The Pregnancy Bond

The Pregnancy Bond
Lucy Gordon

On the night of the party, Kelly's estranged husband, Jake Lindley, had been as gorgeous and charismatic as ever. It had been impossible for Kelly to resist him–and now she was pregnant!Kelly didn't want Jake back in her life; their divorce had just become final and she couldn't possibly tell him that he was the baby's father. But Jake was determined to look after Kelly–even if that meant moving in to her apartment. Could they mend their marriage in time for the birth of their baby?

“You can’t study and do a job if you’re pregnant. You mustn’t take risks.”

“Fine. I’ll be careful. Jake, understand this—I am having a baby. I am, not we are.”

“You’ve already made that clear. But I told you before that I owe you, and I’d like to help. You have to let me support you.”

“I don’t have to do anything,” Kelly said through gritted teeth.

“So what are you going to do for money?” Jake demanded.

“I don’t know,” she yelled back. “Put a lodger in my spare room. I’ll think of something. But I’ll tell you this, I won’t be asking you for permission.”

“You’re brilliant! Meet your first lodger. I need somewhere to crash, and with my rent you’ll be able to leave your job. It makes sense!”

Will they…?

Won’t they…?

Can they…?

The possibility of parenthood: for some couples it’s a seemingly impossible dream.

For others, it’s an unexpected surprise….

Or perhaps it’s a planned pregnancy that brings a husband and wife closer together…or turns their marriage upside down?

One thing is for sure, life will never be the same when they find themselves having a baby…maybe!

This emotionally compelling miniseries from Harlequin Romance

will warm your heart and bring a tear to your eye….

The Pregnancy Bond

Lucy Gordon

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

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 ONE

ON KELLY’S eighth wedding anniversary she gave a party to celebrate her divorce.

Strictly speaking it was ‘their’ divorce, but of course Jake was missing, as he had been for most of the big events in their marriage. He probably wasn’t even in the country, so it was natural that he didn’t show up.

That, plus the fact that she hadn’t invited him.

She had a lot to celebrate and she was going to do it in style. She’d just embarked on the college course she’d rejected eight years ago in favour of marriage, and this time she was going to stay. She was going to graduate with honours. And she was going to forget Jake Lindley had ever existed.

Not that that would be easy when his face seemed to crop up every time she turned the television on. ‘Jake Lindley, reporting in the thick of the riots…. Jake Lindley digs deep and finds the truth you weren’t supposed to know…’

Jake Lindley was a hero, a handsome, hard-bodied, daredevil, sexy icon of the media age, with keen eyes and a wicked smile that said ‘come hither’ to every red-blooded woman within radius. But he’d broken Kelly’s heart and she was well rid of him.

This was her world now, this cosy apartment filled with the friends she’d made since joining college a few weeks ago. At twenty-six she was older than most of the students, and there was also a sprinkling of the younger professors, especially the handsome Carl, her teacher on the archaeology course. He was in the middle of the floor, dancing madly, apparently with two partners at once. He waved for her to join them, and she waved back, but indicated that she had some drinks to serve first. He winked and mouthed a wolf-whistle.

‘He fancies you,’ said a voice at Kelly’s elbow. She turned and saw Marianne, Carl’s sister, sipping champagne.

‘He winks at everything in skirts,’ Kelly said, with perfect truth.

‘You’re not wearing a skirt,’ Marianne said, frankly envious. ‘You’re wearing a skin-tight black satin trouser suit that makes me want to kill you just for being able to get into it.’

Kelly chuckled, pleased. Four months ago, when she’d thrown Jake out, she couldn’t have squeezed into this revealing creation. But the misery of their breakup had destroyed her appetite, and by the time she’d pulled herself together she’d lost twenty pounds without even trying.

Her reward was a face that had developed seductive hollows beneath the cheekbones, a crystal-clear jaw-line, and a figure that slid into that tight black satin as though it had been crafted onto her. And she looked fantastic. She knew it. And if she hadn’t known it, the yearning stares of every man there would have told her.

Marianne, a beautician by trade, had completed the transformation, cutting off the mane of hair that Kelly had kept shoulder-length ever since that long-ago day when Jake had run his fingers through it and said he liked a woman with luxurious hair. Now it was barely an inch long, nestling against her head in wispy feathers that gave her a gamine look.

In addition Marianne had ruthlessly banished the sandy colour in favour of a glamorous red, and replaced Kelly’s sedate scent with a musky perfume that was ‘the new you’!

‘It can’t be me,’ Kelly had protested, slightly shocked.