Roxann Delaney - A Whole New Man

The innocent comment by her four-year-old brought Lizzie to a halt. Could she handle Amanda’s broken heart, and her own, when the time came and Hank left Kansas City? Lizzie prayed she would be able to. A small part of her dared to wish that day would never come. That Hank would stay.

“Come on, Mommy,” Amanda cried, tugging on Lizzie’s hand.

Over the top of her head, Hank gave Lizzie a look she had trouble identifying. A voice inside told her she was getting in too deep. But in fact, it was already too late.

She was falling in love with Hank Davis and there was nothing she could do to stop it.…

Dear Reader,

Spring cleaning wearing you out? Perk up with a heart-thumping romance from Silhouette Romance. This month, your favorite authors return to the line, and a new one makes her debut!

Take a much-deserved break with bestselling author Judy Christenberry’s secret-baby story, Daddy on the Doorstep (#1654). Then plunge into Elizabeth August’s latest, The Rancher’s Hand-Picked Bride (#1656), about a celibate heroine forced to find her rugged neighbor a bride!

You won’t want to miss the first in Raye Morgan’s CATCHING THE CROWN miniseries about three royal siblings raised in America who must return to their kingdom and marry. In Jack and the Princess (#1655), Princess Karina falls for her bodyguard, but what will it take for this gruff commoner to win a place in the royal family? And in Diane Pershing’s The Wish (#1657), the next SOULMATES installment, a pair of magic eyeglasses gives Gerri Conklin the chance to do over the most disastrous week of her life…and find the man of her dreams!

And be sure to keep your eye on these two Romance authors. Roxann Delaney delivers her third fabulous Silhouette Romance novel, A Whole New Man (#1658), about a live-for-the-moment hero transformed into a family man, but will it last? And Cheryl Kushner makes her debut with He’s Still the One (#1659), a fresh, funny, heartwarming tale about a TV show host who returns to her hometown and the man she never stopped loving.

Happy reading!

Mary-Theresa Hussey

Senior Editor

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To Gail, who nudged me back to reading romance and

knows me all too well. Thanks for believing in me more

than I believe in myself and for being my best friend

for more years than we need to count.

Silhouette Romance

Rachel’s Rescuer #1509

A Saddle Made for Two #1533

A Whole New Man #1658

is the mother of four daughters. With the two oldest on their own, although a mere twenty yards away, life in her hometown in south-central Kansas is still far from dull. The 1999 Maggie winner enjoys keeping up with the former high school classmates she encounters and the tons of relatives, whose ancestors settled in the area over a century ago. A theater buff, she once helped establish a community theater and both acted and directed in the productions, as well as served on the board of directors. But writing is her first love, and she is thrilled to have followed the yellow brick road to the land of Silhouette Romance. She would love to hear from readers, who can write her at P.O. Box 636, Clearwater, KS 67026.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Epilogue

“Henry Davis?”

Hank looked up from the magazine he was thumbing through, and his breath lodged in his chest. Contacting this image-consulting place was one of the best ideas he’d ever had, considering the woman standing in front of him.

“I’m Hank.” Disengaging himself from the chair, he rose to his feet.

Her smile was blinding. “Mr. Davis, I’m Elizabeth Edwards. Welcome to Kansas City and Images, Inc.”

When he took the woman’s outstretched hand in his, an unaccustomed warmth climbed up his arm, and he met her gaze head-on. Wide, blue eyes, the color of Navajo turquoise, stared into his. Smooth skin the color of ripe peaches and fresh cream framed a lush, strawberry mouth.

When he continued to stare, she pulled away with her breath-stealing smile intact. “Let’s get comfortable in my office and discuss what it is specifically that I plan to do for you.” She turned to her receptionist, robbing him of his view of her smile. “Perhaps Mr. Davis would like something to drink before we get started, Janine.”

“I’m fine,” Hank managed to say, even though he wasn’t. He could’ve used a stiff drink as he studied her profile. When he’d seen the fancy ad in the Kansas City magazine back in New Mexico, he hadn’t imagined he would encounter someone who looked like her. Not that he minded. He didn’t know how long he would stay with his new foreman’s job at Crown Construction, but he couldn’t deny himself a few simple pleasures. That’s as far as it would go, though. He had never been much of a ladies’ man, and he knew better than to get tangled up with a woman. Most wanted to make things permanent and be a family—something he didn’t know much about.

“We have a lot of things to accomplish, Mr. Davis,” his new consultant said and motioned for him to follow her.

Hank had always believed a man had the right to take advantage of and enjoy things whenever the opportunity presented itself. Walking behind her down a hallway, that opportunity was a tantalizing view of a pair of curvy, swaying hips that hinted at what lay beneath the snug white skirt encasing them and a pair of long, shapely legs that stretched his imagination.

Shifting his gaze to rein in his fantasy, he barely noticed the pricey but tasteful decor of Images, Inc. as she led him to her office. Instead the alabaster column of her neck, revealed beneath a knot of gorgeous auburn hair, had snared his attention. Copper wisps escaped the bun and teased the collar of the virginal white suit she wore. His fingers itched to touch them and feel their silky softness. Too bad he would never get the chance to do it.

Before his imagination led him further than it should, they reached her office. She motioned toward a long sofa along one wall. While he took a seat, she picked up a file folder from her desk, then settled at the opposite end of the sofa. It didn’t escape him that her skirt inched higher, revealing even more of her long legs, and he tried his best to ignore it so he could concentrate on the reason he was there.

After shuffling the papers in her hands, she looked up to give him another dazzling smile. “Tell me what convinced you to come to Images, Inc., Mr. Davis.”

“Call me Hank.” He crossed one work-booted foot over his knee and fingered a worn seam in the leather. The truth was, his thirtieth birthday three months ago had brought home the hard fact that he had never made much of himself. Then he had received the letter from Crown Construction offering him a position with the well-respected company. When he saw the ad for Images, Inc., he called on a whim, thinking he might as well give it a try and fill in the time during the next two weeks until he started his new job.

“I suppose you could say I thought I could use a little spiffing up,” he said, giving away as little about himself as he could. “I could use a little polish, anyway. I’ve been on the road all my life, so I haven’t picked up the social graces most people come by naturally.”