The Rival's Heir. Joss Wood

      

      She wants a career and a baby...

      Can her sexy boss give her both?

      Darby Brogan has goals: single motherhood and a successful career. And she won’t be distracted...even if rival architect Judah Huntley is the stuff of fantasies. But when Darby accepts a job with Judah, there are strings—caring for the baby on his doorstep! But when playing house gets hot and heavy, will temporary turn into having it all?

      JOSS WOOD loves books and traveling—especially to the wild places of Southern Africa and, well, anywhere. She’s a wife, a mum to two teenagers and slave to two cats. After a career in local economic development, she now writes full-time. Joss is a member of Romance Writers of America and Romance Writers of South Africa.

       Also by Joss Wood

      The Ballantyne Billionaires miniseries

      His Ex’s Well-Kept Secret

      One Night to Forever

      The CEO’s Nanny Affair

      Little Secrets: Unexpectedly Pregnant

      Love in Boston miniseries

      Friendship on Fire

      Hot Christmas Kisses

      The Rival’s Heir

      Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

      The Rival’s Heir

      Joss Wood

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      ISBN: 978-1-474-07697-5

      THE RIVAL’S HEIR

      © 2018 Joss Wood

      Published in Great Britain 2018

      by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

      All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

      This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

      By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

      ® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      This book is dedicated to anyone who has struggled

      with infertility. I get how hard it is.

      You have my love and prayers.

      Contents

       Cover

       Back Cover Text

       About the Author

       Booklist

       Title Page

       Copyright

       Dedication

       Prologue

       One

       Two

       Three

       Four

       Five

       Six

       Seven

       Eight

       Nine

       Ten

       Eleven

       Extract

       About the Publisher

       Prologue

      Callie Brogan looked around the lavish crowded function room at the Lockwood Country Club and edged her way to the side. She’d attended, and hosted, many parties in this very room and knew all the escape routes.

      A few steps backward and her back was against the floor-to-ceiling glass doors. She fiddled behind her and yep, there was the handle. Callie pushed it down, felt the door swing open and as quickly as she could, ducked onto the small balcony that ran the length of the ballroom. She closed the door behind her, allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness.

      She didn’t mind the dark, nor the cold—in fact she welcomed both. Anything was better than loud music, louder laughter and incessant chatter. Staring a new year in the face, she needed a few minutes of quiet, just to think.

      Her