The Bridal Promise. Virginia Dove

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      Excerpt Letter to Reader About the Author Title Page Acknowledgments Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Copyright

      “I Want This Marriage To Continue Past The Six-Month Arrangement”.

      The very air seemed to still Matt’s words. Perri froze, staring hard into his eyes.

      

      “I don’t have much to give you. But I want a chance,” Matt continued. “Can you forgive me for the past?”

      

      “Yes, I can forgive you, Matt,” Perri said simply and without hesitation. “You’re the father of my child. And I love you. And most importantly, I want the past behind us so I don’t have it hanging over me and this baby.”

      

      Cradling her in his arms, Matt buried his face in her throat. “Then we’ll call it done,” he said, moved by her declaration of love.

      

      “Matt,” she asked, “why did you move my things into your room?” She could feel his body go tense.

      

      “Because you’re the mother of my child. And because”—he paused, looking straight into her eyes “—you’re where you’ve always belonged, Perri,” Matt continued. “And where I need you to be....”

      Dear Reader,

      

      Spring is in the air—and all thoughts turn toward love. With six provocative romances from Silhouette Desire, you too can enjoy a season of new beginnings...and happy endings!

      

      Our March MAN OF THE MONTH is Lass Small’s The Best Husband in Texas.This sexy rancher is determined to win over the beautiful widow he’s loved for years! Next, Joan Elliott Pickart returns with a wonderful love story—Just My Joe. Watch sparks fly between handsome, wealthy Joe Dillon and the woman he loves.

      

      Don’t miss Beverly Barton’s new miniseries, 3 BABIES FOR 3 BROTHERS, which begins with His Secret Child. The town golden boy is reunited with a former flame—and their child. Popular Anne Marie Winston offers the third title in her BUTLER COUNTY BRIDES series, as a sexy heroine forms a partnership with her lost love in The Bride Means Business. Then an expectant mom matches wits with a brooding rancher in Carol Grace’s Expecting.... And Virginia Dove debuts explosively with The Bridal Promise, when star-crossed lovers marry for convenience.

      

      This spring, please write and tell us why you read Silhouette Desire books. As part of our 20^th anniversary celebration in the year 2000, we’d like to publish some of this fan mail in the books—so drop us a line, tell us how long you’ve been reading Desire books and what you love about the series. And enjoy our March titles!

      

      Regards,

      

      Joan Marlow Golan

      Senior Editor, Silhouette Desire

      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

      The Bridal Promise

      Virginia Dove

      

      

www.millsandboon.co.uk

      About the Author

      VIRGINIA DOVE grew up in a small town in Oklahoma, where Route 66 and the Chisholm Trail intersect. After graduating from Southern Methodist University, she came to New York City, where she began a successful career as a dancer under her stage name and performed on Broadway in such musicals as My Fair Lady, Best Little Whorehouse In Texas and Chicago. Currently she lives in New York City with her husband, and she still twirls a mean baton.

      Many thanks to Melissa Senate.

      And as always, all my love to Lexie.

      Prologue

      

      

      Seventeen-year-old Perri Stone stood before a louvered window at Gledhill and carefully opened the gold locket that hung around her neck. The diamond hidden inside the oval sparkled as it caught the light of the setting sun. She tilted the locket back and forth, mesmerized by the way the rays bounced off the faceted stone.

      Soon, she would be able to put Matt’s picture inside. Soon, it would be all right for everyone to know they were getting married. Soon, they wouldn’t have to sneak around and hide the truth. Just as soon as Matt explained things to his parents, everything would be all right.

      Perri closed the locket on a kiss and whirled around Gannie Gledhill’s formal living room. Gannie was the closest thing to a grandmother Perri had in Spirit Valley, Oklahoma. She had taken a special interest in Perri and in Matt, long before they had even fallen in love. Even as children, Matt and Perri had never doubted that Gannie loved them both as if they were her own.

      Dancing over to the fireplace, Perri studied each object on the mantel and reasoned out how to proceed. Maybe this evening they would tell Gannie of their plans. It wouldn’t be any surprise to her. Gannie knew that they were very much in love. They had been meeting here at Gledhill for nearly a year.

      Soon, she thought, I’ll be eighteen and everything will be all right. Her fingers closed over an arrowhead that had lived on the mantel ever since Matt had found it out by the horse barn. Its edges were still razor sharp; but the meticulous, hand-chipped surface had been worn smooth by time. She gripped the stone hard enough to hurt. Please, she prayed, let the old scandal and the bad blood between our families no longer matter.

      Perri closed her eyes and tried to imagine how her mother was going to react to the news. Janie Stone had her own reasons for wanting her girl to stay away from the Ransoms. But Gannie would bring her around. Perri was sure of it. Perri Ransom. She considered how it sounded for maybe the millionth time. Mrs. Matthew Ransom.

      The sound of a car pulling up the drive drew her back to the window, expecting to see Gannie on her way to the garage. Instead, Perri’s blood