Mollie Molay - An Engagement Of Convenience

Alongside it was a wedding picture of a smiling bride and groom, as well as small snapshots of the twins as babies, held by their smiling father. Since there were no later pictures of the family together, he guessed that Paul Sr. had died soon after the twins’ birth.

In spite of his earlier determination not to become emotionally involved with Lili, her past, present or future, Tom felt a tug at his heart.

So much for being all business.

Dear Reader,

My three-book series SULLIVAN’S RULES features stories of three women who work for a magazine in Chicago, Illinois.

The first release, Marriage in Six Easy Lessons (AR #1023), was the story of April Morgan and Lucas Sullivan, the man who created six rules about what a woman must be to participate in the mating game. April, his editor, sets Lucas straight. To their surprise, the lessons lead to marriage.

The second book, How To Marry the Boy Next Door (AR #1048), was the story of Rita Rosales. Rita has her own ideas about love and marriage. Physical attraction aside, she feels that a man has to have strong genes to pass on to her children. To Rita’s surprise, the man who qualifies is Texas Ranger Colby Callahan, the boy who lived next door in Texas.

This final book in the series, An Engagement of Convenience, is the story of Lili Soulé, a single mother and a graphic artist for the magazine. Taken with the editor, Tom Eldridge, Lili yearns for him to notice her. What she does to draw his attention motivates Tom to suggest an engagement of convenience so that he can keep an eye on Lili before she brings the magazine down around his ears.

I think there’s a little of April, Rita and Lili in all of us.

Enjoy.

Mollie Molay

An Engagement of Convenience

Mollie Molay

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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To Child Care Centers everywhere and to the loving and caring people who run them.

HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE

938—THE DUCHESS AND HER BODYGUARD *

947—SECRET SERVICE DAD *

954—COMMANDER’S LITTLE SURPRISE *

987—MY BIG FAKE GREEN-CARD WEDDING

1023—MARRIAGE IN SIX EASY LESSONS †

1048—HOW TO MARRY THE BOY NEXT DOOR †

1071—AN ENGAGEMENT OF CONVENIENCE †

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

“So, you’re the one!”

At the sound of her boss’s angry voice, Lili Soulé tried to cover the papers on her drafting table, but it was too late. The flier demanding that the management of the Riverview Building keep its child care center open was in full view—along with a charcoal sketch of Tom Eldridge, publisher of Today’s World magazine and Lili’s boss.

For a man who took great pains to avoid associating with employees, Eldridge sounded friendly enough at weekly staff meetings. But he sure didn’t sound friendly now.

Lili’s heart raced. She’d been working as a graphic artist at the magazine for two years, and her crush on the publisher was as strong as ever. Tom Eldridge was six feet of rugged masculinity, with a square jaw and chocolate-brown eyes—eyes that were unmistakably angry as he regarded the damning evidence. The frown that creased his forehead did nothing to calm her racing heart, but now that her identity as the child care center’s staunchest advocate was out in the open, she intended to defend herself. She nodded cautiously.

“So you’re the person who’s been circulating fliers and a petition to keep the day care center open?” he asked.

Lili tried to hide her discomfort as she looked up at him. “Someone has to do it.”

His scowl made her toes curl. “And that someone had to be you?”

Lili couldn’t deny his accusation, not with the evidence right in front of her. The damage was done. Still, if ever there was a time to assert herself and her right to free speech, this was it. After all, she reminded herself, her cause was just.

“Yes. I have twins in the after-school program. Once I heard that Riverview’s management might close the center, I felt I should do something before it was too late.” Her defiant reply seemed to surprise both of them.

Raised in a small town in the south of France by grandparents who had taught her to treat everyone with respect no matter how she felt about them, Lili seldom raised her voice. Especially not around the office. Until today.

Eldridge’s eyes narrowed. He pointed to the assignment sheet pinned to the corner of her drawing board. “With a family to support, I would have thought you’d be spending your time designing the magazine rather than causing trouble.”

Lili swallowed hard. “Actually, I was working on the magazine, but other things got in the way.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, glancing down at the betraying evidence. “It sure looks as if they did, and they’re causing problems for everyone, including me.”

This time, Lili’s heart plunged to her toes, but she didn’t intend to back off. The center had provided day care for her children for the past two years. Now that the twins were in public school, she still needed after-school care. Besides, no matter how Eldridge felt about her underground activities, a lot of parents depended on her campaign. She wasn’t in this just for herself.

“I heard that the building’s management has called a meeting of the tenants in two weeks to vote on the center’s closure,” she said when she realized that if she didn’t speak up, Eldridge might fire her. “I’m not the only parent in the building involved, but since I am the only artist, I felt it was up to me to create this flier.”

“You might be an artist, but I’m sure you can still do the math, Lili,” Eldridge said. “Anyone who reads the newspapers has to be aware that insurance liability rates have gone up every year and are still climbing. So are the wages for well-trained caretakers and everything else that goes into a quality day care center like ours.”

At his use of the word quality, Lili perked up. At least Eldridge recognized the center’s worth. “Yes,” she agreed. “But for the employees, it is both more convenient and less expensive than hiring baby-sitters.”

“Perhaps,” he agreed, “but for tenants like this magazine, the costs of operating the center keep rising. I realize children’s welfare is involved here, but to the management, business is business.”

“I know,” Lili agreed, wishing she weren’t so distracted by the sound of Tom’s voice, even when he was angry with her. “That is why the next thing I am going to do is start a fund-raising campaign.” Too late, she realized that by advertising her future plans, she was adding fuel to a burning fire.