Blind Luck Bride

Blind Luck Bride
Laura Marie Altom

I bet a thousand dollars and my truck that I'll be married by Saturday. –Finn Reilly, jilted bridegroomHe needed a wife fast. So when lovely Lilly Churchill walked in, all dressed in bridal white, Finn married her before she could say, "I don't." Then he learned Lilly thought he was someone else–a fiance she'd met by e-mail!Disaster-prone Lilly should have known she'd marry the wrong man. Except…Finn's heated kisses felt so right. Crazy as it seemed, their whirlwind marriage might have been the luckiest mistake ever. But Lilly hadn't told Finn why she'd gotten married–and the precious, growing secret couldn't be kept much longer!

“Who said ours would be a loveless marriage?” Lilly asked

When Finn said nothing, she continued. “The past few days you’ve shown me in a hundred tiny ways what kind of man you are. I love the way you buy ice cream for the neighbors’ kids. I love how you cared for me when I was sick. You’re constantly caring for everyone around you, Finn Reilly but never for yourself. Well, you know what?”

“What?”

“It’s about time someone started caring for you. And I nominate…me.” Lilly kissed him. Softly at first, testing. But then he groaned. Leaning back, he pulled her on top of him.

Finn sighed. “I know this may sound crazy, but knowing you’re one hundred percent committed to our marriage does amazing things to me.”

“Oh, Finn…” Tell him about the baby, Lilly’s conscience urged. Before it’s too late.

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Harlequin American Romance, where you’re guaranteed heartwarming, emotional and deeply romantic stories set in the backyards, big cities and wide-open spaces of America. Kick starting the month is Cathy Gillen Thacker’s Her Bachelor Challenge, which launches her brand-new family-connected miniseries THE DEVERAUX LEGACY. In this wonderful story, a night of passion between old acquaintances has a sought-after playboy businessman questioning his bachelor status.

Next, Mollie Molay premieres her new GROOMS IN UNIFORM miniseries. In The Duchess & Her Bodyguard, protecting a royal beauty was easy for a by-the-book bodyguard, but falling in love wasn’t part of the plan! Don’t miss Husbands, Husbands…Everywhere! by Sharon Swan, in which a lovely B & B owner’s ex-husband shows up on her doorstep with amnesia, giving her the chance to rediscover the man he’d once been. This poignant reunion romance story is the latest installment in the WELCOME TO HARMONY miniseries. Laura Marie Altom makes her Harlequin American Romance debut with Blind Luck Bride, which pairs a jilted groom with a pregnant heroine in a marriage meant to satisfy the terms of a bet.

Best,

Melissa Jeglinski

Associate Senior Editor

Harlequin American Romance

Blind Luck Bride

Laura Marie Altom

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

For Margaret Daley, Mary Jane Morgan, Cathy Morgan, Judy Pelfrey and Ada Sumner—the best plot doctors and friends a girl could ever have. Oh, and thanks for helping out with that demonic hero thing, too!

For Crystal Stovall, Karen Crane and Genell Dellin—thanks for the breakfasts, lunches and hugs!

And finally, for Lilly, the wriggling, licking, gnawing dachshund princess of the Alisch family. This book is especially for you, sweetie, because like the heroine in this book you’re constantly finding trouble, but you’re so cute we let you get away with it…most of the time.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

After college (Go Hogs!), Laura Marie Altom did a brief stint as an interior designer before becoming a stay-at-home mom to boy/girl twins. Always an avid romance reader, Laura knew it was time to try her hand at writing when she found herself replotting the afternoon soaps. She has written three romances for another publisher. This is her first Harlequin American Romance novel.

When not writing, Laura enjoys a glamorous lifestyle of lounging by a pool that’s always in need of cleaning, zipping around in a convertible while trying to keep her dog from leaping out, and is constantly striving to reach the bottom of the laundry basket—a feat she may never accomplish! For real fun, Laura is content to read, do needlepoint and cuddle with her handsome hubby.

Laura loves hearing from readers at either P.O. Box 2074, Tulsa, OK 74101, or e-mail: BaliPalm@aol.com (mailto:BaliPalm@aol.com).

Contents

Chapter One (#u19e88eda-38f4-5f6a-8e7b-fccaf3444b94)

Chapter Two (#ufdd9bba2-25c2-5741-8329-6a871d07c99c)

Chapter Three (#u942eb333-458f-5a7d-b6c2-1574b6e18136)

Chapter Four (#u4e93db1e-041b-5d5d-b0a7-a980f4767857)

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)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter One

“Mitch, you’re just as dumb as you look. Why, I could find another bride just like that.” Before taking another swig of his long-neck beer, Finn Reilly snapped his fingers to emphasize just how easy the task would be.

Good Lord, hadn’t he already been through enough today by being jilted at the altar? So why was Mitch Mulligan, his biggest contracting competitor and pain in his neck still giving him grief? Maybe if he closed his eyes, the three-hundred-pound genetic throwback to the woolly mammoth would vanish. Just in case, Finn blinked.

Damn, his bad luck hadn’t changed.

“Oh yeah?” Mitch said—and his beer breath—in Finn’s face. “Well, I’m gettin’ sick and tired of you thinkin’ you’re so hot with the women ’round here, Reilly.”

“That’s ’cause you’re jealous.”

“Ha! Jealous of what? The way your pretty little filly practically galloped out of that church to get away from you?”