Kara Lennox - The Unlawfully Wedded Princess

In a heartbeat time melted, taking Amelia back to a year ago when this man had been her lifeline, her protector…her husband. Her skin prickled with awareness.

His eyes seemed to devour her inch by inch. She could tell he was angry—perhaps dangerously so. She’d seen those veiled blue eyes looking just like that whenever anyone got in his way.

“Please don’t call me that.”

“What am I supposed to call you then? Not Melanie. That’s not your real name, is it?”

“You called me Mellie. That could be short for Amelia, as well.”

“Nicknames are a show of fondness. I use them for friends. Doesn’t apply in this case.”

Well, he certainly had sharpened his tiger’s claws during their separation. But she’d be damned if she showed him how much he could hurt her.

Dear Reader,

Once again, Harlequin American Romance has got an irresistible month of reading coming your way.

Our in-line continuity series THE CARRADIGNES: AMERICAN ROYALTY continues with Kara Lennox’s The Unlawfully Wedded Princess. Media chaos erupted when Princess Amelia Carradigne’s secret in-name-only marriage was revealed. Now her handsome husband has returned to claim his virgin bride. Talk about a scandal of royal proportions! Watch for more royals next month.

For fans of Judy Christenberry’s BRIDES FOR BROTHERS series, we bring you Randall Riches, in which champion bull rider Rich Randall meets a sassy diner waitress whose resistance to his charms has him eager to change her mind. Next, Karen Toller Whittenburg checks in with The Blacksheep’s Arranged Marriage, part of her BILLION-DOLLAR BRADDOCKS series. This is a sexy marriage-of-convenience story you won’t want to miss. Finish the month with Two Little Secrets by Linda Randall Wisdom, a delightful story featuring a single-dad hero with twin surprises.

This month, and every month, come home to Harlequin American Romance—and enjoy!

Best,

Melissa Jeglinski

Associate Senior Editor

Harlequin American Romance

The Unlawfully Wedded Princess

Kara Lennox

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Texas native Kara Lennox has been an art director, typesetter, advertising copywriter, textbook editor and reporter. She’s worked in a boutique, a health club and has conducted telephone surveys. She’s been an antiques dealer and briefly ran a clipping service. But no work has made her happier than writing romance novels.

When Kara isn’t writing, she indulges in an ever-changing array of weird hobbies, from rock climbing to crystal digging. But her mind is never far from her stories. Just about anything can send her running to her computer to jot down a new idea for some future novel.

HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE

840—VIRGIN PROMISE

856—TWIN EXPECTATIONS

871—TAME AN OLDER MAN

893—BABY BY THE BOOK

917—THE UNLAWFULLY WEDDED PRINCESS

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

“I keep telling you, he’s not really my husband.” Princess Amelia Carradigne, granddaughter to the king of Korosol, didn’t even glance up from where she sat on the window seat in her bedroom, filing her nails. She was trying to look calm, act calm, in the face of impending disaster, but her older sister, Cecelia, wasn’t making it easy.

CeCe ceased her pacing and leaned down until she was eye to eye with Amelia. “You said he was your husband, when he called to say he was on his way to New York.”

“I’ve since consulted our lawyer. The marriage wasn’t legal—no way, no how.”

“He obviously means something to you.” CeCe went to the walk-in closet and threw open the door. “Don’t you want to at least put on a dress, maybe some lipstick?”

“Nick has seen me without lipstick. It won’t kill him.” Actually, Nicholas Standish had seen her looking a lot worse than she did now. Almost a year ago, in the former Soviet state of Palemeir, he’d seen her covered with dirt and bug bites, which was how she tended to get when she became deeply involved with a relief effort for the International Children’s Foundation. She’d been busy feeding hungry children, doling out medicine and helping them find a safe place to sleep at night. Her own fastidiousness was low on her priority list, even in the presence of the handsomest, most charismatic man she’d ever met.

Amelia abandoned her nail file and turned to look out the window of the penthouse, which offered a magnificent view of Central Park. The city was in the middle of a dreary late-winter rain, but the park still looked inviting even though still wrapped in winter’s browns. Amelia wished she could go for a run in that park, just lose herself. She’d rather be anywhere than here, about to face the man she’d lied to, then abandoned.

When Amelia turned back to see what her sister was up to, she was met by a bombardment of clothes. CeCe was pulling dresses out of the closet and tossing them at Amelia.

“Put one of those on. Any of them will do.”

Amelia hid a smile as she stripped down to her bra and panties. CeCe, with her sleek, chin-length hair, which she recently dyed reddish-blonde, and her peach silk suit, looked every inch the princess she was—much more so than Amelia, whose curly blond hair was always out of control, and whose wardrobe leaned toward jeans, T-shirts and simple dresses. CeCe’s nervous energy made her a whiz in the corporate boardrooms of DeLacey Shipping, where she was second in command to their mother, Lady Charlotte. In Amelia’s mind, that was just one step away from running a small country like Korosol.

But Amelia was the princess destined to inherit the throne of the tiny principality nestled between Spain and France. Though CeCe at twenty-nine was older than Amelia by two years, their grandfather, King Easton, had chosen Amelia after CeCe had politely declined the throne. Amelia was both honored and terrified by the prospect, amazed she would be trusted with such an awesome responsibility, and worried she wouldn’t live up to the king’s lofty expectations.

But she intended to do her best, to earn the trust her grandfather had in her—if this recent scandal didn’t cause him to disown her. CeCe’s unplanned pregnancy had made tabloid headlines around the world a few scant weeks ago, causing the king a lot of sleepless nights. Fortunately, CeCe had worked things out with the baby’s father, Shane O’Connell, and they were now happily married.

Amelia wasn’t sure her own scandal would have such a satisfying conclusion. It was entirely possible King Easton would change his mind about his latest choice of heir to the throne. He still had one more Carradigne sister available, twenty-six-year-old Lucia. Though Amelia’s younger sister was a free spirit, at least she hadn’t stirred up any scandals.