Joanne Rock - Little Secrets - His Pregnant Secretary

The boss’s baby bargain...

Becoming a father was never part of Jager McNeill’s plan, until the heat between him and his luscious assistant turned into searing passion. Now Delia Rickard is carrying his baby. After growing up without a father, Jager’s determined to be there for his child. And marriage would ensure that. But despite their chemistry, Delia’s unwilling to marry for anything less than love.

A trip with Jager to Manhattan could change all that. For in this enchanting city ablaze with Christmas lights, romance begins to blossom. And a kiss under the mistletoe just might turn into lasting love.

“Something happened in the water today. Something changed between us.”

No, Delia wanted to protest. Yet Jager was right and they both knew it.

“We can’t let that happen.” She needed to maintain the balance of power. Rebuild some guise of professionalism before it was too late. “This job is too important to me.”

“And your professional skills are valuable to me, as well. But we can work around that. Besides, do you really believe ignoring it will make it go away, Delia?”

“If we both make an effort, yes. Of course. We’re both adults with professional agendas. We can keep those work goals front and center when we’re together.”

“Like we did today.”

“Today was an aberration.” It had to be. “Emotions ran high. We were both scared for Emily.” She wanted it to be as simple as that. “Just an adrenaline moment.”

“So what about this moment, right now?” he asked. “Adrenaline?”

She willed a logical answer to explain the way the air simmered all around them.

Any answer she might have given was a moot point, however, since Jager chose that moment to lower his lips to hers.

* * *

Little Secrets: His Pregnant Secretaryis part of the Little Secrets series: Untamed passion, unexpected pregnancy...

Little Secrets: His Pregnant Secretary

Joanne Rock

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Four-time RITA® Award nominee JOANNE ROCKhas penned over seventy stories for Mills & Boon. An optimist by nature and a perpetual seeker of silver linings, Joanne finds romance fits her life outlook perfectly— love is worth fighting for. A former Golden Heart® Award recipient, she has won numerous awards for her stories. Learn more about Joanne’s imaginative Muse by visiting her website, www.joannerock.com, or following @joannerock6on Twitter.

For my sister-in-law, Kate,

thank you for joining our family!

My brother is lucky to have you, and so are we.

Wishing you much love and happiness.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text The boss’s baby bargain... Becoming a father was never part of Jager McNeill’s plan, until the heat between him and his luscious assistant turned into searing passion. Now Delia Rickard is carrying his baby. After growing up without a father, Jager’s determined to be there for his child. And marriage would ensure that. But despite their chemistry, Delia’s unwilling to marry for anything less than love. A trip with Jager to Manhattan could change all that. For in this enchanting city ablaze with Christmas lights, romance begins to blossom. And a kiss under the mistletoe just might turn into lasting love.

Introduction “Something happened in the water today. Something changed between us.” No, Delia wanted to protest. Yet Jager was right and they both knew it. “We can’t let that happen.” She needed to maintain the balance of power. Rebuild some guise of professionalism before it was too late. “This job is too important to me.” “And your professional skills are valuable to me, as well. But we can work around that. Besides, do you really believe ignoring it will make it go away, Delia?” “If we both make an effort, yes. Of course. We’re both adults with professional agendas. We can keep those work goals front and center when we’re together.” “Like we did today.” “Today was an aberration.” It had to be. “Emotions ran high. We were both scared for Emily.” She wanted it to be as simple as that. “Just an adrenaline moment.” “So what about this moment, right now?” he asked. “Adrenaline?” She willed a logical answer to explain the way the air simmered all around them. Any answer she might have given was a moot point, however, since Jager chose that moment to lower his lips to hers. * * * Little Secrets: His Pregnant Secretary is part of the Little Secrets series: Untamed passion, unexpected pregnancy...

Title Page Little Secrets: His Pregnant Secretary Joanne Rock www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author Four-time RITA® Award nominee JOANNE ROCK has penned over seventy stories for Mills & Boon. An optimist by nature and a perpetual seeker of silver linings, Joanne finds romance fits her life outlook perfectly— love is worth fighting for. A former Golden Heart® Award recipient, she has won numerous awards for her stories. Learn more about Joanne’s imaginative Muse by visiting her website, www.joannerock.com , or following @joannerock6 on Twitter.

Dedication For my sister-in-law, Kate, thank you for joining our family! My brother is lucky to have you, and so are we. Wishing you much love and happiness.

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Epilogue

Extract

Copyright

One

Sun glinted off the brilliant blue Atlantic, full of sailboats bobbing on the calm water. For Delia Rickard, the picturesque island scene meant only one thing. It was the perfect day to ask for a raise.

Delia mentally gave herself a pep talk as she rushed around the marina in Le François, Martinique. She anticipated meeting her boss at any moment. Her father desperately needed her help and that meant forcing herself to push for that raise. Her quiet nature and organizational skills made her great at her job but sometimes posed a challenge when it came time to stand up for herself.

She hadn’t seen Jager McNeill in the last six months. Would he be impressed with the changes she’d made both at his family’s marina and the nearby McNeill mansion where she’d taken over as on-site property manager a year ago, on top of her responsibilities assisting Jager?

She’d worked tirelessly for months just to be worthy of Jager McNeill’s trust in her. He’d given her the job as a favor since she didn’t have a four-year degree—showing more faith in her than anyone else in her life. At first, it had been enough to work hard to repay Jager for giving her a chance. But now, considering the hours she put in to manage both properties and the effort she made to execute every facet to the best of her ability, she knew it was time to approach her employer about a bump up in her paycheck. Her father couldn’t afford his portion of the taxes on the Rickard family lands this year and Delia needed to help to keep the small plot in the family. Her former fiancé had tried to trick her out of her share of the land once and she wouldn’t give his greedy corporate backers any chance to swoop in now and take it from her or her dad. But unless she made more money, the Rickard home would be up for auction by springtime.

Delia sidestepped a family loading their cooler onto a skippered sailboat as she hurried toward the dockmaster’s office for an update. Just as she got there, guests on one of the new superyachts dialed up its sound system far more than the noise regulations allowed, alerting Delia to a sunset party just getting underway.