Brenda Harlen - A Very Special Delivery

Can a snowbound mom-to-be find love with the sexy stranger who delivers her baby? Find out in the newest installment of Those Engaging Garretts, the sizzling series by award-winning author Brenda Harlen!

Being trapped in a strange town in a freak blizzard is scary enough, but Julie Marlowe went into labor in someone’s driveway! Lucky for her, a handsome stranger came to her rescue. Several hours later, Julie was the proud mother of an infant son …and in danger of falling for the sexy vet who delivered her baby!

Lukas Garrett didn’t know how much he wanted to be a father—or a husband!—until he helped bring Julie’s little boy into the world. Now mother and child have grabbed hold of his once-guarded heart. But Julie’s past could derail her future with Luke, unless she’s willing to trust her heart to this man for the chance to have the family of her dreams….

“You’re always beautiful,” he said. “Even the first time I saw you—through the foggy window of your car—you took my breath away.”

“Of course, that was before I got out from behind the wheel and you saw me waddle like a penguin behind the belly of a whale,” she teased.

“You never waddled,” he denied.

“I was eight-and-a-half months pregnant,” she reminded him.

“And beautiful.”

He brushed his knuckles down her cheek, but it was her knees that went weak.

“And I’ve been thinking about kissing you since that first day.” His words were as seductive as his touch, and the heat in his gaze held her mesmerized as he lowered his head, inching closer and closer until his lips hovered above hers.

Dear Reader,

I’ve always loved stories in which ordinary people learn that they’re capable of extraordinary things. In A Very Special Delivery, Lukas Garrett is an ordinary man (well, he’s a tall, dark and handsome romantic hero, so maybe he’s not completely ordinary) and Julie Marlowe is an ordinary woman (albeit a young and beautiful—and very pregnant—romantic heroine).

On his way home from work one day, Lukas discovers a car in the ditch beside his house. Julie is behind the wheel of that vehicle—and in serious denial about the fact that she’s in labor.

It’s been a lot of years since my kids were babies, but I haven’t forgotten the experience of childbirth, or how much it meant to have my husband by my side. It’s the type of experience that would create a special bond between any two people, even virtual strangers.

For Lukas and Julie, that bond just might be the beginning of a family.…

I hope you enjoy their story.

Happy reading,

Brenda Harlen

A Very Special Delivery

Brenda Harlen

www.millsandboon.co.uk

BRENDA HARLENis a former family law attorney turned work-at-home mum and national bestselling author who has written more than twenty books for Mills & Boon ®. Her work has been validated by industry awards (including an RWA Golden Heart Award and the RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Award) and by the fact that her kids think it’s cool that she’s “a real author.”

Brenda lives in southern Ontario with her husband and two sons. When she isn’t at the computer working on her next book, she can probably be found at the arena, watching a hockey game. Keep up-to-date with Brenda on Facebook or send her an email at brendaharlen@yahoo. com.

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This book is dedicated to my husband, Neill, an only child who gained two brothers (in-law) when we married.

Thanks for being a wonderful husband and the best father our boys could possibly have. XO

Contents

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

Epilogue

Chapter One

When she woke up the morning of November first staring at water stains on a stippled ceiling, Julie Marlowe wondered if she was having a bad dream. Then she remembered that uncomfortable twinges in her lower back had forced her to take a break on her journey home the day before, and the closest available accommodations had been at the Sleep Tite Motor Inn.

She managed to roll her pregnant body off the sagging mattress and swing her feet over the edge. The bathroom’s tile floor was cold beneath her feet, and the trickle of spray that came out of the shower head wasn’t much warmer. She washed quickly, then dried herself with the threadbare but clean towels on the rack. She had another long day of travel ahead of her, so she dressed comfortably in a pair of chocolate-colored leggings and a loose tunic-style top. Then she slipped her feet into the cowboy boots she’d bought “just because” when she’d been in Texas.

Seven months earlier, she’d had a lot of reasons for wanting to leave Springfield. But after traveling eight thousand miles through twenty-seven states and sleeping in countless hotel rooms, she was more than ready to go home.

She missed her family, her friends and the comfortable and predictable routines of her life. She even missed her father, despite the fact that he could be more than a little stubborn and overbearing on occasion. The only person she could honestly say that she didn’t miss was Elliott Davis Winchester the Third—her former fiancé.

Julie had told her parents that she needed some time and some space to think about her future after ending her engagement. Lucinda and Reginald hadn’t understood why she needed to go—and how could she expect that they would when there was so much she hadn’t told them?—but they’d been supportive. They’d always been unflinching in their support and unwavering in their love, even when she screwed up.

When she left Springfield, Julie was determined to ensure that she didn’t screw up again.

She felt a nudge beneath her rib, and smiled as she rubbed a hand over her belly. “You weren’t a mistake, baby,” she soothed. “Maybe I didn’t plan for you at this point in my life, but I know that you’re the best thing that ever happened to me, and I promise to be the best mommy that I can.”

The baby kicked again, clearly unconvinced.

Julie couldn’t blame her for being skeptical. Truthfully, she had more than a few doubts of her own. She and Elliott had talked about having children and neither wanted to wait too long after the wedding before starting a family, but she hadn’t known she was pregnant when she gave him back his ring and left town.

After a quick visit to the doctor confirmed that she was going to have a baby, she wasn’t even tempted to change her course. Though she’d known Elliott for two years—and had been engaged to him for six months—she’d suddenly realized that she didn’t really know him at all. What she did know was that he wasn’t the kind of a man she wanted to marry, and he certainly wasn’t the kind of man that she wanted as a father for her baby.