Leandra Logan - Family - The Secret Ingredient

And he was…chopping an onion?

Grace stopped short on the threshold of her back door and blinked in disbelief. Twice. At first glance she couldn’t place this man. “Uh, hello there,” she ventured warily.

He paused in midchop to run a lazy eye over her. An approving smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “You look wonderful, Gracie.”

Ditto, Grace silently noted. He cut a lean and fit figure in worn jeans and faded red T-shirt, exuded strength in a clean-shaven jaw and neatly clipped black hair. Deep sexy voice and twinkling blue eyes ensured the most devastating effect.

Devastating was right. The sudden realization of who he was caused her pulse to jump a mile.

This was Kyle. Kyle McRaney. The man who would one day be her husband…

Dear Reader,

This month, Harlequin American Romance delivers your favorite authors and irresistible stories of heart, home and happiness that will surely leave you smiling.

TEXAS SHEIKHS, Harlequin American Romance’s scintillating continuity series about a Texas family with royal Arabian blood, continues with His Shotgun Proposal by Karen Toller Whittenburg. When Abbie Jones surprised Mac Coleman with the news of her pregnancy, honor demanded he give her his name. But could he give his shotgun bride his heart?

Another wonderful TOTS FOR TEXANS romance from bestselling author Judy Christenberry is in store for you this month with Struck by the Texas Matchmakers, in which two children in need of a home and several meddling ladies play matchmakers for a handsome doctor and a beautiful lawyer. Harlequin American Romance’s theme promotion, THE WAY WE MET…AND MARRIED, about marriage-of-convenience romances, begins this month with Bachelor-Auction Bridegroom by Mollie Molay. And old passions heat up in Leandra Logan’s Family: The Secret Ingredient when Grace North’s first crush, now a single father, returns to town with his precocious little girl and ends up staying under the heroine’s roof.

Enjoy this month’s offerings and come back next month for more stories guaranteed to touch your heart!

Wishing you happy reading,

Melissa Jeglinski

Associate Senior Editor

Harlequin American Romance

Family: The Secret Ingredient

Leandra Logan

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Leandra Logan is an award-winning author of thirty novels. Like many of her previous works, Family: The Secret Ingredient is set in her home state of Minnesota. She enjoys writing stories with a Midwestern flavor, full of realistic characters of all ages. She presently lives in the historic town of Stillwater with her husband and two children.

HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE

559—SECRET AGENT DAD

601—THE LAST BRIDESMAID

732—FATHER FIGURE

880—FAMILY: THE SECRET INGREDIENT

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

There was a tall dark stranger standing in Grace North’s kitchen.

And he was…Chopping an onion?

Grace stopped short on the threshold of her back door, shoulder weighted by a huge cloth tote bag, keys digging into her palm. She blinked in disbelief. Twice.

Unexpected company did sometimes show up in her absence, let in by her brother who lived next door. But at first glance she couldn’t place this man—or his onion!

“Uh, hello there,” she ventured warily.

He paused in midchop to run a lazy eye over her—the pretty flushed features, vivid green eyes, mass of auburn curls and the denim jumper with a tiny pink T-shirt underneath. An approving smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

“You look wonderful, Gracie.”

Ditto, Grace silently noted. Big time ditto. He cut a lean and fit figure in worn jeans and faded red T-shirt, exuded strength in a clean-shaven jaw and neatly clipped black hair. Deep sexy voice and twinkling blue eyes ensured the most devastating effect.

Devastating is right. The sudden realization of who he was caused her pulse to jump a mile.

This was Kyle. Kyle McRaney.

Clearly oblivious to his impact, Kyle went back to wielding the wide chopping knife around the wooden paddle, working the thick muscles in his arms, dicing the pungent onion to smithereens. Grace took a deep shuddering breath, sliding her tote bag onto her small drop-leaf table. Not to worry. This impossible scenario was one of those dreams starring her girlhood crush. A regular occurrence over the past seven years since his abrupt departure, whenever she was feeling a bit low or unsure of herself.

So Kyle had returned to ravish her thoughts. Strange, she’d never mentally aged him before, given him a haircut and shave. But it was a fine improvement.

So how would it be this time? Passionate loveplay on the table? The sofa? The bed? She anticipated his touch all over her body. Would her senses be keen enough to smell the onion on his hands? Not in any dream of hers, thank you.

He spoke again, gently chiding. “Wasn’t expecting you home so soon.”

Her sculpted brows jumped. “Wasn’t expecting you at all, Kyle.”

“Of course not. This is supposed to be a surprise. I intended to be finished here before you returned.” He winked. “But in any case, happy birthday.”

Ah, that was it. She was indulging in a birthday gift to herself.

“So how was the dentist? Any cavities?”

“No,” she replied dazedly. “It was just a clean and polish.”

“Michael assured me I’d have free rein in your kitchen for at least two hours, so I figured you were having major work done.”

Grace rubbed her temples at his mention of her brother. Michael was never welcome in these dreams. Not once. And the residue from the dental paste still clung to her teeth.

She reached down to pinch herself hard. Ouch! It really hurt!

This was no dream. Kyle was really here. Matured to perfection. Better than ever. She blinked, leaning a hip into the table. Amazing what a thread of silver hair and a few grooves around the eyes could do.

“So how old are you today, Gracie?” he asked conversationally. “Twenty or so?”

“Twenty-four,” she corrected briskly.

“Really.” He grew thoughtful, staring into space. “Why, that’s old enough for…”

She smiled thinly. “Let’s just say it’s old enough.”

He tossed his head back, laughing richly.

How easily he slipped into the tease mode of the old days. It was a swift reminder of how things had been left between them. Not being able to discern between true flirtation and masculine jest had landed her in the heartbreak hotel for an extended stay.