of romance. And here at Silhouette Romance, we’re delighted to present another month’s worth of terrific, emotional stories. This month, RITA Award-winning author Marie Ferrarella offers a tender BUNDLES OF JOY tale, in which The Baby Beneath the Mistletoe brings together a man who’s lost his faith and a woman who challenges him to take a chance at love...and family. In Charlotte Maclay’s charming new novel, a millionaire playboy isn’t sure what he was Expecting at Christmas, but what he gets is a very pregnant butler! Elizabeth Harbison launches her wonderful new theme-based miniseries, CINDERELLA BRIDES, with the fairy-tale romance—complete with mistaken identity!—between Emma and the Earl. In A Diamond for Kate by Moyra Tarling, discover whether a doctor makes his devoted nurse his devoted wife after learning about her past... Patricia Thayer’s cross-line miniseries WITH THESE RINGS returns to Romance and poses the question: Can The Man, the Ring, the Wedding end a fifty-year-old curse? You’ll have to read this dramatic story to find out! And though The Milllionaire’s Proposition involves making a baby in Natalie Patrick’s upbeat Romance, can a down-on-her-luck waitress also convince him to make beautiful memories...as man and wife? Enjoy this month’s offerings, and look forward to a new century of timeless, traditional tales guaranteed to touch your heart! Mary-Theresa Hussey Senior Editor, Silhouette Romance Please address questions and book requests to: Silhouette Reader Service U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo. NY 14269 Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Out L2A 5X3 Title Page The Millionaire’s Proposition Natalie Patrick www.millsandboon.co.uk About the Author NATALIE PATRICK believes in romance and has firsthand experience to back up that belief. She met her husband in January and married him in April of that same year—they would have eloped sooner but friends persuaded them to have a real wedding. Ten years and two children later, she knows she’s found her real romantic hero. Amid the clutter in her work space, she swears that her headstone will probably read: “She left this world a brighter place but not necessarily a cleaner one.” She certainly hopes her books brighten her readers’ days. Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Copyright

I love kids and they love me. When the time comes, I think I’d be a very good mother.

Becky’s words echoed through Clark’s mind.

Clark did not often run into women like Becky. The novelty of her spirit and innocence intrigued him, stirred something up in him.

Flawless-as-cream skin, hair that looked like the spun gold curls straight off a Christmas angel and every bit as wholesome. And she was a virgin, too. He’d stake his fortune on that fact.

That “fact” touched something in him, awakened his male protective instinct and made him feel proprietary, even though he hardly knew Becky. And any woman who did that for a man like Clark deserved due consideration.

Yes...Becky Taylor might just be exactly what he was looking for....

Dear Reader,

The end of the century is near, and we’re all eagerly anticipating the wonders to come. But no matter what happens. I believe that everyone will continue to need and to seek the unquenchable spirit of love...of romance. And here at Silhouette Romance, we’re delighted to present another month’s worth of terrific, emotional stories.

This month, RITA Award-winning author Marie Ferrarella offers a tender BUNDLES OF JOY tale, in which The Baby Beneath the Mistletoe brings together a man who’s lost his faith and a woman who challenges him to take a chance at love...and family. In Charlotte Maclay’s charming new novel, a millionaire playboy isn’t sure what he was Expecting at Christmas, but what he gets is a very pregnant butler! Elizabeth Harbison launches her wonderful new theme-based miniseries, CINDERELLA BRIDES, with the fairy-tale romance—complete with mistaken identity!—between Emma and the Earl.

In A Diamond for Kate by Moyra Tarling, discover whether a doctor makes his devoted nurse his devoted wife after learning about her past... Patricia Thayer’s cross-line miniseries WITH THESE RINGS returns to Romance and poses the question: Can The Man, the Ring, the Wedding end a fifty-year-old curse? You’ll have to read this dramatic story to find out! And though The Milllionaire’s Proposition involves making a baby in Natalie Patrick’s upbeat Romance, can a down-on-her-luck waitress also convince him to make beautiful memories...as man and wife?

Enjoy this month’s offerings, and look forward to a new century of timeless, traditional tales guaranteed to touch your heart!

Mary-Theresa Hussey

Senior Editor, Silhouette Romance

Please address questions and book requests to:

Silhouette Reader Service

U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo. NY 14269

Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Out L2A 5X3

www.millsandboon.co.uk

NATALIE PATRICK

believes in romance and has firsthand experience to back up that belief. She met her husband in January and married him in April of that same year—they would have eloped sooner but friends persuaded them to have a real wedding. Ten years and two children later, she knows she’s found her real romantic hero.

Amid the clutter in her work space, she swears that her headstone will probably read: “She left this world a brighter place but not necessarily a cleaner one.” She certainly hopes her books brighten her readers’ days.

Chapter One

Why don’t you just come home to Woodbridge, Indiana, meet a nice fellow, get married get a mortgage, a minivan, and have a couple terrific kids? Becky Taylor could just hear her older brother Matt’s very sensible and very predictable advice. And she wasn’t taking it!

No, when she came home to Indiana, it would be in triumph. Even Matt could appreciate her need for that. Growing up—he the oldest, Becky the baby—in one of the poorest families in town, they knew what it meant to go hungry, to not know what crisis they would face next, to be scared often and sometimes angry. But they’d also known a lot of love and had been raised to believe they could do better for themselves. A lot of folks around town doubted that, but Matt had proved them wrong and so had her other brothers and sisters—now it was her turn.