Millionaire on Her Doorstep

Millionaire on Her Doorstep
Stella Bagwell

twinson the doorstepRICH MAN…Wealthy, handsome, successful oilman, dynamic rancher…and her boss. Adam Murdock Sanders was simply too good to be true. After all, geologist Maureen York didn't believe in Mr. Right.RANCHING MAN…Then she moved to a nearby ranch–and the trouble began!Adam's protective attitude and commanding orders drove independent Maureen wild–and his kisses made her crazy….WEDDED MAN?Soon the millionaire moved from her doorstep into her heart. But would this new arrangement lead to a merger…or a marriage?The next generation of Murdocks continues the adventure of love!

Adam tried not to stare at the shapely line of her figure. (#u5e32357e-1e93-5967-9175-8d52b93c2865)Letter to Reader (#ucde7d70a-7565-5435-8f4c-89bd2a4ceb0e)Title Page (#u467f837c-ca14-59eb-b207-84fa7e565d0d)About the Author (#ue8a5b84a-1b37-5b16-ae70-01f9164af9ef)Chapter One (#u0791649d-b4dd-50ae-a6f8-45b0af43d6f2)Chapter Two (#ud0a02ff2-aee9-5c4e-86df-bbc35ea738f0)Chapter Three (#uc0e284d7-acd1-52a2-94c6-028eb8b4a2c1)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)

Adam tried not to stare at the shapely line of her figure.

He didn’t understand his reaction to this woman. He normally loved blond, petite, delicate women. But Maureen York was none of those things. She was tall, with a full. ripe figure. She was downright curvy. Her hair and eyes were both dark. And, God help him, she was the sexiest woman he’d ever encountered.

“Look, Maureen—either you want to stay in a boring motel room, or you want to come out to the ranch. Which will it be?”

She glanced at him. “I don’t want to be a problem for any of you.”

Adam shrugged. “One more mouth to feed won’t put us out.”

“You really know how to make a woman feel...wanted.”

A smug smile dimpled one of his cheeks. “I’ve been told that before.”

Dear Reader,

As spring turns to summer, make Silhouette Romance the perfect companion for those lazy days and sultry nights! Fans of our LOVING THE BOSS series won’t want to miss The Marriage Merger by exciting author Vivian Leiber. A pretend engagement between friends goes awry when their white lies lead to a real white wedding!

Take one biological-clock-ticking twin posing as a new mom and one daddy determined to gain custody of his newborn son, and you’ve got the unsuspecting partners in The Baby Arrangement, Moyra Tarling’s tender BUNDLES OF JOY title. You’ve asked for more TWINS ON THE DOORSTEP, Stella Bagwell’s charming author-led miniseries, so this month we give you Millionaire on Her Doorstep, an emotional story of two wounded souls who find love in the most unexpected way...and in the most unexpected place.

Can a bachelor bent on never marrying and a single mom with a bustling brood of four become a Fairy-Tale Family? Find out in Pat Montana’s delightful new novel Next, a handsome doctor’s case of mistaken identity leads to The Triplet’s Wedding Wish in this heartwarming tale by DeAnna Talcott. And a young widow finds the home—and family—she’s always wanted when she strikes a deal with a Nevada Cowboy Dad, this month’s FAMILY MATTERS offering from Dorsey Kelley.

Enjoy this month’s fantastic selections, and make sure to return each and every month to Silhouette Romance!

Mary-Theresa Hussey

Senior Editor, Silhouette Romance

Please address questions and book requests to:

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Millionaire on Her Doorstep

Stella Bagwell

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

STELLA BAGWELL

sold her first book to Silhouette in November 1985. Now, more than thirty novels later, she is still thrilled to see her books in print and can’t imagine having any other job than that of writing about two people falling in love.

She lives in a small town in southeastern Oklahoma with her husband of twenty-six years. She has one son.

Chapter One

“You’re not going to use that thing on me!” Horrified. Adam stared at his aunt Justine as though he was certain the woman had lost her mind. The tall redhead had worked as an R.N. in Ruidoso’s medical clinic for years and was famed for her gentle, expert care with patients. But at the moment, Adam thought she looked more like a perfect assistant for Dr. Frankenstein.

The older woman pulled the trigger on the electric machine in her hand and the jigsaw blade buzzed loudly. “I know it looks like something I pulled off a carpenter’s truck, but believe me, if you want that cast off your leg sometime before lunch, you’ll have to trust me. Otherwise, I’ll have to get out the old handsaw.”

His eyes riveted on the buzzing blade, he asked, “You can’t put something on the plaster to melt it off? Water? Bourbon? Acid?”

She chuckled. “You big, strong men are all alike. Scared to death of a little needle. Keel over in a dead faint at the first sign of blood. If it was left up to you males to have the babies, the world population would quickly dwindle.”

Justine grabbed his foot and propped the blob of white plaster against her thigh. Adam clutched the edges of the examining table and braced himself for what was to come.

“If it was left up to me...” He stopped, his breath lodged in his throat as Justine guided the blade into the cast. White dust boiled as the saw ate through the chalky material.

“If what was left up to you?” his aunt prompted as she guided the blade up and over the region of his ankle.

Trying not to think of his newly healed bone being cut in half, Adam said, “The world population would be zero. I don’t ever intend to have kids.”

Justine made a clucking noise of disapproval. “Your mother would kick you in the rear if she could hear you.”

“She probably would,” Adam agreed. “But I’ve told her Anna and Ivy can give her grandchildren, No need to count on me to keep the Murdock and Sanders bloodlines going.”

With the cast cut from one end to the other, Justine set the electric saw aside and carefully pried the plaster away from his foot Adam was relieved to finally see his ankle and foot were still intact after six long weeks of imprisonment.

She rubbed her hand over his ankle and the top of his foot, then seemingly satisfied he was healed, she smiled up at him. “You have a thing against babies and children?” Justine asked him.

“Actually, I like kids. But having them without a wife doesn’t work well. And I don’t want one of those. I don’t want a woman telling me when to get up, when to eat, when to go to bed, how to spend my time or money.”

With her hands on her hips, his aunt stepped back and pinned him with an admonishing look. “You’ve never had a wife. What makes you think we do all those things?”

He let out a tiresome groan. Justine and his mother, Chloe, were sisters. In all likelihood, this conversation would be discussed between the two of them. He really should make an effort to choose his words more wisely. But why bother? His mother already knew his feelings on the matter.

“Oh, I hear things from my married buddies. And I’ve had a few girlfriends who gave me plenty of clues as to what it would be like to have a woman permanently attached to me,” he told her. Then with a grimace, he swiped a hand through his dark auburn hair. The loose wave flopped once again on his forehead. “That’s not to say I think marriage is a bad thing. After all, Charlie seems to love being a husband and father. And now my sister, Anna, is walking around in a fog of wedded bliss. But I’m convinced none of that is for me.”

Justine tapped a forefinger against her chin as she carefully studied her nephew. “I’ve never been one to meddle in your life, Adam.”

“So don’t spoil your record by doing it now,” he retorted.

Ignoring his tone of warning, Justine said, “The past few years you’ve gone through women as if they were a stack of shirts to be tried on for size.”

Adam snorted. “That’s right. And none of them fitted.”

Justine sighed. “I know you don’t believe it, Adam, but there is a special woman out there for you.”

“No, Aunt Justine, that’s where you’re wrong. All the special ones are taken. One way or the other.”