Her Festive Doorstep Baby. Kate Hardy

      An unexpected Christmas gift...

      It should have been carol singers waking Amy Howes on Christmas Eve. Instead, when adorable baby Hope is left on her doorstep, Amy knows she must rescue her, if only for one night. Luckily, her enigmatic but gorgeous neighbor, Dr. Josh Farnham, is able to lend a helping hand...

      Although Josh and Amy have demons of their own to fight, they forge a bond that is as unexpected as it is heart-stopping. This little Hope could change their lives forever!

      Amy’s brown eyes were so anxious, despite the calm she appeared to radiate.

      “Here. My turn to cuddle Hope and keep her happy for a bit,” Josh said.

      And that was definitely gratitude in her eyes as she handed the baby over.

      Her hands brushed against his as they transferred the baby between them, and a frisson of desire flickered down his spine.

      Inappropriate. Amy was his neighbor, and he was helping out with a tricky situation. That was it, he reminded himself. He wasn’t going to hit on her and he wasn’t going to let himself wonder how soft her hair was or how her skin would feel against his.

      “Can I get you a drink?” she asked.

      “A glass of wine would be lovely right now,” he admitted. And it might distract him from all the ridiculous thoughts flickering through his head. Thoughts about how Amy’s mouth was a perfect Cupid’s bow and what it would feel like if he kissed her.

      Dear Reader,

      I love writing friends-to-lovers books (or, in this case, acquaintances-to-lovers). I also have a bit of a weakness for babies, especially at Christmas. Hence Amy and Josh, who are both really not looking forward to Christmas, find a baby on their doorstep... And Hope (the baby) changes absolutely everything.

      I have to admit to borrowing a few things here. A baby rushed to the hospital at Christmas—that’s my youngest (though she was six weeks rather than two days old). A baby weighing 5 lbs. 10 oz.: that’s my cousin’s daughter when I met her at a week old (while I was writing this book, actually, though the book was planned well before Sofia-Grace arrived!). And the burning food—that’s where my husband takes a bow. (That’s also why I do all the cooking in our house!)

      I hope you enjoy Amy and Josh’s story. And I wish you all the very best of the holiday season.

      With love,

      Kate Hardy X

      Her Festive Doorstep Baby

      Kate Hardy

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      KATE HARDY has always loved books and could read before she went to school. She discovered Harlequin books when she was twelve and decided this was what she wanted to do. When she isn’t writing, Kate enjoys reading, cinema, ballroom dancing and the gym. You can contact her via her website, www.katehardy.com.

      For Sofia-Grace, the newest baby in our family—with lots of love on your first Christmas xxx

      Contents

       Cover

       Back Cover Text

       Introduction

       Dear Reader

       Title Page

       About the Author

       Dedication

       CHAPTER ONE

       CHAPTER TWO

       CHAPTER THREE

       CHAPTER FOUR

       CHAPTER FIVE

       CHAPTER SIX

       CHAPTER SEVEN

       CHAPTER EIGHT

       CHAPTER NINE

       CHAPTER TEN

       EPILOGUE

       Extract

       Copyright

       CHAPTER ONE

      Friday 24th December

      ‘HELLO? HELLO?’

      There was no answer. It was probably a courier in the middle of a super-frantic shift, Amy thought, needing to deliver as many parcels as humanly possible on Christmas Eve and pressing every single button on the intercom in the hope of finding someone who’d buzz the front door open so they could leave a parcel in the lobby. The silence probably meant they’d stopped waiting for her to answer and were already trying someone else.

      She was about to replace the receiver on her intercom system when she heard a noise.

      It sounded like a baby crying.

      Was it her imagination? Or maybe the courier was listening to something on the radio. An ad, perhaps.

      She knew that she was being ridiculous, but something made Amy go out of her own front door and into the main lobby, just to check that everything was all right.

      And there, in the corner by the front door, was a cardboard box.

      Except she could still hear a baby crying, and this time she was pretty sure it wasn’t on a radio.

      When she drew closer, she could see that the cardboard box wasn’t a parcel at all. The top of the box was open. Inside, wrapped in a soft blanket, was a baby. There were traces of blood on the baby’s face and Amy had a moment of panic; but then she thought that the blood might be because the baby was very, very young.

      Young