Millie Criswell: The Pregnant Ms. Potter

A kiss on the lips the bargain will seal, and undying love will the couple soon feel.

This can’t be true, Maddy thought. She forced a nervous laugh. “You’re right. It was something your grandma made up.” She and Pete hadn’t kissed. They had nothing to worry about.

“What is it? What does it say?” He tried to grab the paper, but she held it back and out of his reach. She tried to scoot away, but Pete lunged for her, grabbing her gently and pinning her down with his body.

Pete no longer seemed interested in the paper. His lips were just inches away from hers. His intention reflected clearly in his eyes, and Maddy panicked. “Pete, wait! Don’t do it! You don’t under—”

“Sorry, Maddy, but I’ve got to.” He covered her mouth with his own.

Dear Reader,

It’s February—the month of love. And what better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than with a Harlequin American Romance novel.

This month’s selection begins with the latest installment in the RETURN TO TYLER series. Prescription for Seduction is what Darlene Scalera offers when sparks fly between a lovely virgin and a steadfast bachelor doctor. The Bride Said, “Surprise!” is another of Cathy Gillen Thacker’s THE LOCKHARTS OF TEXAS, and is a tender tale about a secret child who brings together two long-ago lovers. (Watch for Cathy’s single title, Texas Vows: A McCabe Family Saga, next month from Harlequin Books.)

In Millie Criswell’s charming new romance, The Pregnant Ms. Potter is rescued from a blizzard by a protective rancher who takes her into his home—and into his heart. And in Longwalker’s Child by Debra Webb, a proud Native American hero is determined to claim the child he never knew existed, but first he has to turn the little girl’s beautiful guardian from his sworn enemy into his loving ally.

So this February, treat yourself to all four of our wonderful Harlequin American Romance titles. And in March, look for Judy Christenberry’s Rent a Millionaire Groom, the first book in Harlequin American Romance’s new promotion, 2001 WAYS TO WED.

Wishing you happy reading,

Melissa Jeglinski

Associate Senior Editor

Harlequin American Romance

The Pregnant Ms. Potter

Millie Criswell

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Millie Criswell didn’t start out to be a writer. Her greatest aspiration in life was to tap dance with the Rockettes. However, when that failed to work out, she put pen to paper and has authored eighteen bestselling, award-winning historical, category and contemporary romances. She has won numerous awards, including the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award, Reviewer’s Choice Award and the Maggie Award from Georgia Romance Writers. Millie has two grown children and resides with her husband in Virginia.

HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE

810—THE WEDDING PLANNER

863—THE PREGNANT MS. POTTER

HARLEQUIN HISTORICALS

508—THE MARRYING MAN

The Taggart

Wedding Ring Quilt Legend

Place this quilt upon your bed

and in one month you shall be wed.

But if you think you’d rather not,

Then a spinster’s life shall be your lot.

A man and a woman who meet if by chance,

Will soon be doing the marital dance.

A kiss on the lips the bargain will seal,

And undying love will the couple soon feel.

—Grandma Maggie Taggart

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Maddy Potter didn’t think her life could get any worse.

Ha! What did she know? It wasn’t bad enough that she was eight weeks pregnant without a husband in sight—“Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!” Now she was stranded in the middle of Nowhere, Colorado, in the clutches of a snowstorm—a whiteout, the radio had called it—and her chances of reaching her sister’s house in Leadville seemed non-existent.

“Don’t even think about driving in this storm, little lady,” the car rental agent had told her two hours before. “Get yourself a nice warm hotel room somewhere near the airport and ride it out. It’s the sensible thing to do.”

“Of course, when have I ever been sensible?” Maddy asked herself. Surely not when she had allowed passion to override good judgment and had given in to David Lassiter’s persistent pursuit, engaging in unprotected sex for the first time in her life. Well, not exactly unprotected. They had used a condom, but the damn thing broke right in the middle of everything. Just her luck.

Stupid wasn’t really a strong enough sentiment to sum up how she felt about her behavior. Asinine was probably a better word. Or how about insane? That fit nicely, too.

Heaving a sigh, Maddy’s hand moved to her belly, and she felt the tiny life growing inside her—David’s child. But David Lassiter was her boss at Lassiter, Owens and Cumberland, the third largest advertising firm in New York City, not her boyfriend, and certainly not her fiancé. He’d made it clear that he wasn’t looking for any entanglements, including, and most especially, a wife.

Not that she was anxious to get married, either.

She’d been doing fine on her own. Wonderful, in fact! She didn’t need a man to complicate things, to view her as competition, or worse, the little woman.

But she thought it only fair that the father of her child be informed of his impending fatherhood. When she’d confided to David that she was pregnant, he hadn’t wasted any time in pulling out his checkbook and offering her a substantial amount of money for an abortion.

“Unfeeling bastard!” she muttered, thinking back to the smug look on his face. If he hadn’t been such a jerk, threatening her with her job and making it clear that there was no room in his life for a child, she wouldn’t have run off like a frightened teenager two weeks before Christmas to seek comfort in the arms of the one person she knew she could count on: her older sister, Mary Beth.

And it sure as heck hadn’t been sensible to drive through a snowstorm knowing how little experience she had operating a car in such conditions. She lived in New York City, for heaven’s sake! What did she know about driving? She took taxis and the subway when she needed to get somewhere; she didn’t even own a car.

“Well, Maddy, you dolt! You’ve really gone and done it this time.” The snow was piled so thickly on the windshield that she couldn’t see a foot in front of her, let alone the surrounding countryside. She knew only that she’d taken Highway 24 from the airport in Colorado Springs—Denver’s Stapleton had been closed due to the storm—and an hour later had taken a wrong turn onto a secondary road, hit a patch of icy pavement and careened into a ditch when she’d foolishly applied the brakes too hard. One of the front wheels had come off and the car was listing to one side. It was not driveable and the rental people were not going to be pleased—if, in fact, she ever saw them or anyone again. At this point she had her doubts.