An Accidental Family. Ami Weaver

      He forced himself to ignore the hurt in her tone. He needed to build the distance between them back up. But when she turned those big blue eyes on him something long buried inside him cracked.

      “Lainey—”

      She gave a little shake of her head as she reached her car. “Thanks again.”

      To hell with it.

      Ben turned her around as she fumbled in her pocket for her keys. Her eyes widened and her lips parted, but before she could say anything he dipped his head and covered her mouth with his.

      After a heartbeat, her cold mouth opened and let him into her warmth. It had been so long since he’d felt anything, anything, and she was warm and soft and so, so sweet. He fisted his hand in her hair to angle her head, so he could go deeper, and her moan lit fires inside him that had long been dormant.

      For a reason.

      He broke the kiss and stepped back, his ragged breath catching in his chest. God, what had he done?

      She blinked up at him, her gaze smoky and slightly confused. Then her eyes cleared and a look of pure horror crossed her face.

      “I’ve got to go,” she said, yanking her keys out of her pocket.

      “Lainey, I’m sorry.”

      As soon as the words were out he knew they were the wrong thing to say.

      Dear Reader,

      You are holding in your hands my very first published book! It’s been quite a ride—it’s been a 2012 RWA^® Golden Heart^® Finalist and a 2011 Mills & Boon New Voices Top 21 Finalist, both of which opened doors I couldn’t even imagine. Now, I’m writing this letter for you before you read Lainey and Ben’s story. I’m still pinching myself!

      Lainey’s struggling—she’s trying so hard to get her life going the way she thinks it’s supposed to be, but she just keeps getting curve after curve pitched her way. Ben is struggling too, but with inner demons that keep him from reaching for what he really wants. Together, the two of them learn that age-old lesson about best-laid plans and that, really, sometimes you’ve got to take a leap of faith to find your way home.

      Please visit me at amiweaver.com and say hello!

      All my best,

       Ami Weaver

      About the Author

      Two-time Golden Heart^® finalist AMI WEAVER has been reading romance since she was a teen and writing for even longer, so it was only natural she would put the two together. Now she can be found drinking gallons of iced tea at her local coffee shop while doing one of her very favourite things—convincing two characters they deserve their happy-ever-after. When she’s not writing she enjoys time spent at the lake, hanging out with her family and reading. Ami lives in Michigan with her four kids, three cats, and her very supportive husband.

       This is Ami Weaver’s fabulous first book for Mills & Boon!

      An Accidental

      Family

      Ami Weaver

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      For the Wicked Muses: Chelle, Jodie, Marcy and Rae.

       Thank you for all your help. I love you all. And for Dale, who believed. xo

      CHAPTER ONE

      THE STICK WAS pink.

      Lainey Keeler squeezed her eyes shut, lifted the test with one trembling hand, then peeked with her right eye only.

      Yup. Definitely a pink line. Maybe she needed to check the instructions to be sure….

       Oh, God. How had this happened?

      Okay, so she knew the technicalities of the how. In fact, she knew the when. Lord help her, that was the kicker.

      Her eyes swam and her stomach rolled as she reached for the test box anyway, knowing what she’d see there. Knowing the result would read the same as the four other sticks—all different brands—in the garbage.

      Knowing she’d been screwed in more ways than one.

      So this was the price she paid for one night of lust infused with a heavy dose of stupidity. She slumped on the cold tile of the bathroom floor and let her head thunk on the vanity door. Hysterical laughter bubbled in her throat and she pressed her fingertips to her temples. Did it count, fifteen years after graduation, that she’d finally bedded the star quarterback? The same one she’d nurtured a killer crush on all through high school?

      And managed to conceive his baby?

      “And here I thought I had the flu,” she said to her calico cat, who observed her from the doorway. Panda’s squinty blink in response could have meant anything. “Why didn’t being pregnant occur to me?”

      Single and pregnant. Right when she was starting a new business and her life couldn’t be more unstable.

      What would her parents say? She winced at the thought. At thirty-three, she was supposed to be burning up the career ladder. Instead, much to her family’s chagrin, she burned through careers.

      Chewing her lower lip, she took a last look at the pink line, then tossed the test stick in the trash with the others. Five pregnancy tests couldn’t be wrong, no matter how much she wished it. She needed a plan.

      “A plan is good,” she said to the cat in the doorway. Panda meowed in response. Shoot, what was she going to do? She stepped over the cat and hurried into the small hallway, facing straight into her pocket-sized bedroom. Panic kicked up a two-step in her belly. She’d need a bigger place. The cozy one-bedroom apartment above her shop, The Lily Pad, worked beautifully for one person and an overweight cat. But adding a baby to the mix …? Babies needed so much stuff. She laid her hand on her still-flat belly. A baby.

      Good God, she was going to be a mother.

      She clenched her eyes shut and willed the tears away. What kind of mother would she be? Her ex and her family told her over and over she tended to be flighty and irresponsible. A baby meant responsibility, stability.

      What if it turned out they were right? She certainly hadn’t demonstrated good judgment on the night of her reunion.

      The thought sliced her to the core and she took a deep breath. No time to cry. Not when she had a shop to open in a few minutes. Beth Gatica, her friend and employee, was already downstairs. She swiped at her eyes, tried to think.

      “Where do I start?” she wondered aloud, trying to get her head clear enough to think.

      A doctor. She’d need a doctor. Her usual doctor happened to be a friend of her family’s, so she’d definitely have to head over to Traverse City. Since she felt better with something to do, she reached for the phone book.

      “Lainey?” Beth’s voice came through the door connecting the apartment to the shop. “Are you okay?”

      Lainey fumbled the phone book and caught sight of herself in the small mirror next to the door. Dark blond hair already escaping from her ponytail? Check. Dark circles under her eyes? Check. Pasty skin? Yikes. Wasn’t there supposed to be some kind of pregnancy glow? “I’m fine,” she called. “Be right there.”

      “Okay, good. Because we’ve got a problem.”

      Well, of course they did. Lainey marched over and yanked open the door, almost grateful for the distraction. “What kind of problem?”

      “Come see.” Beth turned and hurried down the stairs,