A Baby For Lord Roderick. Emily Dalton

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      Transfixed in awe and wonderment, Allie scrutinized baby Jake

      He was so small, so precious, so beautiful. And he’d practically been dropped into her lap by a good fairy.

      Allie frowned. No, she was definitely romanticizing that part. And arrogant English aristocrat, Liam McAllister, had brought the babe to Allie’s door and into her life.

      But what had Liam meant when he said he wanted to be involved in “any and all decisions made about the baby”? Since he’d saved the infant’s life, perhaps he had some continued concern for little Jake’s welfare.

      But the baby was in good hands now. The right hands. Her hands.

      And that was exactly where he was going to stay—even if she did owe Lord Roderick big time….

      Dear Reader,

      What better way to celebrate June, a month of courtship and romance, than with four new spectacular books from Harlequin American Romance?

      First, the always wonderful Mindy Neff inaugurates Harlequin American Romance’s new three-book continuity series, BRIDES OF THE DESERT ROSE, which is a follow-up to the bestselling TEXAS SHEIKHS series. In the Enemy’s Embrace is a sexy rivals-become-lovers story you won’t want to miss.

      When a handsome aristocrat finds an abandoned newborn, he turns to a beautiful doctor to save the child’s life. Will the adorable infant bond their hearts together and make them the perfect family? Find out in A Baby for Lord Roderick by Emily Dalton. Next, in To Love an Older Man by Debbi Rawlins, a dashing attorney vows to deny his attraction to the pregnant woman in need of his help. With love and affection, can the expectant beauty change the older man’s mind? Sharon Swan launches her delightful continuing series WELCOME TO HARMONY with Home-Grown Husband, which features a single-mom gardener who looks to her mysterious and sexy new neighbor to spice up her life with some much-needed excitement and romance.

      Best,

      Melissa Jeglinski

      Associate Senior Editor

      Harlequin American Romance

      A Baby for Lord Roderick

      Emily Dalton

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      To Aimee, Lisa’s second little miracle.

      Your smile lights up the room!

      With love, from your Auntie Danice

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      Emily Dalton lives in the beautiful foothills of Bountiful, Utah, with her husband of twenty-one years, two teenage sons and a very spoiled American Eskimo dog named Juno. She has written several Regency and historical novels, and now thoroughly enjoys writing contemporary romances for Harlequin American Romance. She loves old movies, Jane Austen and traveling by train. Her biggest weaknesses are chocolate truffles and crafts boutiques.

      Books by Emily Dalton

      HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE

      586—MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY

      650—HEAVEN CAN WAIT

      666—ELISE & THE HOTSHOT LAWYER

      685—WAKE ME WITH A KISS

      706—MARLEY AND HER SCROOGE

      738—DREAM BABY

      783—INSTANT DADDY

      823—A PRECIOUS INHERITANCE

      926—A BABY FOR LORD RODERICK

      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 Thirteen

       Epilogue

      Chapter One

      “I have to go, Daddy.”

      Liam turned his head briefly from the road and looked down at his small daughter in the seat beside him. In the wan light from the dashboard he saw she’d managed to curl herself into a comfortable ball despite the restraining seat belt. “I thought you were asleep.”

      Bea stretched a frail-looking arm in front of her, the heel of her hand jutting out like a crossing guard halting traffic, and yawned. “I was. But now I’m awake and I’ve got to go.”

      Liam peered out the windows at densely wooded countryside, broken up now and then by open stretches he assumed were the meadows and alpine lakes he remembered from his last and only visit twenty years ago to this northeastern corner of Utah. It was nearly midnight, black as pitch outside, and raining. His visibility was limited, but he was sure they weren’t passing petrol stations. The last one he’d seen of those was a neglected, two-pump enterprise in a bump-in-the-road berg nearly half an hour’s drive behind them.

      “We’re almost there, Bea. Do you think you can wait till we get to Gran’s house to go to the loo?”

      Bea unfolded herself till her thin legs hung over the edge of the seat, pushed a tangle of brown curls out of her eyes, then started to squirm. “No, Daddy, I can’t wait. I’ve got to go now.”

      Liam supposed he could pull over, fetch the umbrella he’d thrown in the boot of the rented car along with their luggage, and shield Bea from the rain while she squatted by the side of the road. But she’d just gotten over a cold and he wasn’t too keen on the possibility of her getting chilled. She’d lost more weight in the last month and she seemed to catch every bug going around. Besides, she’d be embarrassed. She was only five, but she was as self-conscious as a teenager.

      Suddenly they crested a rise in the road and he saw lights ahead. Relieved, he announced, “This is your lucky day, Beatrice Mary McAllister. That’s got to be Annabella ahead. Just hold on a little longer, okay?”

      Liam would be as happy as Bea to finally reach their destination. He’d traveled enough in the United States to be able to adjust quickly to driving on the right side of the road, but he’d driven nonstop from Salt Lake City and was jet-lagged and exhausted.