Mollie Molay - Commander's Little Surprise

“You’re not a woman a man can easily forget,” Dan said.

From the first time she’d met Dan again, she’d known she had to make a choice. A choice between the man whom, against all reason, she seemed to have fallen in love with, and the respectful life she’d made for herself.

She had to force herself to speak. “You must forget you ever met me.”

She glanced at the desk—and realized the photo of her and her daughter was missing! She glanced wildly around the room.

“I assume you’re looking for this.” Dan drew the missing photograph from his tuxedo jacket.

Victoria stared at the photo and felt her world turn over.

“It isn’t really me you’ve been afraid of all along,” Dan went on. “You’re afraid I’ll find out I’m your baby’s father.”

Dear Reader,

Happy New Year! January is an exciting month here at Harlequin American Romance. It marks the beginning of a yearlong celebration of our 20th anniversary. Come indulge with us for twelve months of supersatisfying reads by your favorite authors and exciting newcomers, too!

Throughout 2003, we’ll be bringing you some not-to-miss miniseries. This month, bestselling author Muriel Jensen inaugurates MILLIONAIRE, MONTANA, our newest in-line continuity, with Jackpot Baby. This exciting six-book series is set in a small Montana town whose residents win a forty-million-dollar lottery jackpot. But winning a fortune comes with a price and no one’s life will ever be the same again.

Next, Commander’s Little Surprise, the latest book in Mollie Molay’s GROOMS IN UNIFORM series, is a must-read secret-baby and reunion romance with a strong hero you won’t be able to resist. Victoria Chancellor premieres her new A ROYAL TWIST miniseries in which a runaway prince and his horse-wrangling look-alike switch places. Don’t miss The Prince’s Cowboy Double, the first book in this delightful duo. Finally, when a small Alaskan town desperately needs a doctor, there’s only one man who can do the job, in Under Alaskan Skies by Carol Grace.

So come join in the celebrating and start your year off right—by reading all four Harlequin American Romance books!

Melissa Jeglinski

Associate Senior Editor

Harlequin American Romance

Commander’s Little Surprise

Mollie Molay

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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After working for a number of years as a logistics contract administrator in the aircraft industry, Mollie Molay turned to a career she found far more satisfying—writing romance novels. Mollie lives in Northridge, California, surrounded by her two daughters and eight grandchildren, many of whom find their way into her books. She enjoys hearing from her readers and welcomes comments. You can write to her at Harlequin Books, 300 East 42nd St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10017.

HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE

560—FROM DRIFTER TO DADDY

597—HER TWO HUSBANDS

616—MARRIAGE BY MISTAKE

638—LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

682—NANNY & THE BODYGUARD

703—OVERNIGHT WIFE

729—WANTED: DADDY

776—FATHER IN TRAINING

799—DADDY BY CHRISTMAS

815—MARRIED BY MIDNIGHT

839—THE GROOM CAME C.O.D.

879—BACHELOR-AUCTION BRIDEGROOM

897—THE BABY IN THE BACK SEAT

938—THE DUCHESS & HER BODYGUARD*

947—SECRET SERVICE DAD*

954—COMMANDER’S LITTLE SURPRISE*

SWM 30, 6’2” blonde with blue eyes desperately seeking petite, twenty-something SWF for love and laughter Are you the green-eyed, Baronovian beauty with whom I shared an unforgettable moonlit night of passion in the palace gardens last summer? Please let me know I wasn’t dreaming! DOH

Prologue Prologue Dan O’Hara couldn’t sleep. Jet lag had finally gotten the better of him. Wide-awake, he paused in his pacing to gaze out the floor-to-ceiling palace windows at the manicured gardens that stretched into the distance. Under the dim light of the crescent moon, trees and bushes were decorated with streamers and lanterns in honor of the upcoming festivities. A three-tiered water fountain, in which tinkling cascades of water tumbled from the mouths of unicorns, occupied the center of the lawn. In the distance he caught sight of a well-tended maze. Nestled in its center was the silhouette of a white gazebo. Dan blinked. If he didn’t know better he would have thought that before him there was a fairy-tale setting in a fairy-tale country. He’d never even heard of Baronovia before his friend and fellow JAG lawyer, Commander Wade Stevens, had fallen in love with Duchess Mary Louise—better known to him as May Baron. In two days he was to be the best man at their wedding. He’d taken off his suit jacket and tie, and was starting to unbutton his shirt when drifting clouds passed over the moon. He was about to turn away when he caught a glimpse of a slight, shadowy feminine figure slip out of the palace. To his bemusement, she was wearing a filmy white robe and white slippers. Her long chestnut hair flowed freely down her back almost to her waist. Enchanted, he moved closer to the window and watched as she stopped to gaze up at the moon. Moments later she raised her arms over her head to the moon, twirled around, then lowered her arms to her chest. It looked as if she was trying to draw the moon down to her. He found himself smiling in sympathy at the gesture. Whoever the woman was, she was beautiful, ethereal and intriguing. After a long plane flight and with probably a sleepless, empty night ahead, she seemed a damn good reason to stay awake. It took him only a few seconds to make up his mind to join her.

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

Epilogue

Dan O’Hara couldn’t sleep. Jet lag had finally gotten the better of him.

Wide-awake, he paused in his pacing to gaze out the floor-to-ceiling palace windows at the manicured gardens that stretched into the distance. Under the dim light of the crescent moon, trees and bushes were decorated with streamers and lanterns in honor of the upcoming festivities. A three-tiered water fountain, in which tinkling cascades of water tumbled from the mouths of unicorns, occupied the center of the lawn. In the distance he caught sight of a well-tended maze. Nestled in its center was the silhouette of a white gazebo.

Dan blinked. If he didn’t know better he would have thought that before him there was a fairy-tale setting in a fairy-tale country. He’d never even heard of Baronovia before his friend and fellow JAG lawyer, Commander Wade Stevens, had fallen in love with Duchess Mary Louise—better known to him as May Baron. In two days he was to be the best man at their wedding.