Stephanie Doyle: Baily's Irish Dream: Baily's Irish Dream / Czech Mate

Two brand-new stories in every volume…twice a month!

Duets Vol. #87

You met the first of the two HOMETOWN HEARTTHROBS in Double Duets #71, Catching Chase and Nabbing Nathan. Popular Liz Jarrett finishes the delightful miniseries this month with two more of the single Barrett siblings—in Meant for Trent and Leigh’s for Me—who won’t remain single for long! All these tales are “full of Texas charm and wit and a wonderful small-town feeling,” asserts Rendezvous.

Duets Vol. #88

Talented Stephanie Doyle returns with a quirky story about a cross-country drive that quickly becomes a cross-country romance with unexpected results! “Ms. Doyle displays bountiful creativity in both her plot and appealing characters,” says Romantic Times. Joining her is Kate Thomas, who delivers a hero with all the right moves in Czech Mate. This author pens “an original story with gregarious characters, warm scenes and an amusing tone,” notes Romantic Times.

Be sure to pick up both Duets volumes today!

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Baily’s Irish Dream Baily’s Irish Dream

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Czech Mate

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

“So you’re engaged?”

Daniel frowned. “Where’s your ring?”

Shifting in her seat, Baily said, “Technically…I’m not…we really haven’t quite…he hasn’t actually…”

“He hasn’t proposed yet.” Ha! Daniel felt triumphant, although he had no idea why.

“He hasn’t proposed, but he will. He’s waiting for me to come home.”

“How long’s he been waiting?”

“Uh, seven years,” she muttered under her breath.

Daniel started to laugh. “You’re telling me your soon-to-be fiancé has been waiting for you for seven years. What on earth have you been doing, picking out bridesmaids’ dresses?”

His question was met with stony silence. “I’m sorry for laughing. Hey, I’m not even married.”

“Big shock there,” Baily retorted.

“See, I won’t even rise to your bait. Now, tell me about this guy.”

“Harry? He’s the supportive, sensitive type.”

Daniel groaned. “Oh please, spare me the sensitive man stories.”

Inwardly he fumed. The thought of Baily in a lifeless marriage didn’t sit well with him. She was the throw-everything-off-the-table, toss-her-skirt-over-her-head-and-take-her-hard-and-long type. Oh, hell! Where had that thought come from?

Dear Reader,

This book was inspired by so many things: my thirtieth (cough, cough) twenty-ninth birthday; my very Irish mother, who is determined to see me married; but most of all the best vacation I ever had—a five-day drive across this huge and magnificent country.

I’ll never forget what it was like to see so much beauty, so much vastness and so much commonality between American towns all over the country. It was a trip that I will never forget, and then I realized it would be the perfect backdrop for Daniel and Baily’s story.

It’s amazing what these two seemingly different people discover they have in common when trapped inside a Volkswagen Bug for three days with a cat who thinks she’s a former president!

So sit back and enjoy this story as you would a long, leisurely car trip. Just don’t ask if you’re there yet. You’ll know you’ve reached the end of the trip when you get to the happy ending.

I love to hear from readers! You can e-mail me at stephd_romance@hotmail.com.

Have fun!

Stephanie Doyle

HARLEQUIN DUETS

65—DOWN-HOME DIVA

Charlie, we’ll always have Chugwater.

Good luck to you and Glynn in your life together.

“DONE. END. FINISHED. Gone. Goodbye. Get out of my way. No more. No way. Not me. Adiós. Au revoir. Hasta la vista. See you. So long. Sayonara.”

“So what you’re saying is that you’re leaving.”

“Yep.” Baily looked up from her task of trying to fit too many articles of clothing into a too small suitcase. Her friend Janice looked utterly confused.

“You could always tell your parents no. You are an adult, after all.”

That was questionable. Regardless, Baily had given her word. And if her parents’ persistence wasn’t enough to make her return home then her own honor was.

“Don’t you think I’ve tried to reason with them? Don’t you think I’ve explained that I’m a real, live grown-up? It simply doesn’t work. Besides, Harry is a really nice guy.” Any anger that Baily had over the situation quickly melted away. No one could ever be angry with Harry. Baily dropped the lid on the overpacked suitcase and threw, as she would term it, her nicely rounded bottom on top to give it extra incentive to close.

Janice sat atop the second suitcase and sighed with frustration. “It’s barbaric, I tell you. Forcing you to come home to marry the chosen suitor. Why did you ever agree to that kind of deal in the first place?”

“I wanted adventure, and it was the only way they would let me come to Seattle.” Snap. Baily felt the locks catch under her weight. She didn’t know whether to be glad that the suitcase shut or mournful that it shut so easily.

Janice debated that last point. “They couldn’t have stopped you.”

“Obviously you’ve never seen the size of my brothers. Trust me, they could have stopped me.” Baily glanced around the empty apartment, checking to see that the movers had gotten everything. All that was left were her two suitcases and Miss Roosevelt.

“Barbaric,” Janice muttered as she shifted her weight on the second suitcase, trying to close it.

“You said that already,” Baily returned, smiling at her friend’s irritation and knowing how illogical it must seem to a person who wasn’t raised a Monohan.

“Medieval! Did I say that yet? What about your job? The school is really going to miss you.”

“I’ll get another teaching job when I get back to New Jersey. There is always a job for a teacher who doesn’t mind middle school kids.”

“It’s still wrong.”

With a sigh, Baily moved to sit on the suitcase with Janice, both of their nicely rounded rumps filling the tiny space and then some. Snap. Apparently, it was diet time again. “Listen, my parents only wanted to secure my future. They gave me seven years to explore the west. And I had a glorious time. But the more I think about it, the more I agree with them. I miss my family.”

“You’re going to marry a man just because you miss your family?” Janice was incredulous.

No, of course not! Okay, maybe a little. How did Baily explain all that to Janice? Janice would tell her to hold out for true love and other such ridiculous romantic notions. Baily, once a devoted romantic, had simply given up on the idea that true love existed for her in the cosmos. She had met too many men, had dated several of them, and not once had Cupid struck a blow.

“Harry will make an excellent husband. He’ll be loyal, faithful, loving…”

“And he’ll come on command, sit when you tell him, and he won’t make puddles on the rug,” Janice said sarcastically, moving off the suitcase to stand in the middle of the empty room.