A Vow, a Ring, a Baby Swing

A Vow, a Ring, a Baby Swing
Teresa Southwick

BUNDLES of JOYCONVENIENTLY WED?For years, Rosie Marchetti secretly yearned for brooding business exec Steve Schafer. Now her dream was coming true! For Steve had stepped in as her last-minute groom and saved her from making the mistake of her life….The longtime family friend had offered his name to her and her unborn child when Rosie found herself pregnant. Still, the impossibly stubborn man believed she deserved better. But who could be better than Steve? His tender touch and heart-stopping kisses made Rosie long to be his wife in every way. Fortunately, she had a tiny, special someone on her side….Sometimes small packages can lead to the biggest surprises!

Letter to Reader (#u67e17c8b-c80b-5001-8d9a-50a55be98fc1)Title Page (#u5c4f6d29-95ce-51f6-b094-d4245d8cec82)Dedication (#uf0338f84-dd69-5707-bac5-46d370342700)About the Author (#uec7aadae-426c-5e7d-bf20-7c80a55b03af)Letter to Reader (#u28e7cbdc-ee28-502d-9c2c-d9d703e5e05a)Chapter One (#ua223861a-d177-51fa-a2a1-d8397f7c3636)Chapter Two (#ub0630ed2-5b53-5020-b555-5023ca23aed2)Chapter Three (#uc7b6323e-dde8-52ca-908b-a835adb973ab)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)Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

“I need a husband.”

Rosie sniffed. “But husbands don’t grow on trees.”

“No,” Steve agreed. “Not the last time I checked.”

Suddenly, her words sank in.

She needed a husband.

Then she could face her family and friends without shame. He owed her. He owed the family. There was a way to help them all. But it was a huge risk. He could lose the best friend he’d ever had, the only family he’d ever known.

But Rosie was part of that family. Shouldn’t he help her? Shouldn’t he do the honorable thing, the gentlemanly thing?

He wasn’t a member of the family, not by blood. More than once he had wished there was a way to change that. Now he could do something for Rosie that none of the rest of them could. He had a way to get her out of this jam.

“I could be a husband,” he said finally.

Dear Reader,

Happy Valentine’s Day! What better way to celebrate than with a Silhouette Romance novel? We’re sweeter than chocolate—and less damaging to the hips! This month is filled with special treats just for you. LOVING THE BOSS, our six-book series about office romances that lead to happily ever after, continues with The Night Before Baby by Karen Rose Smith. In this sparkling story, an unforgettable one-night stand—during the company Christmas party!—leads to an unexpected pregnancy and a mustread marriage of convenience.

Teresa Southwick crafts an emotional BUNDLES OF JOY title, in which the forbidden man of her dreams becomes a pregnant woman’s stand-in groom. Don’t miss A Vow, a Ring, a Baby Swing. When a devil-may-care bachelor discovers he’s a daddy, he offers the prim heroine a chance to hold a Baby in Her Arms, as Judy Christenberry’s LUCKY CHARM SISTERS trilogy resumes.

Award-winning author Marie Ferrarella proves it’s Never Too Late for Love as the bride’s mother and the groom’s widower father discover their children’s wedding was just the beginning in this charming continuation of LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER. Beloved author Arlene James lends a traditional touch to Silhouette Romance’s ongoing HE’S MY HERO promotion with Mr. Right Next Door. And FAMILY MATTERS spotlights new talent Elyssa Henry with her heartwarming debut, A Family for the sheriff.

Treat yourself to each and every offering this month. And in future months, look for more of the stories you love...and the authors you cherish.

Enjoy!

Mary-Theresa Hussey

Senior Editor, Silhouette Romance

Please address questions and book requests to:

Silhouette Reader Service

U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

A Vow, a Ring, a Baby Swing

Teresa Southwick

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

To Mike Boyle,

a fellow forgotten middle child.

You’re a hero in my book, bro.

TERESA SOUTHWICK

is a native Californian with ties to each coast, since she was conceived in the East and born in the West. Living with her husband of twenty-five years and two handsome sons, she is surrounded by heroes. Reading has been her passion since she was a girl. She couldn’t be more delighted that her dream of writing full-time has come true. Her favorite things include: holding a baby, the fragrance of jasmine, walks on the beach, the patter of rain on the roof, and, above all—happy endings.

Teresa also writes historical romance novels under the same name.

Dear Reader,

Since I was a little girl, my two favorite things in the world have been books and babies. Even now, I can’t help but peek into each stroller I pass. The power of a child to command the attention of every adult in a room amazes me. More extraordinary is the magic of a baby’s laugh. I challenge anyone to keep from smiling at that joyful sound.

I specifically remember being bitten by the writing bug in the fourth grade. That “Pike’s Peak or Bust” assignment I thought was completed wouldn’t let me alone until I added a few more pages. My teacher liked it. More incredible was how much I enjoyed (gasp!) homework.

Not a day goes by that I don’t give thanks for the gift of reading and the satisfaction and pleasure of writing—especially when I can include a baby in my story. So it’s an honor and privilege to have A Vow, a Ring, a Baby Swing included in Silhouette’s BUNDLES OF JOY promotion this month.

This book was a lot like that fourth-grade writing assignment. Creating Rosie Marchetti was great fun—not to mention her four attractive brothers and hunky hero! Every day I couldn’t wait to sit down at the computer and see what the meddling Marchettis would do next. Steve Schafer stole my heart as he was capturing Rosie’s. The only sight more endearing than a baby is a strong man holding that baby. Steve does that—and more.

I hope you enjoy reading Rosie and Steve’s story as much as I loved writing it.

Chapter One

No man had a right to look so good in a pair of worn blue jeans and a brown leather jacket that had seen much better days.

And no woman about to get married should notice, Rosie Marchetti told herself. She should especially not notice through the chapel window as she waited for her bridegroom.

What was he doing here?

Steve Schafer.

Her heart gave a medium-size lurch before she could stop it. How did he always do that to her? When would she learn not to let him?

She watched him look around the parking lot, then her hands began to shake when he headed her way. She wouldn’t have noticed him out there if he was just any man. But her luck wasn’t that good.

Steve Schafer stood six-feet-two-inches, one-hundred-and-ninety-pounds of swaggering sex appeal. Not just any man had his shade of sandy-blond hair, or mocking eyes that color of dark blue, or a jaw so square and hard it could have been chiseled from stone.

There was something about Steve. A masculinity that reached out to women—even ones about to get married—daring them to flaunt their femininity and force him to take notice. Rosie was no exception. It was her cross to bear. For as long as she could remember she had been searching for the antidote to his particular strain of seductive charm.

Every single time he hadn’t noticed her, she prayed for a cure that never came. She winced at the thought, angry at herself for still caring—even a little.

So what was her brother’s best friend doing here, at her secret wedding?