Liz Fielding: The Baby Plan

Mission: the pitter-patter of tiny feet

Amanda Fleming is young, super-successful… and has a biological clock that couldn’t be ticking louder if it tried. Meeting gorgeous blue-eyed Daniel Redford just sends it into total overdrive! With his charm and movie-star good looks, if she was looking for dad-material, he’d be her number one choice!

It was only a fun daydream, but then Daniel asks her out. Getting to know the man behind the smile is an irresistibly delicious temptation, but it turns out single dad Daniel has family responsibilities of his own already. So how will he react when Amanda must tell him he’s going to be a dad again…?

The Baby Plan

Liz Fielding

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Cover

Blurb Mission: the pitter-patter of tiny feet Amanda Fleming is young, super-successful… and has a biological clock that couldn’t be ticking louder if it tried. Meeting gorgeous blue-eyed Daniel Redford just sends it into total overdrive! With his charm and movie-star good looks, if she was looking for dad-material, he’d be her number one choice! It was only a fun daydream, but then Daniel asks her out. Getting to know the man behind the smile is an irresistibly delicious temptation, but it turns out single dad Daniel has family responsibilities of his own already. So how will he react when Amanda must tell him he’s going to be a dad again…?

Title Page The Baby Plan Liz Fielding www.millsandboon.co.uk

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

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‘A BABY? You’ve decided to have a baby?’ Amanda Garland Fleming said nothing, merely waited for her Business Manager to retrieve her chin from the office floor. ‘ Excuse me? ’ Beth’s laugh was definitely of the ‘hold on—you’re kidding me’ variety. ‘Have I missed something here? Something basic. Like a husband? Or a live-in partner? I didn’t even know you were seeing someone. Not that seriously, anyway.’ She glanced at the calendar. ‘It’s not April Fool’s day, is it?’

Straight to the point. No messing. That was Beth.

Since the early autumn sunshine slanting through the window suggested that the question was purely rhetorical, Amanda ignored it. ‘Could you ask Jane to pop out and pick up these books for me, when she has a moment?’

Beth’s eyebrows rose sharply as she skimmed the list that contained every childcare book from Dr Spock to Penelope Leach. ‘A little light … er … bedtime reading?’

‘Research. I like to have a thorough grasp of the subject.’

‘Then let’s hope a ‘‘thorough grasp of the subject’’ is sufficient to bring you to your senses. You might even notice the flaw in your plan. Making a baby takes two, darling; not even the legendary organisational talent of Amanda Garland can manage that particular miracle single-handed.’

‘On the contrary. The wonders of science ensure that a man—at least, the kind of man that requires nurturing, feeding and an endless supply of clean shirts—is now redundant.’

Beth’s eyes sparked with mischief. ‘Fun, though.’

Amanda knew better than to be drawn along that path. ‘The books,’ she repeated. ‘And some folic acid.’

‘Folic acid?’

‘Vital for the healthy development of the neural tube. My doctor advised starting to take it before I get pregnant.’

‘You’ve talked to your doctor about this? What did she say?’

‘She said, ‘‘Start taking folic acid.’’’

Beth waited a moment, clearly hoping that she was going to laugh, say, just kidding. When it didn’t happen she said, ‘This isn’t a joke is it? You’re going to have a baby?’

Amanda had been in total control of her life since she was eighteen years old and had never once doubted a decision taken or looked back with regret. Now, a successful businesswoman on the cusp of her thirtieth year, she had taken stock of her life, considered where she wanted to be when the big four zero beckoned. She had already decided on changes to her business, on expansion into new areas, taking the Garland name out of the office and into the home. But that hadn’t been enough.

‘Well, it’s still in the planning stage—’

‘Planning stage!’

It was Amanda’s turn to smile. ‘You’ve heard of family planning, haven’t you?’ It was all going to be very simple. She wanted a child of her own, and with her thirtieth birthday looming on the horizon and her biological clock ticking with increasing urgency it was time to do what she was particularly good at. Make a plan, carry it through and achieve her goal. She had never needed a man to hold her hand before, and the advancement of science ensured that she could manage without one now.

Beth’s expression, however, suggested that she didn’t see it that way. ‘You’re talking about having a baby as if it’s just another business deal. Have you any idea what motherhood will do to your life?’