The Groom Came C.o.d.. Mollie Molay

      What was Ben Howard, premier bachelor, doing pounding on her door?

      Melinda’s heart was racing. She’d admired Ben in high school. He was a flawless package of sheer masculinity.

      “What in the blazes do you call this?”

      Her caller was shaking the morning newspaper under her nose.

      Local Businessman To Marry Childhood Sweetheart.

      Beneath the headline, Melinda caught a glimpse of her name coupled with Ben’s. The words were too familiar to ignore. No wonder he was so angry. It was what she deserved for giving in to a wedding fantasy and choosing him for the groom.

      She was going to faint. Before she could fall, Ben caught her. Even through her distress, she felt herself respond to his touch.

      Melinda sagged in his arms. “I have no idea how that got in there!”

      But she did. She did.

      Dear Reader,

      Come join us for another dream-fulfilling month of Harlequin American Romance! We’re proud to have this chance to bring you our four special new stories.

      In her brand-new miniseries, beloved author Cathy Gillen Thacker will sweep you away to Laramie, Texas, hometown of matchmaking madness for THE LOCKHARTS OF TEXAS. Trouble brews when arch rivals Beau and Dani discover a marriage license—with their names on it! Don’t miss The Bride Said, “I Did?”!

      What better way to turn a bachelor’s mind to matrimony than sending him a woman who desperately needs to have a baby? Mindy Neff continues her legendary BACHELORS OF SHOTGUN RIDGE miniseries this month with The Horseman’s Convenient Wife—watch Eden and Stony discover that love is anything but convenient!

      Imagine waking up to see your own wedding announcement in the paper—to someone you hardly know! Melinda has some explaining to do to Ben in Mollie Molay’s The Groom Came C.O.D., the first book in our HAPPILY WEDDED AFTER promotion. And in Kara Lennox’s Virgin Promise, a bad boy is shocked to discover he’s seduced a virgin. Will promising to court her from afar convince her he wants more than one night of passion?

      Find out this month, only from Harlequin American Romance!

      Best wishes,

      Melissa Jeglinski

      Associate Senior Editor

      The Groom Came C.O.D.

      Mollie Molay

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      For Harrison Ty Bauer.

      Now there are eight. Welcome.

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      After working for a number of years as a logistics contract administrator in the aircraft industry, Mollie Molay turned to a career she found far more satisfying—writing romance novels. Mollie lives in Northridge, California, surrounded by her two daughters and eight grandchildren, many of whom find their way into her books. She enjoys hearing from her readers and welcomes comments. You can write to her at Harlequin Books, 300 East 42nd St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10017.

      Books by Mollie Molay

      HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE

      560—FROM DRIFTER TO DADDY

      597—HER TWO HUSBANDS

      616—MARRIAGE BY MISTAKE

      638—LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

      682—NANNY & THE BODYGUARD

      703—OVERNIGHT WIFE

      729—WANTED: DADDY

      776—FATHER IN TRAINING

      799—DADDY BY CHRISTMAS

      839—THE GROOM CAME C.O.D

      Miss Melinda Carey

      and

      Mr. Ben Howard

      are pleased to invite you to their wedding on

      Saturday, August 5

      at 8 p.m.

      at the Oak Tree Distillery, Ojai, California.

      Proudly giving their niece and nephew

      in marriage are

      Miss Bertilda Blanchard

      and

      Mr. Joseph Howard.

      Contents

       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

       Chapter Thirteen

       Epilogue

      Prologue

      Melinda Carey skimmed the dismal financial data on her computer screen. There was no doubt about it—the bridal shop was slowly but surely sliding into a sea of red ink.

      It was the second week in June—traditionally, the most popular time for weddings. A time when romantic hearts and minds were supposed to turn to thoughts of weddings, home, hearth and family. But what should have been the shop’s busy season looked as if it were going to be the slowest month of the year.

      August, the second most popular month, didn’t look as if it were going to be an improvement. And no matter how difficult it was to face, the rest of the year looked alarmingly bare.

      “It wasn’t supposed to be this way,” Melinda muttered as she changed screens to check future bookings. Not in the bridal business, anyway. Things had been different before local brides had decided to shop in nearby Santa Barbara.

      The screen told the story; after years of comfortable income, Bertie’s Bridal Shop and Bridal Referral Service hung precariously on the brink of bankruptcy.

      Melinda gazed out the window at the small park across the street. Newly watered spring greenery sparkled under the bright morning sunshine. Red, purple and white petunias lined gravel paths. Rose bushes displayed