Donna Clayton - Who Will Father My Baby?

“I want a baby, Dane.”

Clearly, he tried to control his reaction. But Lacy saw his spine stiffen, his eyes widen the merest fraction. He looked as though he were about to speak. But in the end he didn’t.

“It’s an overwhelming idea, I know.”

“Overwhelming.” His gray eyes were clouded with a myriad of thoughts and emotions. “Lacy, let me get this straight. You’re asking me—”

“To father my child.”

“Why me?”

“Because you’re—”

Perfect, she’d nearly said.

“Right.” She left it at that, then whispered, “You’re also my last chance.”

Dear Reader,

You asked for more ROYALLY WED titles and you’ve got them! For the next four months we’ve brought back the Stanbury family—first introduced in a short story by Carla Cassidy on our eHarlequin.com Web site. Be sure to check the archives to find Nicholas’s story! But don’t forget to pick up Stella Bagwell’s The Expectant Princess and discover the involving story of the disappearance of King Michael.

Other treats this month include Marie Ferrarella’s one hundredth title for Silhouette Books! This wonderful, charming and emotional writer shows her trademark warmth and humor in Rough Around the Edges. Luckily for all her devoted readers, Marie has at least another hundred plots bubbling in her imagination, and we’ll be seeing more from her in many of our Silhouette lines.

Then we’ve got Karen Rose Smith’s Tall, Dark & True about a strong, silent sheriff who can’t bear to keep quiet about his feelings any longer. And Donna Clayton’s heroine asks Who Will Father My Baby?—and gets a surprising answer. No Place Like Home by Robin Nicholas is a delightful read that reminds us of an all-time favorite movie—I’ll let you guess which one! And don’t forget first-time author Roxann Delaney’s debut title, Rachel’s Rescuer.

Next month be sure to return for The Blacksheep Prince’s Bride by Martha Shields, the next of the ROYALLY WED series. Also returning are popular authors Judy Christenberry and Elizabeth August.

Happy reading!

Mary-Theresa Hussey

Senior Editor

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Who Will Father My Baby? #1507

is the recipient of the Diamond Author Award for Literary Achievement 2000, as well as two Holt Medallions. As a child, she marveled at the ability to travel the world, experience swashbuckling adventures and meet amazingly bold and daring people without ever leaving the shade of the huge oak in her backyard. In her opinion, love is what makes the world go ’round.

One of her favorite pastimes is traveling. Her other interests include walking, reading, visiting with friends, teaching Sunday school, cooking and baking, and she still collects cookbooks, too. In fact, her house is overrun with them.

Please write to Donna care of Silhouette Books.

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

Epilogue

“What is it with men and their sperm?” Lacy Rivers sorted through the mail, but she was so distracted that she was going through the morning ritual purely by rote. “Suggest a night of frivolous fun and a man will jump your bones without a second thought. But you just mention the word baby and he acts as if his bodily fluids are more precious than pure gold.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Lacy saw Sharon, her friend and administrative assistant, grimace.

“Sorry,” Lacy muttered, realizing the statement was unusually raw even by her own standards. “Didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” She knew her brash, “tell it like it is” opinions often did just that to the people around her no matter how well they got to know her. However, Lacy couldn’t help but softly add, “But it is the truth, darn it.”

Always quick to recover from her reactions to her boss’s outspokenness, Sharon grinned. “With all your big talk, a person would think you’ve had your bones jumped quite frequently.” One of her delicate eyebrows arched. “But you and I both know that the exact opposite is the truth.”

“Shh.” Lacy lifted her index finger to her lips. “Don’t go spreading gossip that I’m a good girl. Not when I’m trying to get a man—any man—to father my baby.”

The two women shared soft laughter, but if the truth were to be known, Lacy didn’t feel the least bit amused by her circumstance.

Frustration. That’s what had her feeling so out of sorts this morning. Disappointment fairly pulsed through her veins. The magnitude of it almost—almost—overshadowed the ever-present echo that haunted her…the bone-deep ache that called out from her very soul.

Lacy wanted a baby. She needed to have a child of her own. And she knew that, at thirty-eight, her time was quickly running out. The tick, tick, tick of her biological clock seemed to grow louder with each passing day.

“I guess this gray cloud hanging over you this morning—” as Sharon spoke, she went to the oak credenza and began organizing the contracts that Lacy had piled there to be filed “—means your meeting with Mr. Fitzgerald didn’t go well last night.”

A disgusted sound erupted from Lacy, and the mail she tossed on the desk went skittering and sliding across the wide glass top. “The man acted as if I was asking for his right arm.” She ran agitated fingers though her short locks. “I offered him an iron-clad guarantee in the form of a legal contract stating that I would never ask him for monetary support. I have more than enough to give my child everything he or she might need.”

Sharon cocked her head to one side. “You’re a fantastic businesswoman. That’s why Lacy Webs is so successful. Before you agree to create an Internet site for a customer, you make sure everything is signed and sealed.” The woman’s fist found her hip as she quietly pointed out, “But you can’t contract matters of the heart.”