Mary Anne Wilson - Predicting Rain?

“So you think you have me pegged?”

Jackson asked innocently.

“I did.”

“And now?” he said in a rough whisper as he touched her. Just the tips of his fingers on her chin, bringing with it an intense heat.

Rain’s awareness of him was so strong that it literally had her rooted to the spot. “I don’t know,” she said honestly. He was closer now, so close that all rational thought vanished.

“You don’t know what?”

She couldn’t answer. Rain knew nothing about this man who’d come into her life so unexpectedly, throwing her off center, making her think things she had no business thinking.

But none of that mattered. Because when he touched her, then slowly lowered his head to kiss her, nothing else in this world existed.

Nothing but the two of them and this one perfect moment.

Predicting Rain?

Mary Anne Wilson

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Mary Anne Wilson is a Canadian transplanted to Southern California, where she lives with her husband, three children and an assortment of animals. She knew she wanted to write romances when she found herself “rewriting” the great stories in literature, such as A Tale of Two Cities, to give them “happy endings.” Over her long career she’s published more than thirty romances, had her books on bestseller lists, been nominated for Reviewer’s Choice Awards and received a Career Achievement Award in Romantic Suspense. She’s looking forward to her next thirty books.

HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE

495—HART’S OBSESSION

523—COULD IT BE YOU?

543—HER BODYGUARD

570—THE BRIDE WORE BLUE JEANS

589—HART’S DREAM

609—THE CHRISTMAS HUSBAND

637—NINE MONTHS LATER…

652—MISMATCHED MOMMY?

670—JUST ONE TOUCH

700—MR. WRONG!

714—VALENTINE FOR AN ANGEL

760—RICH, SINGLE & SEXY

778—COWBOY IN A TUX

826—THAT NIGHT WE MADE BABY

891—REGARDING THE TYCOON’S TODDLER… *

895—THE C.E.O. & THE SECRET HEIRESS *

899—MILLIONAIRE’S CHRISTMAS MIRACLE *

909—THE MCCALLUM QUINTUPLETS “And Babies Make Seven”

952—MONTANA MIRACLE

1003—PREDICTING RAIN? *

Dear Reader,

The idea of opposites attracting is as old as time and never loses its appeal to the romantic at heart. That concept sparked the idea for book one in my current JUST FOR KIDS day-care center series, Predicting Rain? I created two people so different there didn’t seem to be any way they could ever find each other. But, as in real life, things happen that you never expected, and the heart is as unpredictable as the weather.

Writing about Rain and Jack was touching and lots of fun, but making sure they found each other and lived happily ever after was the best part of all.

Thanks for all the positive feedback on my JUST FOR KIDS series. I hope you enjoy this story and the next two, Winning Sara’s Heart (2/04) and When Megan Smiles (3/04), as much as I enjoyed writing them.

Prologue

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

London

Jackson Ford knew how to negotiate business deals, take over multimillion dollar corporations and face down a board of directors who wanted his scalp. He could fix anything. He’d have facts and figures, bluff if he had to, or just walk out. But as he crouched in front of the tiny four-year-old girl with her silvery blond hair plaited in two braids, sitting in the oversize leather chair in his study, he didn’t have a clue what to do to make things work between them.

He knew nothing about children and hadn’t planned to learn. Now he had no choice. He tried to use his best I’m-being-reasonable voice when he spoke to Victoria and laid out the facts. “I have to go to Houston, Victoria. That’s in Texas. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. A week, but probably two or three weeks.” Her huge blue eyes stared at him, never blinking, and she said nothing. She hadn’t spoken since arriving on his doorstep a week ago. “I have important business in Houston, and I have to be there as quickly as possible. I don’t have a choice.”

She wouldn’t understand the fact that he’d been the one at LynTech initiating an acquisition of a branch of an up-and-coming corporation, an acquisition that would make LynTech more viable and give it more strength. Or that the acquisition had been totally stopped when their bid became public and others started circling in a feeding frenzy. Playing hardball in business wasn’t pretty, but part of the game. This was beyond hardball. She wouldn’t understand that he felt morally bound to make it work, to salvage the deal. But she could understand that he had no choice in what he had to do. “I wouldn’t go if I didn’t have to. You understand that, don’t you?” he asked the mute child.

“Darling, of course she does.” He’d almost forgotten about Eve and from the sound of her throaty voice, she was inches from him, looking over his shoulder at Victoria. “She’ll be fine. You’ve got everything in place, and besides, her father traveled all the time. This isn’t new to her.”

He frowned at her mention of Ian and almost flinched when he felt her press against his back. Eve. Lavender eyes, ebony hair feathered around her elegant face, willowy beauty, and very well versed in heavy-hitting corporate business coming from the Ryders, a family that had been front and center in international business for generations. A real “catch” as his mother had told him so often. Someone who understands what his life is all about. That was true and had been an important part of his decision to marry her. But he didn’t like the way she was dealing with the child right now.

“This is all new to her,” he murmured and stood. “And new to me, too.”

He had a flash of his image in the windows behind where Victoria sat. A tall man, two inches over six feet, not handsome in any traditional sense, with dark-brown hair brushed back from a face that was a bit too strong and a bit too irregular. Eve stood behind him. They’d been set up by mutual friends, and the timing had been right for both of them. Eve was just through a bad relationship, and he’d been considering solidifying his personal life for a while. A month ago, they’d gotten engaged, and a week ago, he’d received the phone call about Ian and Jean.

He looked down at the child who hadn’t moved or taken her eyes off of him. “Victoria, I have to go. Do you understand?”

She sat very still, her tiny hands clutching an old rag doll in the lap of the pink pinafore Eve had bought for her. She gave no indication that she cared what he was saying. If she’d only talk, and say, “Yes, I understand, Uncle Jack,” but that wasn’t going to happen.