Debrah Morris - That Maddening Man

“I’d never do that, Ellin Bennett.”

His words were spoken as softly as a lover’s caress. For a crazy moment, she longed for his touch on her skin, the brush of his full lips against hers. She was mesmerized by a need so intense, it caused a physical ache.

Holy guacamole! What was she thinking? “It’s getting late. I need to put Lizzie to bed.”

She stood up and leaned over to lift her sleeping daughter from his arms. She heard his sharp intake of breath when her hair swung down and brushed his cheek.

Her eyes met his. For one heart-stopping minute she knew he meant to kiss her. And she was stunned to realize how much she wanted him to….

Dear Reader,

Summer’s finally here! Whether you’ll be lounging poolside, at the beach, or simply in your home this season, we have great reads packed with everything you enjoy from Silhouette Romance—tenderness, emotion, fun and, of course, heart-pounding romance—plus some very special surprises.

First, don’t miss the exciting conclusion to the thrilling ROYALLY WED: THE MISSING HEIR miniseries with Cathie Linz’s A Prince at Last! Then be swept off your feet—just like the heroine herself!—in Hayley Gardner’s Kidnapping His Bride.

Romance favorite Raye Morgan is back with A Little Moonlighting, about a tycoon set way off track by his beguiling associate who wants a family to call her own. And in Debrah Morris’s That Maddening Man, can a traffic-stopping smile convince a career woman—and single mom—to slow down…?

Then laugh, cry and fall in love all over again with two incredibly tender love stories. Vivienne Wallington’s Kindergarten Cupids is a very different, highly emotional story about scandal, survival and second chances. Then dive right into Jackie Braun’s True Love, Inc., about a professional matchmaker who’s challenged to find her very sexy, very cynical client his perfect woman. Can she convince him that she already has?

Here’s to a wonderful, relaxing summer filled with happiness and romance.

Happy reading!

Mary-Theresa Hussey

Senior Editor

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Silhouette Romance

A Girl, a Guy and a Lullaby #1549

That Maddening Man #1597

Before embarking on a solo writing career, Debrah Morris coauthored over twenty romance novels as one half of the Pepper Adams/Joanna Jordan writing team. She’s been married for twenty-four years, and between them, she and her husband have five children. She’s changed careers several times in her life, but finds she much prefers writing to working. She loves to hear from readers. Please contact her at P.O. Box 522, Norman, OK 73070-0522. If you would like an autographed bookmark, please send a SASE with your request.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Ellin Bennett was a risk-taker by nature, but not quite reckless enough to drive these hills at the posted speed limit. Her gloved hands tightened on the wheel as she steered the sleek Japanese import along the narrow two-lane highway. There were moments when daring was the way to go, but this was not one of them.

She passed another Watch For Deer sign. Was it a warning? Or an invitation to enjoy the local wildlife? Should she be wary of big-eyed creatures blundering into her path? Or look out for friendly loiterers in the woods? After eleven years in Chicago, living in the Ozarks would take some getting used to.

“But, Mommy, Santa Claus won’t know where to find me.”

“Sure he will, Lizzie.” Ellin glanced in the rearview mirror and smiled. Strapped into a state-of-the-art booster seat, her four-year-old daughter wore a fuzzy pink coat, a gaudy rhinestone tiara and a worried frown.

“I told you, Mommy. I’m not Lizzie today.”

“So sorry, Your Highness. I meant Princess Lizzie, of course.” She atoned for the breach of protocol like a chastened vassal. After all, it was her fourth reminder.

“But how will he find me?” the child persisted. “He doesn’t know we moved in with Grammy.”

“Sure he does, honey. Santa Claus knows everything.” Ellin wasn’t exactly filled with Christmas spirit this year, but she couldn’t let her cynicism spoil her little girl’s illusions.

“But Grammy doesn’t have a chimbly.” Normally sunny and easygoing, Lizzie had developed an alarming number of worries since the move. Most of which involved the coming holiday.

“That won’t stop Santa.”

“He can’t leave presents if there’s no chimbly to come down.”

“Of course he can,” Ellin assured with a sigh. “He’s magic.”

“When are we getting a Christmas tree?” Lizzie twirled her princess wand absently.

“Soon, baby, soon.” Ellin watched the twisting road and the ditch looming close beside it.

“Today?”

“Maybe.” The absence of a propped-up conifer in the living room was a big source of preschool anxiety.

“Don’t say maybe.” Lizzie’s little pink lips puckered into a pout. “Say yes.”

“We’ll see.” The phrase was straight out of Lesson One of the Mommy Handbook and usually had the desired pacification effect. But not today.

“Santa won’t like it if we don’t have a Christmas tree,” Lizzie warned with arch authority. “He’ll be all mad.”

“No, he won’t. Santa can’t get mad at princesses. The tooth fairy won’t allow it.” Hearing a slurping sound, Ellin glanced at the useless pile of hair on the seat beside her. Pudgy, her grandmother’s aptly named Yorkie-Pomeranian was idly gumming the strap of her leather handbag.

“Give me that.” She yanked her Kate Spade original out of harm’s way. Wrinkling her nose in distaste, she plucked a clump of fawn-colored fur off the upholstery, hit the window button and flicked it onto the gray winter landscape. Not only was Pudgy missing several important teeth, he was going bald.

Her grandmother actually missed the quivering mass of canine nerves and had requested Pudgy’s presence at the nursing home’s Christmas party today. If neurotic shedding was any indication, Ida Faye’s longtime companion missed her, too. Mrs. Polk, the forward-thinking administrator of Shady Acres Care Center and a vocal proponent of pet therapy, thought the visit might hasten the eighty-year-old’s recovery from hip surgery.

“Do you know where the angel is, Mommy? The one with the shiny dress that goes on top of the tree?”

“She’s safe in a box in Grammy’s garage.”

“The twinkle lights, too? And the sparkly snowmen?”

“Yes, dear. They’re all safe.” Giving up the town house on Lake Michigan had been difficult, but it was especially traumatic for Lizzie. She’d cried when the movers crated their belongings for storage and wouldn’t stop until Ellin agreed to haul a box of favorite holiday decorations all the way to Arkansas. Her daughter had Christmas on the brain and was convinced that moving had somehow upset universal order at the North Pole.

“Can I see ’em when we get home?” she asked suspiciously.