The 6'2'', 200 Lb. Challenge

The 6'2'', 200 Lb. Challenge
Vivian Leiber

THE DETERMINED VIRGINMimi Pickford wanted her life to be more than serving up daily specials at the local diner. But the one man who could help her achieve her secret dream had suddenly dropped out of sight. Elusive hero Gibson St. James was known for rescuing babies from burning buildings–and for wearing his bachelorhood like a badge. But he'd also earned the reputation of being hard-headed, hard-bodied–and just plain hard to crack. Well, tough! Because Mimi needed his help–and she'd never shied away from a challenge yet. At least, never one sooo appealing….

“I saw you that night.” (#u279e40ff-7915-5c63-860f-52087e8f0f99)Letter to Reader (#u7c8e3bf5-2862-55aa-ba89-51497b3c0947)Title Page (#ud70ecf23-f61c-5092-aea7-3935ccf50ebe)Dedication (#ud8966c8f-c53c-5d96-b135-cea7be98f60c)About the Author (#u419615e3-e8cf-588e-953a-34b5ff050294)ANATOMY OF A 6’ 2”, 200 lb. CHALLENGE (#u0f869bf0-d6d6-572c-bb4d-9b4eba63495e)Chapter One (#uf5ece97f-e7a3-52f7-aa5e-21af3b201290)Chapter Two (#ub667f7de-ce22-591b-a9ff-6a2b30164331)Chapter Three (#ufad3fddd-e027-5b22-b677-c9d00c9432f3)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)Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

“I saw you that night.”

“What night?”

“The night of the fire. I saw it on television, and I knew you were a hero and—”

“Don’t ever call me a hero,” he said softly but darkly.

He took a deep breath, ignoring the pain in his injured ribs. “Listen, Little Miss Sunshine, being a firefighter isn’t what you think. Don’t try to be one.”

“Well, you’re entitled to your opinion, but I’m staying.”

“Why, I oughta pick you up, throw you over my shoulder and dump you on the front lawn!”

“Yeah, but you can’t,” she said with a triumphant smile.

Gibson growled. If there were any way he could get her out of his house, he would. But as he tested his capacity to stand one more time, the pain shooting through his body let him in on the bitter truth:

He couldn’t do a darned thing about Mimi Pickford.

Dear Reader,

This month, Romance is chock-full of excitement. First, VIRGIN BRIDES continues with The Bride’s Second Thought, an emotionally compelling story by bestselling author Elizabeth August. When a virginal bride-to-be finds her fiancé with another woman, she flees to the mountains for refuge...only to be stranded with a gorgeous stranger who gives her second thoughts about a lot of things.... Next, Natalie Patrick offers up a delightful BUNDLES OF JOY with Boot Scootin ’ Secret Baby. Bull rider Jacob “Cub” Goodacre returns to South Dakota for his rodeo hurrah, only to learn he’s . still a married man...and father to a two-year-old heart tugger. BACHELOR GULCH, Sandra Steffen’s wonderful Western series, resumes with the story of an estranged couple who had wed for the sake of their child...but wonder if they can rekindle their love in Nick’s Long-Awaited Honeymoon.

Rising star Kristin Morgan delivers a tender, sexy tale about a woman whose biological clock is booming and the best friend who consents to being her Shotgun Groom. If you want a humorous—red-hot!—read, try Vivian Leiber’s The 6’2”, 200 lb. Challenge. The battle of the sexes doesn’t get any better! Finally, Lisa Kaye Laurel’s fairy-tale series, ROYAL WEDDINGS, draws to a close with The Irresistible Prince, where the woman hired to find the royal a wife realizes she is the perfect candidate! In May, VIRGIN BRIDES resumes with Annette Broadrick, and future months feature titles by Suzanne Carey and Judy Christenberry, among others. So keep coming back to Romance, where you’re sure to find the classic tales you love, told in fresh, exciting ways.

Enjoy!

Joan Marlow Golan

Senior Editor, Silhouette Romance

Please address questions and book requests to:

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The 6'2", 200 Lb. Challenge

Vivian Leiber

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

To the Winnetka Fire Department

VIVIAN LEIBER’S writing talent runs in the family. Her great-grandmother wrote a popular collection of Civil War-era poetry, her grandfather Fritz was an award-winning science fiction writer, and her father still writes science fiction and fantasy today. Vivian hopes that her two sons follow the family tradition, but so far the five-year-old’s ambition is to be a construction worker and own a toy store, while the other wants to be a truck driver.

ANATOMY OF A 6’ 2”, 200 lb. CHALLENGE

Chapter One

He was Mimi Pickford’s second and final chance.

She was not going to let a little obstinacy about answering the door stand in her way.

“Mr. St. James?” she shouted, propping open the screen door to knock once again on the front door of the two-story brick bungalow at the edge of town. “Gibson St. James, could I have a minute of your time? The chief sent me.”

There. That oughta do it.

Invoking the name of his boss surely should let him know that she wasn’t an insurance saleswoman, a poll taker or a reporter. The chief had specifically mentioned that there had been a lot of reporters.

Gibson St. James was a hero, a real-life hero, perhaps the only hero in the tiny Wisconsin town of Grace Bay. Mimi knew who he was and everybody else in town did, too.

A Grace Bay native who had migrated to Chicago to pursue a career as a firefighter, he had returned only this past year, saying he was tired of big-city life and ready to follow the St. James’s family tradition.

He had joined the same fire department his father and his grandfather before him had served on. Portraits and photographs of the elder St. James men graced the hallway in the municipal building.

On the night of the big fire, she had been as mesmerized by the television set at work as any of the customers. The Milwaukee stations had interrupted regular programming to cover the blaze.

When Gibson St. James had emerged from the four-story walk-up with a tiny baby boy in his hands, the cameras had captured a little bit of the stuff myths are made of. His helmet fell to the ground, revealing cinder-kissed and sweat-soaked blond hair. Sooty smudges highlighted the strong, sure lines of his face.

He cradled within his yellow slicker the little boy who had moments before been given up for dead. As he pulled open his coat to reveal the boy, the building behind him heaved and collapsed.

The picture taken by the photographer from the Milwaukee Herald later would appear in a Time magazine spread on American heroes. And Wisconsin’s governor would even devote part of his next day’s press conference to applauding the actions of the Grace Bay firefighter.

When the clock struck twelve on the night of the blaze, the fire had been brought under control, and hungry firefighters and volunteers crowded into the six booths, three tables and eighteen counter seats of Boris’s Diner.

They weren’t thinking about heroism.

They were thinking about their empty bellies.

With Boris at the grill and only one busboy, Mimi had handled every customer with a smile, quick service and a cup of coffee that she never let run dry.

She had kept an eye out for Gibson then, not knowing that he was being rushed to the community hospital. With the list of injuries Gibson St. James sustained—a shoulder pulled clear of its socket, cracked ribs, bruised lungs, a chipped femur and a sprained wrist—it was a miracle that he had gotten out of the building on his own.

Much less with the miracle baby still breathing.

But for Mimi, the real miracle would be convincing the chief that she could do as good a job as Gibson someday.

When she had gone to see the chief this morning, he hadn’t seemed interested in discussing her future career—only Gibson’s. Grace Bay’s favorite son had apparently checked out of the rehabilitation institute after only a week there, very much against doctor’s orders. He’d insisted that he could get himself home. He didn’t need anyone’s help, he said.