The Marine's Babies

The Marine's Babies
Laura Marie Altom

Captain Jace Monroe goes from combat duty to daddy detail when twin babies in identical pink blankets are left on his doorstep.Suddenly the overwhelmed new father has a mission: rounding up a nanny for the daughters he hadn't known he had! Enter Emma Stewart. She's smart, beautiful…and a natural mother. What is Jace's new nanny not telling him? It takes no time for the infant girls to melt Emma's heart. But helping their sexy father make the transition from fun-loving bachelor to full-time dad requires some on-the-job training.To complicate things even more, Emma is falling for the marine. When Jace discovers her secret, he's surprised. And he wonders if Emma's growing feelings are about him–or just his babies?

His lips formed into a slow, sexy smile that threw her completely off balance

How was she supposed to stay mad at him when he looked at her like that? His lazy Southern drawl wasn’t helping much, either.

Beatrice grew fidgety.

Emma moved to get her, but Jace beat her to it. “You’ve had them all day,” Jace said. “Let me handle this for you.”

He held the baby awkwardly at arm’s length.

With an exasperated sigh, she said, “Let me.”

When the baby was quiet, she said, “You asked what you should do. For starters, you need to not be so afraid of them. They won’t break.”

“Who said I was afraid? I fight wars.”

“Great. As a U.S. citizen, I’m in awe of your sacrifice, but Jace, we’re not talking about battle, but babies. Here—”

She handed Bea right back to him.

Dear Reader,

My parents thought sixth grade was a little young for romance, but from my very first Harlequin novel, I was hooked on love! Real boys were okay, but they didn’t compare to Argentinean ranchers or Greek tycoons. In my teens I realized that not all real romances or jobs end happily ever after, which is why to this day Harlequin books are a staple in my life. The characters my favorite authors create might experience rough patches, but in the end, love sees them through.

From my first read, I dreamed of becoming a Harlequin author, and I proudly hang each new cover on my office wall. Though I started out devouring Harlequin Romance and Presents, I found my home at Harlequin American Romance after reading Elda Minger’s Teddy Bear Heir. American Romance has changed through the years. Fanciful paranormals and princess tales paved the way for the family stories that make up the line today. While the topics might have changed, thankfully the one constant at the heart of each Harlequin novel has remained the same—love.

Happy sixtieth birthday, Harlequin! You don’t look a day over twenty-nine!

Laura Marie

The Marine’s Babies

Laura Marie Altom

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Laura Marie Altom of Tulsa, Oklahoma, is a bestselling, award-winning author of more than two dozen books. Her works have made several appearances on both the Barnes & Noble and Waldenbooks bestseller lists. This mother of two boys and a girl—all currently in their “terrible teens”—has spoken on numerous occasions at both regional and national conferences, and teaches art at a local middle school. She’s been married to her college sweetheart for twenty years.

Terry, with all my heart I love you!

As for your noisy guitar…

Just kidding! Thanks for an amazing twenty years.

Here’s to many, many more!

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter One

“This is a joke, right?” Captain Jace Monroe of the United States Marine Corps made a visual sweep of the pine forest flanking the main entrance and guard post of Olive, Alabama’s Camp Morgan. No lurking video crews from Punk’d or Candid Camera. In fact, for only six on a Monday night, the place was inordinately quiet, which made Jace all the more suspicious. “Whatever Granola paid you, I’ll double it if you’ll help flip this back around on him.”

“Granola?” The vaguely familiar blonde wrinkled her nose.

Two identical babies in carriers at her feet whimpered. Females, judging by the pink blankets, hats and miniature sandals.