Joanna Sims - A Baby For Christmas

THE OTHER TWIN BROTHER

Marine Captain Luke Brand has come home with one mission on his mind: to make amends with his identical twin brother’s widow. They’ve never gotten along, but for the wounded soldier, establishing a connection with his yet-to-be-born nephew is a top priority—and failure is not an option. Still, he has to make peace without revealing his secret—that he’s madly, completely, head over heels in love with Sophia Lee Brand.

The last person Sophia wants to see this Christmas is Luke! She is too vulnerable and, well, too pregnant for the disruption. So why does she blush when he smiles, or her heart quicken when they touch? His looks are all too familiar—but he stirs up emotions she has never felt before. Perhaps a kiss under the mistletoe will make both of their Christmas wishes come true?

“Have you ever cried for him, Luke?”

“What do you think it will prove? You think that if I cry for Dan, I won’t feel like someone has yanked out half my guts? It doesn’t work that way, sweetheart!”

“Don’t you patronize me, Lucas Brand! I’m not your ‘sweetheart,’ I’m your friend, and I deserve a little respect from you.”

When the word friend came out of her mouth, Luke felt his stomach clench. No matter how many times he told himself to think of her that way, he couldn’t. Even now, when she was ticking him off beyond belief, he wanted her. His body ached for her.

She was everything he wanted in a woman: strong, independent, incredibly smart and sexier now than she had ever been.

He wanted to kiss the breath right out of her, until the word friend was permanently eradicated from her brain. But, whenever he came close to crossing that line, Luke would look down at her belly, and that would stop him cold.

Dear Reader,

When I was twelve years old, my family spent the summer on a working Montana cattle ranch. I remember that I loved the ranch so much that I cried when I had to return to my home in Florida. I have never forgotten the magic of Montana’s pristine mountains and the seemingly endless blue sky. When it was time to pick a setting for A Baby For Christmas, I couldn’t imagine a better place than a Montana ranch. And the ranch house of my childhood memories was never far from my mind when I created the Brand family home at Bent Tree as the backdrop for Luke and Sophia’s love story.

For me, writing for Harlequin is a lifelong dream that actually came true. I hope that A Baby For Christmas is the first of many stories featuring the Brand Clan and I hope that you enjoy spending time with Luke and Sophia as much as I have.

Happy holidays!

Joanna

A Baby For Christmas

Joanna Sims

www.millsandboon.co.uk

JOANNA SIMS

lives in Florida with her husband and their three fabulous felines. Joanna works as a therapist for the public school system during the day, but spends her evenings and weekends fulfilling her lifelong dream of writing compelling, modern romances for Harlequin Books. When it’s time to take a break from writing, Joanna enjoys going for long walks with her husband and curling up on the couch to watch movies (romantic comedies preferably). She loves to answer any questions or provide additional information for her readers. You can contact her at Joannasims2@live.com.

Dedicated to my husband, Cory

You are the true love of my life

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

Excerpt

Chapter One

Captain Luke Brand was home for the holidays. Against his will. As far as he was concerned, First Recon was still in Afghanistan, so he should still be in Afghanistan. Bottom line. And it didn’t matter that an insurgent had blown a bullet clean through his left leg. It didn’t matter to him that he had almost lost the leg. Almost didn’t count. His leg was still attached; he should return to active duty. But the Marines sure as hell didn’t see it that way. They denied his request, patched him up and shipped his butt back to the States for medical leave. Like it or not, he was on his way home.

And he didn’t like it. Not by a long shot.

The military had gotten him as far as Helena; now Billy Whiteside, an old high school buddy, was taking him the rest of the way to his family’s Montana ranch. Bent Tree was less than an hour away. Luke wished it were two hours. Three would be even better. He wasn’t in a hurry to tangle with his sister-in-law, Sophia; from his point of view, fighting the Taliban for control of Afghan towns seemed like a much easier task.

“He’s found a good spot to hang out.” Billy glanced over at the black kitten perched on Luke’s left leg. Luke looked down at the scrawny kitten and grunted in response. The kitten had started the trip in a box situated between Billy and Luke. Once the kitten caught Luke’s eye, he made a determined escape from the box, and a beeline for Luke’s leg. Luke had always liked an underdog, and this kitten certainly qualified; found in a ball of toilet paper in a truck stop restroom, half starved, half frozen. He was lucky to be alive. He was a survivor. Luke liked that about him. So, when the kitten had gingerly sat down on the exact spot where his leg was wounded, Luke didn’t have the heart to make him move. In fact, the warmth of the kitten’s body and the vibrations of his purr seemed to ease the pain a bit.

“He’s lucky he didn’t end up in the Dumpster....” Billy’s naturally round face had gotten even rounder with weight and age; he still easily wore a giant grin that split his face. Billy reached over and banged on the dashboard of his Chevy to get the heater kicked on again. “Cindy swept him right up into the dustpan. Can you believe that? ’Course, she didn’t know what was in that mess’a paper. How could she know, ya know? ’Course, Cindy can’t keep him. What with four kids, two dogs, a couple of cats and that pig her youngest is raisin’! And, I don’t know, man... I think my ol’ lady will put me out in the barn if I bring anything else home. But what else could I do? I couldn’t just leave him there...” Billy banged on the dash again. “And, it looks like he picked you... Cats pick their owners, you know. Didn’t you tell me that? No! It was your mom who told me that! Your mom told me that....”

Luke didn’t bother to reply. He knew what Billy was getting at. He was trying to pawn this scruffy orphan off on him. Not a chance! The little fur ball would just have to go back into the box when the ride was over. As for Billy, his old friend wouldn’t expect him to say much, about the kitten or otherwise. That’s why he’d hit Billy up for a ride in the first place. He was in no mood for small talk. And Billy would understand that without being told. All Luke wanted to do was to be quiet and think about Sophia. All he wanted to do was figure out what he was going to say to Sophia. So, while Billy kept up both sides of the conversation, Luke stared morosely at each passing mile marker and thought about what he was going to say to his brother’s widow.

What in the hell am I going to say to you, Sophia? What the hell could he say?

By the time Luke caught a glimpse of Bent Tree over the horizon, he still hadn’t thought up a good answer to that question. Maybe there wasn’t one.

“This’s good.” Luke gestured for Billy to pull over at Bent Tree’s entrance.

“Are you sure, man? I can take you all the way in.” Billy had the good sense not to mention Luke’s leg or the cane he had to use to get around.