Linda Varner - Make-Believe Husband

Gabe tried to imagine life without Jessi, and couldn’t. She was that much a part of him now. Gabe tried to imagine life without Jessi, and couldn’t. She was that much a part of him now. “Ever thought about living in Washington?” Gabe’s question just asked itself, leaving him as startled as Jessi appeared to be when she glanced over her shoulder at him. “You mean make our marriage legal?” Jessi sounded shocked. “Surely the thought has crossed your mind.” “Maybe,” Jessi murmured, confessing nothing. “Admit it, Jessi,” Gabe said. “You’ve thought about what it would be like to be married to me, probably more than once.” “And if I have?” “What did you decide?” “You’re a good man, Gabe. You appreciate the worth of family. I think you’d make a great husband.” “Your husband?” Gabe couldn’t resist asking.... Letter to Reader Dear Reader, July brings you the fifth title of Silhouette Romance’s VIRGIN BRIDES promotion. This series is devoted to the beautiful metaphor of the traditional white wedding and the fairy-tale magic of innocence awakened to passionate love on the wedding night. In perennial favorite Sandra Steffen’s offering. The Bounty Hunter’s Bride, a rugged loner finds himself propositioned by the innocent beauty who’d nursed him to health in a remote mountain cabin. He resists her precious gift...but winds up her shotgun groom when her father and four brothers discover their hideaway! Diana Whitney returns to the Romance lineup with One Man’s Promise, a wonderfully warmhearted story about a struggling FABULOUS FATHER and an adventurous single gal who are brought together by their love for his little girl and a shaggy mutt named Rags. And THE BRUBAKER BRIDES are back! In Cinderella’s Secret Baby, the third book of Carolyn Zane’s charming series, tycoon Mac Brubaker tracks down the poor but proud bride who’d left him the day after their whirlwind wedding, only to discover she’s about to give birth to the newest Brubaker heir.... Wanted: A Family Forever is confirmed bachelor Zach Robinson’s secret wish in this intensely emotional story by Anne Peters. But will marriage-jaded Monica Griffith and her little girl trust him with their hearts? Linda Vamer’s twentieth book for Silhouette is book two of THREE WEDDINGS AND A FAMILY When two go-getters learn they must marry to achieve their dreams, a wedding of convenience results in a Make-Believe Husband...and many sleepless nights! Finally, a loyal assistant agrees to be her boss’s Nine-to-Five Bride in Robin Wells’s sparkling new story, but of course this wife wants her new husband to be a permanent acquisition! Enjoy each and every Silhouette Romance! Regards, Joan Marlow Golan Senior Editor Silhouette Books 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 Make-Believe Husband Linda Varner www.millsandboon.co.uk Dedication This book is dedicated to Dr. Annette Meador and her wonderful nurses. Thanks for keeping me writing! LINDA VARNER LINDA VARNER confesses she is a hopeless romantic. Nothing is more thrilling, she believes, than the battle of wits between a man and a woman who are meant for each other but just don’t know it yet! Linda enjoys writing romance and considers herself very lucky to have been both a RITA finalist and a third-place winner in the National Readers’ Choice Awards in 1993. A full-time federal employee, Linda lives in Arkansas with her husband and their two children. She loves to hear from readers. Write to her at 813 Oak St., Suite 10A-277, Conway, AR 72032. Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Copyright

Gabe tried to imagine life without Jessi, and couldn’t. She was that much a part of him now.

“Ever thought about living in Washington?” Gabe’s question just asked itself, leaving him as startled as Jessi appeared to be when she glanced over her shoulder at him.

“You mean make our marriage legal?” Jessi sounded shocked.

“Surely the thought has crossed your mind.”

“Maybe,” Jessi murmured, confessing nothing.

“Admit it, Jessi,” Gabe said. “You’ve thought about what it would be like to be married to me, probably more than once.”

“And if I have?”

“What did you decide?”

“You’re a good man, Gabe. You appreciate the worth of family. I think you’d make a great husband.”

“Your husband?” Gabe couldn’t resist asking....

Dear Reader,

July brings you the fifth title of Silhouette Romance’s VIRGIN BRIDES promotion. This series is devoted to the beautiful metaphor of the traditional white wedding and the fairy-tale magic of innocence awakened to passionate love on the wedding night. In perennial favorite Sandra Steffen’s offering. The Bounty Hunter’s Bride, a rugged loner finds himself propositioned by the innocent beauty who’d nursed him to health in a remote mountain cabin. He resists her precious gift...but winds up her shotgun groom when her father and four brothers discover their hideaway!

Diana Whitney returns to the Romance lineup with One Man’s Promise, a wonderfully warmhearted story about a struggling FABULOUS FATHER and an adventurous single gal who are brought together by their love for his little girl and a shaggy mutt named Rags. And THE BRUBAKER BRIDES are back! In Cinderella’s Secret Baby, the third book of Carolyn Zane’s charming series, tycoon Mac Brubaker tracks down the poor but proud bride who’d left him the day after their whirlwind wedding, only to discover she’s about to give birth to the newest Brubaker heir....

Wanted: A Family Forever is confirmed bachelor Zach Robinson’s secret wish in this intensely emotional story by Anne Peters. But will marriage-jaded Monica Griffith and her little girl trust him with their hearts? Linda Vamer’s twentieth book for Silhouette is book two of THREE WEDDINGS AND A FAMILY When two go-getters learn they must marry to achieve their dreams, a wedding of convenience results in a Make-Believe Husband...and many sleepless nights! Finally, a loyal assistant agrees to be her boss’s Nine-to-Five Bride in Robin Wells’s sparkling new story, but of course this wife wants her new husband to be a permanent acquisition!

Enjoy each and every Silhouette Romance!

Regards,

Joan Marlow Golan

Senior Editor Silhouette Books

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

This book is dedicated to

Dr. Annette Meador and her wonderful nurses.

Thanks for keeping me writing!

LINDA VARNER

confesses she is a hopeless romantic. Nothing is more thrilling, she believes, than the battle of wits between a man and a woman who are meant for each other but just don’t know it yet! Linda enjoys writing romance and considers herself very lucky to have been both a RITA finalist and a third-place winner in the National Readers’ Choice Awards in 1993.

A full-time federal employee, Linda lives in Arkansas with her husband and their two children. She loves to hear from readers. Write to her at 813 Oak St., Suite 10A-277, Conway, AR 72032.

Chapter One

“Jessica Landers, do you take Gabriel Dillard to be your husband?”