Practice Husband

Practice Husband
Judith McWilliams

WANTED: MARRIAGE-MINDED MEN Addy Edson was looking for a husband, and she knew just the guy to help her with her search. But what she hadn't expected were the warm, sensuous "practice kisses" that her childhood friend Joe Barrington was bent on giving her - or the way they made her feel… .Joe was more than happy to help Addy find a groom, especially since it meant the redheaded beauty would be practicing her sexy charms on him! But how could he convince her that a lifetime of happiness - and nighttimes of passion - could be found in his arms?

“What Did You Have In Mind For Us To Do This Evening?” (#u1a448db8-77a7-543e-8f58-ce4753b21563)Letter to Reader (#uf3a03e10-e68a-5893-bb33-b66a25eb312e)Title Page (#ud9786f3c-4e52-5407-9cd4-10fb470da046)About the Author (#u02433f32-4b1d-52b6-8c5f-1e8210a721af)Prologue (#u621c718a-41d7-5a85-81bd-f88cbaac66cf)Chapter One (#u5a55d7a6-684b-5c9d-93ce-650b22f10169)Chapter Two (#ua6f3f97b-b057-590a-bbd2-15cb59baf755)Chapter Three (#u049afc47-42d9-5301-bb5b-4563d0136b47)Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)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)Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

“What Did You Have In Mind For Us To Do This Evening?”

Joe felt a sudden shock of desire slam through him at the thought of what he’d really like to do with her this evening. He’d like to take her home and kiss her senseless. To strip that dress off her and run his hands over her body.

There was no reason why he shouldn’t kiss her. Kissing was a normal part of dating, and this was supposed to be a date.

He hadn’t spent so much time aroused since he’d been a teenager. And he was finding it a damned uncomfortable state to be in. At least when he knew that he couldn’t follow his desires through to their logical end.

“I hadn’t really thought that far ahead.” He took refuge in a lie. “What would you like to do?”

Dear Reader,

I know you’ve all been anxiously awaiting the next book from Mary Lynn Baxter—so wait no more. Here it is, the MAN OF THE MONTH. Tight-Fittin’ Jeans. Mary Lynn’s books are known for their sexy heroes and sizzling sensuality...and this sure has both! Read and enjoy.

Every little girl dreams of marrying a handsome prince, but most women get to kiss a lot of toads before they find him. Read how three handsome princes find their very own princesses in Leanne Banks’s delightful new miniseries HOW TO CATCH A PRINCESS. The fun begins this month with The Five-Minute Bride.

The other books this month are all so wonderful...you won’t want to miss any of them! If you like humor, don’t miss Maureen Child’s Have Bride, Need Groom. For brazing drama, there’s Sara Orwig’s A Baby for Mommy. Susan Crosby’s Wedding Fever provides a touch of dashing suspense. And Judith McWilliams’s Practice Husband is warmly emotional.

There is something for everyone here at Desire! I hope you enjoy each and every one of these love stores.

Senior Editor

Please address question 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

Practice Husband

Judith McWilliams

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

JUDITH McWILLIAMS

began to enjoy romances while in search of the proverbial “happily ever afters.” But she always found herself rewriting the endings, and eventually the beginnings, of the books she read. Then her husband finally suggested that she write novels of her own, and she’s been doing so ever since. An ex-teacher with four children, Judith has traveled the country extensively with her husband and has been greatly influenced by those experiences. But while not tending the garden or caring for family, Judith does what she enjoys most: writing. She has also written under the name Charlotte Hines.

Prologue

“Much as it pains me to admit it, Adelaide Edson, you have absolutely no calling to become a nun.”

Addy, well used to her aunt’s habit of speaking her thoughts aloud, ignored the comment and finished giving the DPT inoculation to the screaming toddler on the examining table.

“He’s in perfect health,” Addy said as she handed him to his young mother. “Bring him back in six weeks for his second set of inoculations. Sooner, if you’re worried about anything.”

“Thank you, Miss Addy. Sister Margaret.” The woman gave them a shy smile as she left.

Addy glanced around the empty tent in relief. “I was beginning to think we’d never get finished. I sure hope there’s some iced tea left in the cafeteria, because I’m dying for a glass.”

“What I want are a few answers,” Sister Margaret said as she helped Addy clean up the debris from the baby clinic.

Addy smiled affectionately at her. “Then why don’t you try asking a few questions?”

To Addy’s surprise, her aunt didn’t smile back.

“This is no laughing matter, Addy. If you don’t want to become a nun, what do you want out of life?”

“Aunt Margaret, I’m hot and tired and dirty and...”

“And avoiding my question,” Sister Margaret finished. “I’m serious. It’s long past time that you thought about it.”

“I will, just as soon as—”

“Now.” Sister Margaret’s voice brooked no opposition, and Addy gave in. There was no point in arguing with her aunt when she was in this kind of mood. It was far easier to go along.

“What do I want out of life?” Addy repeated the ques tion as she stared out through the open side of the tent at the small group of children who were playing in the scalding sun.

“Children,” Addy tried the word out and then repeated it when it sounded good. “Children. I want to have some of my own. Three, maybe four.”

Her aunt nodded. “That makes sense. One of the reasons you’re such a good pediatric nurse is the empathy you have for children. But I should point out that in order to have children you first need to have sex and for that you need a man.”

“Do tell.” Addy grinned at the elderly woman.

“It’s about time someone told you,” Sister Margaret said tartly. “What’s more, you’re not likely to find a husband in a refugee camp in Western Africa run by nuns.”

Addy felt her shoulders tense as the all-too-familiar feeling of inadequacy welled out of her subconscious. “I’m not likely to find one anywhere.”

“Nonsense!” Sister Margaret said bracingly. “A lovely young woman like you?”

Addy blew a damp strand of dark red hair that had escaped from her functional chignon out of her face and looked down at her rumpled uniform, which was liberally stained with the results of treating scores of children.

“Your partiality is overwhelming your common sense,” Addy muttered. “Besides, I may have spent the last four years in Africa, but if you remember, before that I was working in Chicago—a city with millions of men in it, and not a single one of them showed the slightest desire to marry me.”

“And whose fault was that? You were always so defensive about being a little plump—”

“Fat,” Addy corrected. “I wasn’t plump. I was fat.”

“Whatever!” Sister Margaret waved a dismissive hand. “The point is that you aren’t overweight anymore. There’s nothing to stop you from going out and grabbing a man to father those kids you want.”

Addy suppressed a sigh. If all she wanted was a walking sperm bank, then maybe her aunt was right. But that wasn’t all she wanted. She wanted more, a lot more. She wanted someone who was interested in her as a person as well as a sexual partner. She wanted someone to talk to, to share her hopes and fears with. To build a future with. A future that would last after their children had grown and left home.