Maggie Shayne - Million Dollar Marriage

All the news that’s barely fit to print!

Town of Red Rock, Texas, shaken to its bedrock.

The cooing heir to the Fortune empire was snatched from his nursery in the sprawling Double Crown Ranch mansion last evening during the infant’s christening celebration. Late breaking reports indicate that Matthew and Claudia Fortune, baby Bryan’s parents, are frantic and eager for leads. The Texas governor pledges his support to one of the Lone Star State’s richest families.

Red Rock’s and San Antonio’s finest are on the case, but inside sources reveal that their official “no comment” means “baffled and clueless.” Is this heinous crime a desperate ploy for money…or revenge? Police are investigating all persons suspected of having a vendetta against the Fortune clan. Now, that’s a long list….

And another enticing Fortune tidbit: sources in the know reveal that infamous bachelor Holden Fortune must wed a respectable lady as a condition of inheriting a dime of dear old daddy’s legacy. Is it a mere coincidence, then, that earlier this week the reputed playboy was spotted escorting Dr. Lucinda Brightwater—dressed in a stunning white suit—up the courthouse stairs? When questioned, Holden said he was “fixing a traffic ticket.” For what? Excessive speeding…to the altar?!

MAGGIE SHAYNE,

a USA TODAY bestselling author whom Romantic Times calls “brilliantly inventive,” has written more than twenty-five novels for Silhouette Books.

Maggie has won numerous awards, including two Romantic Times Career Achievement Awards. A five-time finalist for the Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA® Award, Maggie also writes mainstream contemporary fantasy and romantic suspense for MIRA Books, and has contributed story lines to network daytime soap operas.

She lives in rural Otselic, New York, with her husband, Rick, with whom she shares five beautiful daughters, two English bulldogs and two grandchildren.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Holden Fortune: The high-powered executive doesn’t want to settle down. But he would do anything to secure his inheritance, including proposing marriage to a beautiful baby doctor….

Lucinda Brightwater: The lovely lady’s biological clock is ticking louder with each bundle of joy she delivers. She can think of only one way to make her own baby dream come true—seduce her convenient husband….

Ryan Fortune: Beloved patriarch of the Fortune family of Texas. When fate brings his lost love back into his life, Ryan vows not to let anything stop him from claiming Lily Cassidy as his bride…not even what proves to be the most scandalous divorce of the decade.

Vanessa Fortune: When her precious nephew is kidnapped, she is determined to help with the search. Will she be able to reunite baby Bryan with his parents, and can her own romance be far away…?

Prologue

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

Red Rock High School

Valentine’s Day Dance, 1983

Holden Fortune was the man of her dreams. But he’d never give a girl like her a second glance. Lucinda Brightwater sat in a chair near the wall where it was dim and shadowy. She didn’t usually come to school dances. She didn’t know why she’d bothered coming to this one, unless it was just to torture herself, which was precisely what she was doing.

He was dancing now, his current girlfriend, Tiffany Lambert, wrapped tight in his arms as he moved her slowly around the floor. The glittering globe overhead reflected flashes of light on his honey-blond hair. He was so handsome, so athletic, so popular—easily the most popular boy in school, and that was only partially because he came from one of the richest families in Texas. Lucinda had loved him since fifth grade. But he’d barely noticed her.

She was plain. Her straight, dark hair wouldn’t do anything but hang there, no matter how she cut or sprayed or styled it. She wasn’t allowed to wear more than a hint of makeup, and if she’d tried dressing in the half tops and short skirts that were popular with the “in crowd,” her father would have gone into cardiac arrest. Besides all that, she was too smart. All brains and no beauty. A nerd. A geek.

Tiffany, on the other hand, was bleached to a sunshiny shade of blond and her hair was always perfect. Layers on the sides, fluffed up high on the top. Her skirts were short and flouncy, and she probably didn’t even own a shirt that came down as far as her navel. She wore several bracelets on each arm, huge gold earrings that shook when she moved, and enough makeup to sink a small ship. She knew how to send sidelong glances Holden’s way, how to giggle, how to flirt. All the things Lucinda had never been any good at. Oh, Tiffany was failing most of her classes, but Holden didn’t seem to care much about her grades. Lucinda knew perfectly well that Tiffany was well educated in…other areas. She was not an inexperienced virgin like Lucinda.

The music died down, and the couples on the floor parted and moved toward the sides of the decorated school gym, or toward the punch bowl, or sneaked off toward the exits hoping for a chance to slip outside, unseen by the chaperones.

Holden and Tiffany, however, stayed where they were. She was looking up at him, speaking very quickly, and then he was saying something back to her. He looked upset. Tiffany shook her head hard, side to side, earrings jangling. She turned away. Holden gripped her arm to pull her back, and she hauled off and slapped him. Hard.