Susan Meier - His Expectant Neighbor

But she was alone and a million and ten things could happen to her and no one would be around to even discover her, let alone rescue her. So if Ben made himself her protector for the next few months, he wasn’t doing anything but being a good neighbor. Besides, he was her landlord. He had a responsibility to make sure she was safe while she was on his property.

He just couldn’t get too attached to her, which would be the tricky part if he had to spend too much time watching her smile, listening to her soft voice, and enjoying the very fact—so clearly demonstrated by her pregnancy—that she was a woman.

Dear Reader,

Silhouette’s 20th anniversary celebration continues this month in Romance, with more not-to-be-missed novels that take you on the romantic journey from courtship to commitment.

First we revisit STORKVILLE, USA, where a jaded Native American rancher seems interested in His Expectant Neighbor. Don’t miss this second book in the series by Susan Meier! Next, New York Times bestselling author Kasey Michaels returns to the lineup, launching her new miniseries, THE CHANDLERS REQUEST…One bride, two grooms—who will end up Marrying Maddy? In Daddy in Dress Blues by Cathie Linz, a Marine embarks on his most terrifying mission—fatherhood!—with the help of a pretty preschool teacher.

Then Valerie Parv whisks us to a faraway kingdom as THE CARRAMER CROWN continues. The Princess’s Proposal puts the lovely Adrienne and her American nemesis on a collision course with…love. The ever-delightful Terry Essig tells the tale of a bachelor, his orphaned brood and the woman who sparks A Gleam in His Eye. Shhh…We can’t give anything away, but you must learn The Librarian’s Secret Wish. Carol Grace knows…and she’s anxious to tell you!

Next month, look for another installment of STORKVILLE, USA, and THE CHANDLERS REQUEST…from New York Times bestselling author Kasey Michaels. Plus, Donna Clayton launches her newest miniseries, SINGLE DOCTOR DADS!

Happy Reading!

Mary-Theresa Hussey

Senior Editor

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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has written category romances for Silhouette Romance and Silhouette Desire. A full-time writer, Susan has also been an employee of a major defense contractor, a columnist for a small newspaper and a division manager of a charitable organization. But her greatest joy in life has always been her children, who constantly surprise and amaze her. Married for twenty years to her wonderful, understanding and gorgeous husband, Michael, Susan cherishes her role as a mother, wife, sister and friend, believing them to be life’s real treasures. She not only cherishes those roles as gifts, she tries to convey the beauty and importance of loving relationships in her books.

Storkville folks hardly remember the day the town bore another name—because the residents keep bearing bundles of joy! No longer known for its safe neighborhoods and idyllic landscape, Storkville is baby-bootie capital of the world! We even have a legend for the explosion of “uplets”— “When the stork visits, he bestows many bouncing bundles on those whose love is boundless!” Of course, some—Gertie Anderson—still insist a certain lemonade recipe, which is “guaranteed” to help along prospective mothers, is the real stork! But whether the little darlings come from the cabbage patch or the delivery room, Storkville folks never underestimate the beauty of holding a child—or the enchantment of first love and the wonder of second chance.…

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

“Aw, damn!” Sioux rancher Ben Crowe brought his truck to a screeching halt on the old dirt road that led to his home. He shoved open the door and jumped out, nine-year-old Nathan Eastman on his heels. “I knew something like this was going to happen!”

Ben was a tall man, at least six foot. When he reached very pregnant Gwenyth Parker, who was dragging a huge box up the steps of the cottage he’d rented to her only two days before, he towered over her. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Because he was angry, and his voice dripped with it, he was surprised when she looked up and smiled. “I bought a walker for the baby,” she said simply, her hazel eyes sparkling with joy.

Ben had heard all about the glow of pregnant women, but he had to admit this was the first time he’d actually seen it. Her eyes were so bright and her face was so radiant she could have lit the darkest night.

“No kidding,” Ben said, then scooped the unwieldy cardboard box out of her arms and carried it up the steps. “Don’t you know you’re not supposed to be lifting heavy things?”

“It’s not heavy,” Gwen replied, her smile in place, her beautiful blond hair reflecting the rays of the early September sun. “Who’s your friend?”

“That’s Nathan,” Ben said, unlocking her front door because as her landlord he had a key. “Don’t change the subject. I rented this property to you on the condition that you’d be a good tenant.”

“I am a good tenant,” she said, right behind him as he set the big box on the floor beside her kitchen table. When he turned around, she was directly in front of him.

Dressed in simple jeans, maternity T-shirt and a bright blue sweater coat that wasn’t designed for a woman in her seventh month and didn’t button over her tummy, with her wind-blown, shoulder-length hair tucked behind her ears, Gwenyth Parker was still impossibly beautiful, and Ben realized he could have stared at her lovely face all day.

It had been a long time since a woman stirred his senses. Because Gwen did, he took a step back, then shifted around her to go outside.

“Are there any more boxes in your car?”

She shrugged. “A few. But really, Mr. Crowe, I didn’t buy anything I couldn’t carry myself.”

He grunted an unintelligible response to that, then hurried out the door and down the steps to her car.