Their Baby Surprise

Their Baby Surprise
Jennifer Taylor

Their Baby Surprise

Jennifer Taylor

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

Table of Contents

Cover Page (#ua9a87bfe-80c9-5f96-b046-c9c7b6160032)

Title Page (#u16e4ec33-3a3f-5416-89fb-6fb036f2abad)

Dear Reader (#u2482f7a3-7c23-5a9e-9a4e-e7a5a9abde77)

About The Author (#u06879893-397b-5577-8f98-bc4d4e9707fb)

Chapter One (#uefd5af66-239b-5f20-a90e-8b5032b12204)

Chapter Two (#ub666f0b9-21b7-522c-862a-2ed3e053e32d)

Chapter Three (#u9fe7d9e2-ef7e-50c1-870d-248e1df4fb7d)

Chapter Four (#u0512dc4b-9097-5e69-93ed-788471516534)

Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

Dear Reader

This is the fourth and final story in my Dalverston Weddings series, and I have to admit to feeling a little sad now that I have reached the end. However, helping my hero and heroine discover how much they love one another was a real joy for me—even though it did come as a shock to them!

Rachel Mackenzie and Matthew Thompson have worked together for a number of years, and they have an excellent working relationship based on mutual respect and liking. However, when the wedding of their respective offspring is suddenly cancelled, they find themselves taking a long, hard look at their own feelings and are stunned when they realise that they are attracted to one another. Both are wary of rushing headlong into a situation they might come to regret, and agree that an affair seems like the ideal solution—but will it be enough for either of them?

I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. I particularly loved planning the last scene, as it reminded me of my daughter’s wedding day. I spent many happy hours looking through all the photographs in the name of research!

Best wishes to you all

Jennifer

Jennifer Taylor lives in the north-west of England, in a small village surrounded by some really beautiful countryside. She has written for several different Mills & Boon® series in the past, but it wasn’t until she read her first Medical™ Romance that she truly found her niche. She was so captivated by these heart-warming stories that she set out to write them herself!

When she’s not writing, or doing research for her latest book, Jennifer’s hobbies include reading, gardening, travel, and chatting to friends both on and off-line. She is always delighted to hear from readers, so do visit her website at www.jennifer-taylor.com

Chapter One

HE MAY have been putting on a brave face all day but Rachel Mackenzie wasn’t deceived. It was no secret to those who knew him that Matthew Thompson adored his only daughter, Heather, so the fact that Heather had decided to cancel her own wedding and leave Dalverston was bound to have caused him a great deal of pain.

Rachel sighed as she followed Matt into his house because it was painful for her too. It had been her son, Ross, who had been due to marry Matt’s daughter that day and she couldn’t begin to imagine how devastated Ross must be feeling.

‘I don’t know about you but I could do with a drink.’ Matt led the way into the sitting room and went straight to the table under the window that held an array of bottles. Picking up a bottle of whisky, he glanced at her. ‘Will you join me, Rachel?’

‘All right, but just a small one.’ Rachel grimaced as she sank down onto the sofa. ‘I’m so exhausted that even a sip of alcohol will probably send me off to sleep.’

‘It’s been one heck of a day,’ Matt concurred, pouring two small measures of whisky into a pair of cut-glass tumblers. He handed one of the glasses to her then sat down with a sigh that spoke volumes about how he was feeling. Rachel studied him while she sipped her drink.

Normally, Matt was so full of energy that he appeared far younger than his actual age. He ran the busy general practice that served the people of Dalverston with a verve that few could emulate. However, today every one of his forty-eight years showed in the deep lines that were etched onto his handsome face.

At a little under six feet tall, with a powerful physique and thick black hair that was only just starting to turn silver at the temples, Matthew Thompson was a very attractive man. Rachel knew she wasn’t alone in thinking that either. Several of her friends, the married ones as well as the single, had remarked on it. In fact, she’d had a job to convince them that she wasn’t interested in Matt that way and saw him simply as a colleague and a friend.

It was a good job, too, she thought suddenly. Quite apart from the fact that she wasn’t interested in having a relationship with anyone at the moment, there was definitely no chance of it happening with Matt. The thought touched a nerve oddly enough and she cleared her throat, unsure why it should trouble her in any way.

‘I couldn’t believe it when you phoned and told me we had a major incident on our hands. I mean for it to happen today of all days…’ She tailed off, not needing to explain why today had been the worst day possible. Instead of celebrating their children’s marriage, they had spent a large part of the day dealing with the aftermath of a serious accident on the banks of the canal. Talk about bad timing wasn’t in it.

‘At least it provided a distraction.’ Matt grimaced when he realised how uncaring that must have sounded. ‘Sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it came out. A number of people were badly injured when that crane collapsed and I certainly wouldn’t have wished that on them.’

‘I know you wouldn’t, but you’re right, Matt. At least while we were treating them, it took our minds off this other problem,’ Rachel said quickly, not wanting him to feel bad about what he had said.

‘Exactly.’

He gave her a tight smile as he raised the glass to his lips. Rachel knew that he rarely drank alcohol, and never during the day, and it just seemed to prove how low he must be feeling. The thought caused her such intense pain that it surprised her. It was only natural that she should feel upset for Ross, but that didn’t explain why it was so painful to see the way Matt was suffering, did it?

Rachel wasn’t sure what to make of it all. In the end, she decided not to worry about it. Ross had attended the incident along with the rest of the staff from the surgery and she wanted to make sure that he had got home safely. She hunted her mobile phone out of her pocket and stood up. Matt looked up and she felt an odd little frisson run through her when their eyes met.

‘I just want to phone Ross and check he’s all right,’ she explained, trying to stem the shiver that was trickling so disturbingly down her spine. What bothered her most was that she couldn’t remember the last time something like this had happened. She kept too tight a rein on her emotions to let them misbehave this way, but obviously recent events had taken their toll.

She had been looking forward to this wedding so much, looking forward to the fact that from here on her son would have the woman he loved by his side to support him. Although she had never met anyone she had wanted to spend the rest of her life with, she believed in marriage, firmly believed that a happy marriage was a wonderful thing.

Was it disappointment that all her hopes for her son’s future had amounted to nothing that was making her feel so mixed up? she wondered suddenly. She certainly couldn’t remember feeling so emotionally raw before and that could explain the odd way she seemed to be behaving that day.

‘You do that while I make us some coffee.’ Matt put his glass on the table and stood up. He shrugged as he took Rachel’s glass from her and placed it next to his. ‘I don’t think alcohol is the answer somehow, do you?’