The Tycoon's Marriage Bid

The Tycoon's Marriage Bid
Allison Leigh

HAD SHE FALLEN DOWN A RABBIT HOLE?Self-sufficient Nikki Day didn't know what to think when she awoke to find herself in a strange hospital staring at the man who was unknowingly responsible for her current "situation." And even though she'd tried–apparently unsuccessfully–to put some distance between herself and her ex-boss, she and her unborn baby now depended on Alex Reed's care. Besides, any hopes Nikki had of maintaining a professional relationship crumbled when she saw the "honeymoon cottage" he'd rented. And if the heart-shaped whirlpool tub didn't shift her hormones into high gear, Alex's mere touch certainly did. But when the tycoon made his marriage bid, Nikki faced her toughest task yet. Could she turn a proposal born of duty into one of desire?

“Don’t presume to think you know me so well,” Nikki said stiffly.

“Oh, I know you.” Alex stopped pacing. Stared at her in the firelight. “And I know that out of all the women in my life you’re the only one I ever counted on. And you walked out without one single reason that I can accept. Was I really that impossible to work with, Nik?”

“You didn’t do anything.” Nikki’s voice was husky.

“But someone did. Was it the father of your baby?”

“Just…leave it alone, please.”

“You’re just letting this yahoo walk. Without taking any responsibility at all for the baby.”

“It doesn’t concern you!”

He inhaled. Exhaled more slowly. “Then why does it feel as if it does?”

Nikki didn’t answer.

And Alex knew he was right. If he weren’t, she would have said so. But knowing it with more certainty than ever didn’t make him feel any better.

Dear Reader,

Well, it’s September, which always sounds like a fresh start to me, no matter how old I get. And evidently we have six women this month who agree. In Home Again by Joan Elliott Pickart, a woman who can’t have children has decided to work with them in a professional capacity—but when she is assigned an orphaned little boy, she fears she’s in over her head. Then she meets his gorgeous guardian—and she’s sure of it!

In the next installment of MOST LIKELY TO…, The Measure of a Man by Marie Ferrarella, a single mother attempting to help her beloved former professor joins forces with a former campus golden boy, now the college…custodian. What could have happened? Allison Leigh’s The Tycoon’s Marriage Bid pits a pregnant secretary against her ex-boss who, unbeknownst to him, has a real connection to her baby’s father. In The Other Side of Paradise by Laurie Paige, next up in her SEVEN DEVILS miniseries, a mysterious woman seeking refuge as a ranch hand learns that she may have more ties to the community than she could have ever suspected. When a beautiful nurse is assigned to care for a devastatingly handsome, if cantankerous, cowboy, the results are…well, you get the picture—but you can have it spelled out for you in Stella Bagwell’s next MEN OF THE WEST book, Taming a Dark Horse. And in Undercover Nanny by Wendy Warren, a domestically challenged female detective decides it’s necessary to penetrate the lair of single father and heir to a grocery fortune by pretending to be…his nanny. Hmm. It could work.…

So enjoy, and snuggle up. Fall weather is just around the corner.…

Happy reading!

Gail Chasan

Senior Editor

The Tycoon’s Marriage Bid

Allison Leigh

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

For my family.

Always.

ALLISON LEIGH

started early by writing a Halloween play that her grade-school class performed. Since then, though her tastes have changed, her love for reading has not. And her writing appetite simply grows more voracious by the day.

She has been a finalist in the RITA

Award and the Holt Medallion contests. But the true highlights of her day as a writer are when she receives word from a reader that they laughed, cried or lost a night of sleep while reading one of her books.

Born in Southern California, Allison has lived in several different cities in four different states. She has been, at one time or another, a cosmetologist, a computer programmer and a secretary. She has recently begun writing full-time after spending nearly a decade as an administrative assistant for a busy neighborhood church, and currently makes her home in Arizona with her family. She loves to hear from her readers, who can write to her at P.O. Box 40772, Mesa, AZ 85274-0772.

GRANDMA’S 20-MINUTE BROWNIE RECIPE

2 squares unsweetened baking chocolate

½ cup butter

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

¾ cup flour

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp vanilla

1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Melt chocolate and butter. Cool. Beat eggs 5 minutes. Add sugar and beat again. Sift dry ingredients and add to egg mixture. Add melted chocolate mixture. Add vanilla and nuts. Spread in a greased 9"x13" pan and bake at 350° F for 20 minutes. Can dust top lightly with powered sugar. Cut and remove from pan while hot.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight