Ann Major - The Accidental Bodyguard

Cover Page

Excerpt Where The Hell Had His Boys Found Her? “Boys!” he shouted as he bunched the thick white terry cloth around his waist. They were far too clever to answer. She turned off the faucets and said quietly, “It’s not their fault, you know.” “Don’t defend them. Who the hell are you anyway?” Lucas whispered, too hotly aware of her lithe golden body to be able to speak. “How long have you been living—” But he already knew. “Eleven days?” he croaked. Her face turned crimson. She nodded. She was the pet. She was the mysterious angelic presence he’d sensed in the house who’d magically improved his life with his sons. Her spell was so powerful she’d even managed to insert herself into his dreams. No wonder his boys had been determined to fire all those nannies and stay home and tend her…

Dear Reader Dear Reader, It’s hard to believe that this is the grand finale of CELEBRATION 1000! But all good things must come to an end. Not that there aren’t more wonderful things in store for you next month, too… But as for June, first we have an absolutely sizzling MAN OF THE MONTH from Ann Major called The Accidental Bodyguard. Are you a fan of HAWK’S WAY? If so, don’t miss the latest “Hawk’s” story, The Temporary Groom by Joan Johnston. Check out the family tree on page six and see if you recognize all the members of the Whitelaw family. And with The Cowboy and the Cradle Cait London has begun a fabulous new western series—THE TALLCHIEFS. (P.S. The next Tallchief is all set for September!) Many of you have written to say how much you love Elizabeth Bevarly’s books. Her latest, Father of the Brood, book #2 in the FROM HERE TO PATERNITY series, simply shouldn’t be missed. This month is completed with Karen Leabo’s The Prodigal Groom, the latest in our WEDDING NIGHT series, and don’t miss a wonderful star of tomorrow— DEBUT AUTHOR Eileen Wilks, who’s written The Loner and the Lady. As for next month…we have a not-to-be-missed MAN OF THE MONTH by Anne McAllister, and Dixie Browning launches DADDY KNOWS LAST, a new Silhouette continuity series beginning in Desire. Senior Editor Please address questions and book requests to: Silhouette Reader Service U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269 Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

Title Page The Accidental Bodyguard Ann Major www.millsandboon.co.uk

Ann Major ANN MAJOR loves writing romance novels as much as she loves reading them. She is the proud mother of three children who are now in high school and college. She lists hiking in the Colorado mountains with her husband, playing tennis, sailing, enjoying her cats and playing the piano among her favorite activities.

Dear Reader Dear Reader, I am very thrilled to be part of the CELEBRATION 1000 for the Silhouette Desire line, and I hope each of you will enjoy The Accidental Bodyguard. My books always seem to me to be like patchwork quilts. I mix my experiences and reactions with the stories other people tell me and the things I read, and out comes a story. Not that this is an easy process. Not that when I am done I can’t still remember the agony of every bad idea and every ripped-out seam. My husband is a doctor, and I had originally intended to write a story about the skeleton of an Indian girl that hangs in his office. I remember when a great big crate from India arrived—years ago—and we went up after work with the children and pried the lid off the carton. We found a beautiful, carefully packed skeleton inside. My husband said she couldn’t have been older than eighteen when she died. We were all deeply awed as he gently lifted the skeleton out and we all wondered who she had been and how she had lived. This book began with my questions about that girl, and I thought I would be writing about a skeleton coming to life and changing a doctor’s life. But as I began to research the story and read about reincarnation, I began wondering about other mysteries. Why do we sometimes feel we know a person instantly? Why do new patterns and new places sometimes feel so familiar? Why do some souls seem so much wiser than others? How can a person fall in love instantly? As you will see, there is no skeleton in my story. When I sat down to write, my imagination twisted and turned and I wrote an entirely different book than the one I had envisioned. But what stayed the same was my great curiosity about life and death and the boundaries of love. Enjoy.

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Epilogue

Copyright

“Boys!” he shouted as he bunched the thick white terry cloth around his waist.

They were far too clever to answer.

She turned off the faucets and said quietly, “It’s not their fault, you know.”

“Don’t defend them. Who the hell are you anyway?” Lucas whispered, too hotly aware of her lithe golden body to be able to speak. “How long have you been living—”

But he already knew. “Eleven days?” he croaked.

Her face turned crimson. She nodded.

She was the pet. She was the mysterious angelic presence he’d sensed in the house who’d magically improved his life with his sons. Her spell was so powerful she’d even managed to insert herself into his dreams.

No wonder his boys had been determined to fire all those nannies and stay home and tend her…

Dear Reader,

It’s hard to believe that this is the grand finale of CELEBRATION 1000! But all good things must come to an end. Not that there aren’t more wonderful things in store for you next month, too…

But as for June, first we have an absolutely sizzling MAN OF THE MONTH from Ann Major called The Accidental Bodyguard.

Are you a fan of HAWK’S WAY? If so, don’t miss the latest “Hawk’s” story, The Temporary Groom by Joan Johnston. Check out the family tree on page six and see if you recognize all the members of the Whitelaw family.

And with The Cowboy and the Cradle Cait London has begun a fabulous new western series—THE TALLCHIEFS. (P.S. The next Tallchief is all set for September!)

Many of you have written to say how much you love Elizabeth Bevarly’s books. Her latest, Father of the Brood, book #2 in the FROM HERE TO PATERNITY series, simply shouldn’t be missed.

This month is completed with Karen Leabo’s The Prodigal Groom, the latest in our WEDDING NIGHT series, and don’t miss a wonderful star of tomorrow— DEBUT AUTHOR Eileen Wilks, who’s written The Loner and the Lady.

As for next month…we have a not-to-be-missed MAN OF THE MONTH by Anne McAllister, and Dixie Browning launches DADDY KNOWS LAST, a new Silhouette continuity series beginning in Desire.

Senior Editor

Please address questions and book requests to:

Silhouette Reader Service

U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

www.millsandboon.co.uk

loves writing romance novels as much as she loves reading them. She is the proud mother of three children who are now in high school and college. She lists hiking in the Colorado mountains with her husband, playing tennis, sailing, enjoying her cats and playing the piano among her favorite activities.