Annette Broadrick - Macgowan Meets His Match

“I don’t have time for flirting or any of that nonsense. I need a skilled assistant. That’s all.”

Jenna fought to hang on to her temper. Fighting for control, she studied the man, allowing her gaze to slide over him from his curls to his rather large feet. Eventually she raised her eyes to meet his and said, “Tell me, Sir Ian, are you always this obnoxious or did I luck out and catch you on a bad day? I can’t for the life of me imagine why you think that I—or any other self-respecting woman, for that matter—would be interested in having a relationship with you.”

He looked startled for a moment, then gave her a boyish grin that was wholly unexpected…and devastatingly attractive. “You’ll do, Ms. Craddock. You’ll do.”

Dear Reader,

Well, the new year is upon us—and if you’ve resolved to read some wonderful books in 2004, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll begin with Expecting! by Susan Mallery, the first in our five-book MERLYN COUNTY MIDWIVES miniseries, in which residents of a small Kentucky town find love—and scandal—amidst the backdrop of a midwifery clinic. In the opening book, a woman returning to her hometown, pregnant and alone, finds herself falling for her high school crush—now all grown up and married to his career! Or so he thinks….

Annette Broadrick concludes her SECRET SISTERS trilogy with MacGowan Meets His Match. When a woman comes to Scotland looking for a job and the key to unlock the mystery surrounding her family, she finds both—with the love of a lifetime thrown in!—in the Scottish lord who hires her. In The Black Sheep Heir, Crystal Green wraps up her KANE’S CROSSING miniseries with the story of the town outcast who finds in the big, brooding stranger hiding out in her cabin the soul mate she’d been searching for.

Karen Rose Smith offers the story of an about-to-be single mom and the handsome hometown hero who makes her wonder if she doesn’t have room for just one more male in her life, in Their Baby Bond. THE RICHEST GALS IN TEXAS, a new miniseries by Arlene James, in which three blue-collar friends inherit a million dollars—each!—opens with Beautician Gets Million-Dollar Tip! A hairstylist inherits that wad just in time to bring her salon up to code, at the insistence of the infuriatingly handsome, if annoying, local fire marshal. And in Jen Safrey’s A Perfect Pair, a woman who enlists her best (male) friend to help her find her Mr. Right suddenly realizes he’s right there in front of her face—i.e., said friend! Now all she has to do is convince him of this….

So bundle up, and happy reading. And come back next month for six new wonderful stories, all from Silhouette Special Edition.

Sincerely,

Gail Chasan

Senior Editor

www.millsandboon.co.uk

This book is dedicated to Anna Vinson, a dear friend who had the nerve to leave Texas and move to Colorado.

I miss you. Thank goodness for e-mail and phone calls!

believes in romance and the magic of life. Since 1984, Annette has shared her view of life and love with readers. In addition to being nominated by Romantic Times as one of the Best New Authors of that year, she has also won the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best in its Series; the Romantic Times WISH Award; and the Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Awards for Series Romance and Series Romantic Fantasy.

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

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Sydney, Australia

Early February 2004

“Resigning! What do you mean you’re resigning!” Jenna Craddock’s employer sputtered. Basil Fitzgerald was a lovable bearlike man, happily married to the same woman for forty-five years. He was gruff and abrupt, his camouflage for a tender heart.

Jenna was going to miss him.

“Why would you leave a perfectly good position after six years? What do you want? More money? More holiday time? Talk to me!”

Jenna had known he would not be happy with her announcement. She sat in front of his desk, her hands folded in her lap while she waited for him to stop blustering.

“My leaving has nothing to do with my position with you. It’s a personal matter.”

“Oh. You’re getting married, huh?”

Jenna laughed. “Of course not. When have I had time to date with such a slave master as you?” she teased. “I’m moving to the U.K. I’ve been saving for years for the chance to return as an adult and explore.”

“Fine. Then take a leave of absence and go. There’s no reason to resign.”

“I have no idea how long I might be gone. Once there, I may decide to stay. I don’t want to leave here with you thinking I’ll be back.”

“Nonsense. You’re an Australian. You can’t expect to find work in another country without legal papers.”

“Actually, I was born in Cornwall. I’m a citizen there.”

“Really? You never mentioned that to me. I’ve always thought of you as a native Australian.”

She smiled and didn’t comment.

He studied her for several minutes in silence. “Come to think of it,” he said finally, “I don’t know much about you except that you’ve been an exceptional assistant and I’m going to miss your quiet efficiency. Maude thinks you hung the moon. She tells me I’ve been much easier to live with since you’ve been with me, keeping me organized.”

“Don’t worry. Personnel will find someone equally capable for you. I won’t be leaving for another six weeks, which will give them plenty of time to find someone.”

“Hmph.”

She smiled. She would have been disappointed if he’d indicated that she could be easily replaced. “I’m not dropping off the edge of the earth, you know,” she said gently. “I’ll keep you informed about where I am and what I’m doing.”

Basil sighed. “Nothing I can say will change your mind, will it?”

“No, sir.”

“Well, if you don’t find whatever it is you’re looking for, you know you can always come back here.”

“Thank you.”

“Now I have to pass on this news to Maude. She’ll be convinced that I’ve done something to drive you away.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll explain to your wife and make certain she knows this trip has nothing to do with you,” Jenna replied with a grin.

When Jenna left his office, Basil stared sadly at the door she’d closed behind her. Jenna was leaving…not just his legal firm, not just Sydney, but Australia, as well.

She would be greatly missed.

Late March 2004

“Welcome to Heathrow and thank you for flying British Airways. We hope that you enjoyed your flight and that you will remember us the next time you plan to travel.”

The disembodied voice from the public address system barely managed to get through to Jenna’s fatigue-numbed brain. With a stop in Singapore, she had been traveling for almost twenty-two hours. She’d managed to doze or nap during the trip, but what she had experienced was far from restful sleep.