The Rich Man's Baby

The Rich Man's Baby
Leah Vale

Swept off her feet one sun-dappled summer day, Juliet Jones had shared a fantasy-filled afternoon with the rich and powerful Harrison Rivers.But who did this take-charge tycoon think he was, waltzing back into her destitute life after two years to stake a claim on his "rightfUl heir"? The heartstoppingly handsome bachelor might still leave her breathless with desire, but she'd never let him steal away her beloved little boy!Poised to take over the reins of his family's multimillion-dollar corporation, Harrison wasn't looking for any more complications. Yet it was impossible to deny the intense emotions this brown-eyed beauty and towheaded toddler stirred in his jaded soul. Could love alone bridge the gap between their starkly different worlds?

The sight of Harrison left her breathless

He completely filled the room with his broad shoulders and tall frame. And he practically pulsated with an animal magnetism that made her break out in a very feminine sweat.

His white designer shirt and olive-colored pants looked out of place next to the kitchen’s dingy linoleum and gold-speckled Formica. Only the strained look on his handsome face and finger-mussed, dark gold hair kept him from looking like he’d just stepped out of his country club.

Then he turned toward her and caught her gaze. As terrified as she was by what he might say or do, she couldn’t tear her gaze from his. Why did she feel so connected to him? So in tune that she swore she could feel his heartbeat throbbing through her from three feet away? Didn’t her body know how dangerous he was to her? With a snap of his fingers he could take away her reason for living—her baby boy.

Not to mention what he could do to her heart…

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Mills & Boon American Romance, where our goal is to give you hours of unbeatable reading pleasure.

Kick starting the month is another enthralling installment of THE CARRADIGNES: AMERICAN ROYALTY continuity series. In Michele Dunaway’s The Simply Scandalous Princess, rumors of a tryst between Princess Lucia Carradigne and a sexy older man leads to the king issuing a royal marriage decree! Follow the series next month in Mills & Boon Intrigue.

Another terrific romance from Pamela Browning is in store for you with Rancher’s Double Dilemma. When single dad Garth Colquitt took one look at his new nanny’s adorable baby girl, he knew there had to be some kind of crazy mixup, because his daughter and her daughter were twins! Was a marriage of convenience the solution? Next, don’t miss Help Wanted: Husband? by Darlene Scarlera. When a single mother-to-be hires a handsome ranch hand, she only has business on her mind. Yet, before long, she wonders if he was just the man she needed—to heal her heart. And rounding out the month is Leah Vale’s irresistible debut novel The Rich Man’s Baby, in which a dashing tycoon discovers he has a son, but the proud mother of his child refuses to let him claim them for his own…unless love enters the equation.

This month, and every month, come home to Mills & Boon American Romance—and enjoy!

Best,

Melissa Jeglinski

Associate Senior Editor

Mills & Boon American Romance

The Rich Man’s Baby

Leah Vale

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

For Ross, Jake and Luke, for giving me the wings to fly.

For Maureen Child, Amy Fetzer and Tina Bilton-Smith, for shoving me from the nest.

And for Terri Reed, Melissa Manley, Delilah Ahrent and Kim Nadelson, for making sure I didn’t splat.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Having never met an unhappy ending she couldn’t mentally “fix,” LEAH VALE believes writing romance novels is the perfect job for her. A Pacific Northwest native with a B.A. in communications from the University of Washington, she lives in Portland, Oregon, with her wonderful husband, two adorable sons and a golden retriever puppy. She is an avid skier, scuba diver and “do-over” golfer. While having the chance to share her “happy endings from scratch” with the world is a dream come true, dinner generally has to come premade from the store. Leah would love to hear from her readers and can be reached at P.O. Box 91337, Portland, OR 97291, or at http://www.leahvale.com (http://www.leahvale.com).

Books by Leah Vale

MILLS & BOON AMERICAN ROMANCE

924—THE RICH MAN’S BABY

Contents

Prologue (#u61bfcd21-3ed6-5cd1-bb68-c604634370c9)

Chapter One (#u8760ec0c-6a38-591e-a3d4-5799d2aac9eb)

Chapter Two (#u997bd8d5-9c7a-5eb4-a3ee-edce93a54f2b)

Chapter Three (#udc3c5fbe-32d7-58c7-81de-5b28e29dfde7)

Chapter Four (#u054b31b1-8246-5473-b8ab-1fd475debc06)

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)

Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)

Prologue

Juliet Jones pulled in a soothing breath of warm, early-June air and leaned back in the lone wooden chair on the balcony above her family’s store. After another long, boring day spent waiting behind the cash register for the rare customer to wander in, she ached clear to her bones. With a weary sigh, she slipped off her worn Keds and propped her bare feet on the peeling white railing.

She settled the cold beer bottle on the front of her frayed jeans shorts, closed her eyes and wished for the millionth time she hadn’t promised Grandpa before he died that she would keep his store going. But she’d promised, so here she was watching her life slip away like the waters of Oregon’s McKenzie River running steady and silent on the other side of the two-lane highway their little store hugged.

She was just twenty-one, but she felt as old as dirt.

If only Richard Gere would drive up in his Lamborghini looking just for her.

The deep growl of a motorcycle shifting down interrupted her snort at the ridiculous thought, and the sound of gravel crunching under wheels brought her eyes open. One look at the man leaning low over the green racing motorcycle as he pulled up to the store’s rusting gas pump and she was a goner.

He could have a face like a butt under that black helmet and she wouldn’t have cared. He looked like some mysterious warrior to her starved imagination—his black leather bomber jacket, faded blue Levi’s, and trashed black cowboy boots his armor.