The Non-Commissioned Baby. Maureen Child

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      “You Can Handle A Baby For A Few Minutes, Can’t You?” Letter to Reader Title Page MAUREEN CHILD Dedication 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

      “You Can Handle A Baby For A Few Minutes, Can’t You?”

      Hell, Jeff thought. He could hardly handle being in the same room with Laura! Her cheeks were flushed from the warm, moist air, tendrils of brown hair curled softly around her face, and her eyes looked dewy, despite the spark of challenge she was shooting at him.

      

      His insides twisted with an unexpected pang. Obviously, he thought in disgust, his attraction for her hadn’t weakened any, despite his hopes.

      

      Only one week ago he was a perfectly contented man. His life and career were running smoothly. Now everything around him was in turmoil.

      

      All because of one small person. And her irresistible nanny.

      

      

      Don’t miss the next installment of the

      irresistible BACHELOR BATTALION, The Oldest Living Married Virgin, coming in November, only in Silhouette Desire.

      Dear Reader,

      

      The perfect treat for cool autumn days are nights curled up with a warm, toasty Silhouette Desire novel!

      

      So, be prepared to get swept away by superstar Rebecca Brandewyne’s MAN OF THE MONTH, The Lioness Tamer, a story of a magnetic corporate giant who takes on a real challenge—taming a wild virginal beauty. THE RULEBREAKERS, talented author Leanne Banks’s miniseries about three undeniably sexy hunks—a millionaire, a bad boy, a protector—continues with The Lone Rider Takes a Bride, when an irresistible rebel introduces passion to a straight-and-narrow lady... and she unexpectedly introduces him to everlasting love. The Paternity Factor by Caroline Cross tells the poignant story of a woman who proves her secret love for a brooding man by caring for the baby she thinks is his.

      

      Also this month, Desire launches OUTLAW HEARTS, a brandnew miniseries by Cindy Gerard about strong-minded outlaw brothers who can’t stop love from stealing their own hearts, in The Outlaw’s Wife. Maureen Child’s gripping miniseries, THE BACHELOR BATTALION, brings readers another sensual, emotional read with The Non-Commissioned Baby And Silhouette has discovered another fantastic talent in debut author Shirley Rogers, one of our WOMEN TO WATCH, with her adorable Cowboys, Babies and Shotgun Vows.

      

      Once again, Silhouette Desire offers unforgettable romance by some of the most beloved and gifted authors in the genre. Don’t forget to come back next month for more happily-ever-afters!

      

      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 Non-Commissioned Baby

      Maureen Child

      

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      MAUREEN CHILD

      was born and raised in southern California and is the only person she knows who longs for an occasional change of season. She is delighted to be writing for Silhouette and is especially excited to be a part of the Desire line.

      

      An avid reader, she looks forward to those rare rainy California days when she can curl up and sink into a good book. Or two. When she isn’t busy writing, she and her husband of twenty-five years like to travel, leaving their two grown children in charge of the neurotic golden retriever who is the real head of the household. She is also an award-winning historical writer under the names Kathleen Kane and Ann Carberry.

      For Jaime and Kirk Brogdon

      with love to celebrate Hayden. A baby is a wonderful gift. Enjoy every minute of your little miracle.

      One

      “Damn cats.” Jeff Ryan muttered and swung both legs off the edge of the mattress. Stumbling across his bedroom in the heavily draped darkness, he slammed his big toe into the leg of a chair.

      He jerked his foot up, cursed viciously, grabbed the throbbing toe and hopped to the closed door. Yanking it open, he let go of his foot and hobbled across the living room, wincing at the jagged slices of sunlight slanting through the half-opened blinds.

      What was wrong with people? he thought. Why couldn’t they keep their blasted cats at home instead of letting them sit outside his door howling like lost souls on the way to Hell?

      Well, he’d had enough. This time, he’d catch the little beast and carry it straight to the manager’s apartment—or the pound.

      In a foul mood that was getting worse by the second, Jeff slid back the dead bolt, threw open the door and made a lunge for the cat.

      One small problem.

      That was no cat screaming from its roost in the basket just outside his door.

      “A baby?”

      At least, he told himself as he stared down in horror at the red-faced, screaming mass of humanity, he thought it was a baby. At the moment, it more resembled something out of Aliens.

      What was going on around here? He looked up and down the length of the short hallway as if he expected to find the culprit who’d abandoned a baby like something out of a 1930s movie. But no one was there.

      He looked down at the baby again, still stunned to find it on his doorstep.

      Fat little arms and legs swung wildly in the air, while chubby hands grabbed for something that wasn’t there. And the baby’s howl was designed to puncture eardrums.

      “Hey, kid,” he said, bending down to