Caroline Anderson - A Bride Worth Waiting For

Just like having a heart-to-heart with your best friend, these stories will take you from laughter to tears and back again!

Curl up and have a

with Harlequin Romance®

So heartwarming and emotional

you’ll want to have some tissues handy!

“Good morning.”

She looked up, and for a second her heart stopped.

And then he moved, stepped forward into the room, and as the light hit his face Annie felt the stupid, foolish hope drain away and her heart started again.

Crazy. For a moment there—but it was silly. It was just because she’d been thinking about him—

“You okay?” he asked, his voice low and rough and strangely sensuous. “You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”

She nearly laughed aloud, and dragged her eyes from the battered, lived-in face in front of her, staring down in bewilderment at her shaking hands. Lord, she should have stopped doing this after all these years, clutching at straws, seeing him in any random stranger, but there was just something—

“Sorry. You reminded me of someone.”

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Caroline Anderson has the mind of a butterfly. She’s been a nurse, a secretary, a teacher, run her own soft-furnishing business and now she’s settled on writing. She says, “I was looking for that elusive something. I finally realized it was variety, and now I have it in abundance. Every book brings new horizons and new friends, and in between books I have learned to be a juggler. My teacher husband, John, and I have two beautiful and talented daughters, Sarah and Hannah, umpteen pets and several acres of Suffolk that nature tries to reclaim every time we turn our backs!”

Join Caroline Anderson on a wonderful romantic escape. Her stories are emotional and touching.

HARLEQUIN ROMANCE ®

3806—THE PREGNANT TYCOON

3826—THE PREGNANCY SURPRISE

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

‘IT’S over.’

For a moment he didn’t move, just stood there and let it sink in. Then he turned slowly round and scanned her face.

‘They’ve got him?’

Ruth nodded. ‘They caught up with him in a villa just outside Antibes. He’d got sloppy—maybe he thought we’d given up.’

He grunted. ‘Fat chance after what that bastard’s done. So he’s finally going to be put away—well, I hope they throw the book at him. They will if I have anything to do with it. Never mind the other things he’s done and the countless lives he’s ruined, that animal owes me nine years.’

Ruth—his researcher and friend, his ex-colleague and the woman who’d kept him sane for all that time—shook her head. ‘Sorry, Michael. He’s dead.’

He swore quietly and succinctly and with considerable feeling. ‘What happened?’

‘There was a girl there with him. Frank didn’t say what he’d done to her, but I’m sure we can fill in the details. She shot him after they stormed the house—they were cuffing him, and she just shot him through the head with his own gun at point-blank range. Said he deserved it.’

‘Is that the official version?’

Ruth shook her head and smiled. ‘Oh, no. I gather his gun went off in the confusion. Conveniently.’

He nodded, glad the girl wouldn’t be punished for what amounted to a public service. ‘Good for her,’ he said softly. ‘I would have liked ten minutes alone with him, though, before she did it.’

‘Absolutely. You and all the others. It was too good for him, but whatever. It’s over—that’s all that matters really.’

It was. And that meant they’d all be safe—him, Ruth, Annie and the son he had yet to get to know. The threat hanging over them was gone, finally, after all these years.

And now it was time for the last act.

He felt the rush of adrenaline, the nerves, the anticipation—like the start of an operation, but worse, because he was personally involved in this one. It wasn’t something he could remain detached about. No way.

‘What about the others?’ he asked, his voice rough—rougher even than usual, rusty with emotion and lack of use.

‘They were picking them up when Frank rang me. They’ve been closing in for days, had everyone under surveillance. They did a dawn swoop. It’s massive. It’ll be on the news.’

‘So it’s official?’

Ruth nodded. ‘Yes—just about. I expect someone will come and see you. Frank rang me this morning—I’m surprised he hasn’t called you.’

‘He may have done. The phone rang when I was in the shower. I ignored it. I’ll call him now.’

And then he could get things in motion. He’d been on ice for eight, nearly nine years, and now the waiting was over.

‘Fancy living here?’ he asked quietly. ‘Swapping houses? Just for a while. I could use the flat as an excuse to be there.’

There was a silence, and as it stretched out he turned and studied her thoughtfully.

‘Am I missing something?’ he asked, and she gave a wry little smile.

‘If you don’t need me, there’s somewhere else I’d rather be.’

‘Tim?’

She nodded. ‘He’s asked me to marry him—again. And somehow, with this finally over, I feel free at last—as if the debt’s paid and I can move on. And I do love him.’

He closed his eyes, let out his breath on a short huff of laughter before the emotion choked him. ‘Ruth—that’s great. Wonderful. I’m really glad for you. It’s about time—and of course I don’t need you. Not that much—not enough to get in the way of this. You know I’d never stand in your way. I’ve asked too much from you for too long as it is—’

‘No. It’s been fine. I needed your support every bit as much as you needed mine. You kept me safe, gave me a reason to live when it all fell apart, and I’ll be eternally grateful for that, but…’

‘But you don’t need me any more,’ he prompted.

‘Not now.’ She smiled gently at him. ‘I’ll always need your friendship, and you’ll always have mine. You know that. But Tim’s there for me now. I need to be with him.’

‘How much does he know?’

She shrugged. ‘Enough. I never thought I could ever trust a man again after what happened. And I certainly never thought I’d love again after David died. But—with Tim, it’s all fallen into place, and I feel I can start again. Draw a line under this, get on with my life.’

‘I’m so glad for you,’ he said softly.

‘Thank you. I’ll still work for you,’ she added. ‘If you want me to.’