Michelle Major - Anything For His Baby

Shep Bennett would do anything for his daughter... Even fall in love!

Shep Bennett’s as smooth as they come...except when it comes to his new daughter. Paige Harper has the magic touch with the traumatized toddler, so she strikes a bargain. She’ll care for Rosie, if Shep will let her run the inn he bought out from under her family. But will Paige be able to keep her heart out of the deal?

MICHELLE MAJOR grew up in Ohio but dreamed of living in the mountains. Soon after graduating with a degree in journalism, she pointed her car west and settled in Colorado. Her life and house are filled with one great husband, two beautiful kids, a few furry pets and several well-behaved reptiles. She’s grateful to have found her passion writing stories with happy endings. Michelle loves to hear from her readers at michellemajor.com.

Also by Michelle Major

Falling for the Wrong Brother

Second Chance in Stonecreek

A Stonecreek Christmas Reunion

A Baby and a Betrothal

Always the Best Man Christmas on Crimson

Mountain Romancing the Wallflower Sleigh

Bells in Crimson

Coming Home to Crimson

Her Soldier of Fortune

A Deal Made in Texas

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Anything for His Baby

Michelle Major

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09080-3

ANYTHING FOR HIS BABY

© 2019 Michelle Major

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

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To the Crimson, Colorado readers. Thank you

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I’m honored and blessed. XO

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

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

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Epilogue

Extract

About the Publisher

Chapter One

Paige Harper punched the heel of her hand into the bread dough she was working as the doorbell rang for the third time.

“Still ignoring it,” she muttered under her breath.

She turned the dough, stretched it against the counter then reached out and hit the volume button on the portable speaker at the edge of her work space. Barry Manilow’s rich voice filled the space, drowning out all other noise. Even the chatter in Paige’s head.

She continued the rhythmic kneading, flouring her hands when they began to feel tacky. Bread was new for her, and she loved the intensity of working the dough, the strength it took to mold it into a smooth ball.

Closing her eyes, she hummed along with the music as Barry sang about long, rocky beaches.

Just as the song came to its crescendo, Paige felt a tap on her shoulder. In the space of a few minutes, she’d become so wrapped up in the motions and the music, she’d forgotten about the world outside her kitchen.

Which was why the man standing behind her scared the living daylights out of her. She screamed and hurled the hunk of bread dough at him. Unprepared for the assault, he let out an oof as it hit his stomach then dropped and landed with a thunk on the wide-plank floor.

Paige grabbed her phone, turning off the music and plunging the kitchen into a sharp silence.

She and Shep Bennett stared at each other for several seconds then simultaneously glanced down at the sad lump of dough on the floor.

“What are you doing in my house?” she demanded. “You’re lucky I was making bread and not polishing the barrel of my Glock.”

“You own a Glock?” Shep asked, his full lips struggling not to pull into a smile. “I find that hard to believe.”

Okay, the truth was she’d never held any kind of gun, Glock or otherwise. She’d heard the term used on the Law & Order spin-offs she’d binge-watched this week. She’d made it to season six out of approximately three hundred and fifty and knew way more about police procedures than any civilian had a right to. Not that she was going to admit that to Shep.

“You’re still trespassing,” she said through clenched teeth, ignoring the spark of heat that raced along her skin as Shep gave her an appraising once-over.

The perusal didn’t take long as there wasn’t much of her to see. Five feet two inches tall with slim hips and very little in the way of curves anywhere else. Paige wasn’t a woman who’d normally attract the attention of a drop-dead gorgeous man like Shep, with his lean, muscled build and tousled dark hair. Not to mention those whiskey-colored eyes. She wasn’t looking to attract his attention anyway. Shep Bennett would clearly be a handful, and she had too much on her plate already.

“He’s here with me,” a voice said from the back door and Paige dragged her gaze away from Shep.

Lorena Jones, the thirtysomething real estate agent Paige’s mother had hired without bothering to mention it to Paige, walked into the kitchen, frowning as she took in the state of the room. “I left you three messages about a final walk-through today,” she said, her glossy mouth pulling down at the corners.