Susan Crosby - The Pregnant Bride Wore White

“Jake! You’ve come home. Jake!”

Keri couldn’t see him – too many people blocked her view – but her instincts took over. Five months ago she could’ve hidden her news until she’d told him. Now he could see for himself, without any softening of the blow first.

But wasn’t he even going to acknowledge her? Keri set her hands protectively on her belly, shielding her baby from the hurt she felt herself. She hadn’t realised how much it mattered that he accept her and their –

“What’s going on here?” Jake asked his mother.

“We’re having a baby shower. Aren’t you going to say hello to her?” she asked in little more than a whisper.

Keri managed a smile, knowing everyone expected her to run to him.

The problem was, she could barely manage to breathe, much less run.

“Well, go on, son,” Aggie said, grinning. “Kiss the woman you love.”

By

www.millsandboon.co.uk

SUSAN CROSBYbelieves in the value of setting goals, but also in the magic of making wishes, which often do come true – as long as she works hard enough. Along life’s journey she’s done a lot of the usual things – married, had children, attended college a little later than the average co-ed and earned a BA in English, then she dived off the deep end into a full-time writing career, a wish come true.

Susan enjoys writing about people who take a chance on love, sometimes against all odds. She loves warm, strong heroes, good-hearted, self-reliant heroines and will always believe in happily ever after.

More can be learned about her at www.susancrosby.com.

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Available in August 2010 from Mills & Boon® Special MomentsTM

Daddy on Demand by Helen R Myers & Déjà You by Lynda Sandoval

A Father for Danny by Janice Carter & Baby Be Mine by Eve Gaddy

The Mummy Makeover by Kristi Gold & Mummy for Hire by Cathy Gillen Thacker

The Pregnant Bride Wore White by Susan Crosby

Sophie’s Secret by Tara Taylor Quinn

Her So-Called Fiancé by Abby Gaines

Diagnosis: Daddy by Gina Wilkins

To Barbara Ferris, for your unfailing dedication to romance novels and authors.

Your enthusiasm is part of what keeps me going.

You truly do make the world a much better place.

Abell jangled as Keri Overton pushed open the diner door. Heat hit her first, a welcome break from the biting December cold, then came the distinctive aromas of grilling hamburgers, onions and strong coffee. None of it appealed to a stomach already filled to capacity with butterflies.

She stepped inside and gave the lunchtime crowd a quick inspection, seeking one person, coming up blank. Disappointment but also relief swamped her. After all, what would she say? Her head started echoing with the words she’d practiced. “Hi, Jake, remember me?” Scratch that. There was no way he would forget her. “Hello, Jake. There’s something you should know before the rest of the world finds out…” Right. That would go over well.

Keri sighed. She hadn’t really expected to find him so easily, but he’d told her about this town, his town, and this diner, so she’d hoped—and feared—he would be sitting in a booth, having the burger and fries he’d raved about.

The other patrons gave her curious looks without interrupting their conversations. Chance City was a small tourist town, accustomed to visitors, even the day after Christmas.

Keri took the last stool at the counter, the only one available. From there she had a good view of everyone, not just those seated at the counter, but the ones in the red-leatherette-and-chrome banquettes. She plucked a menu from behind a mini-jukebox, wondering if the townspeople would close ranks if she asked questions about one of their own.

A woman in jeans and black shirt approached, her salt-and-pepper braid disappearing down her back. “Welcome to the Lode. My name’s Honey. What can I get you?”

“Do you have ginger ale?”

“We do. Anything else?”

“That’ll do for now, thanks.”

“All our desserts are homemade daily,” Honey said, gesturing toward a glass case displaying pies and cakes like colorful pop art. “Our soup, too. Got chicken noodle today, and clam chowder. Warm you up from the inside out.”

Keri smiled at the woman’s enthusiasm. “Thank you. I’ll keep it in mind.” After a minute, Keri stuck the menu in its holder and scanned the room again, more slowly this time. She’d come with a purpose, after all. He had family here. Would any of them look enough like him that she could identify a relative she might speak to? Could she even remember his face well enough?

She tried to envision him. Blue eyes, dark brown hair, tall, fit, sexy. Yes, sexy, even under the circumstances in which they’d met. And lips that had created a firestorm inside her, deep, intense, and thrilling. She’d harbored fantasies about him ever since.

Honey set a glass of ginger ale on the counter as the overhead bell sounded. An elderly woman came in, escorted by two thirtysomething men—one tall, with black hair, the other a little shorter, his brown hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. Many of the customers greeted them. They smiled and said hello in return, but they didn’t seem relaxed, especially the man with the black hair, who carried what was no doubt the woman’s bright purple cane.

Wait. A man with a ponytail? Keri studied the three people further. They had to be Jake’s relatives. The man with the long hair would be his youngest brother, Joe. Which meant the black-haired man was Donovan. They had five sisters, too—a huge family.

Keri set her interest on the older woman. Their grandmother, probably, the woman they called Nana Mae? Keri had heard stories about Jake’s whole family for three days. She already felt as if she knew them.

“Oh, look,” the woman—Nana Mae—said, her steps small and shuffling. “There’s Laura and Dixie. Let’s go squeeze in the booth with them.”

Dixie? That name didn’t just ring in Keri’s head, it clanged. Jake had talked about her, too. And her broken engagement to Joe last fall.

Keri looked at the two women in the booth nearest to her as the others slid in, Donovan pulling up a chair to sit at the end. The women were both blonde but different from each other, one being curly haired and earthy, the other sleek and elegant.

“Any word?” the curly-haired blonde asked.

Joe shook his head. A long, uncomfortable silence followed.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Nana Mae said impatiently. “You can talk about it in front of me. I won’t have another stroke. Jake’s missing. He’s always come home for Christmas, except this year. And he hasn’t even called. It’s not like him. Something is wrong. We can say that out loud. We need to say it out loud.”

Missing? Keri grabbed the counter as her world tilted. Dread scattered the butterflies in her stomach, leaving a ball of ice behind. Her heart pounding deafeningly loud, she focused harder on their conversation, needing to hear what they were saying.