The Best Of Both Worlds. Elissa Ambrose

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       Standing on tiptoe, Becky planted a kiss on his cheek.

      Carter felt a surge of heat rush though him. Her face had my hero written all over it, and what flesh-and-blood male could resist such unmasked admiration? To top it off, she looked precious in her Santa Claus hat. “What’s a nice Jewish girl like you doing in a hat like that?” he asked gruffly, mixed emotions raging through him. At that moment, Carter wished he were Santa, so he could pull her onto his lap.

      He took her arm and led her down the hallway, into the study. “Mistletoe,” he whispered, motioning to the rafter in the ceiling. He kicked the door closed. With an urgency he couldn’t suppress, he pulled her to him and wrapped her in his arms, his lips finding hers, his hands in her hair, then down her back. The way she smelled, the way she tasted, the way her body fit so well with his, released feelings he’d kept restrained for months.

      “Marry me,” he said for what seemed like the hundredth time.

      Dear Reader,

      Well, it’s that time of year again—and if those beautiful buds of April are any indication, you’re in the mood for love! And what better way to sustain that mood than with our latest six Special Edition novels? We open the month with the latest installment of Sherryl Woods’s MILLION DOLLAR DESTINIES series, Priceless. When a pediatric oncologist who deals with life and death on a daily basis meets a sick child’s football hero, she thinks said hero can make the little boy’s dreams come true. But little does she know that he can make hers a reality, as well! Don’t miss this compelling story….

      MERLYN COUNTY MIDWIVES continues with Maureen Child’s Forever…Again, in which a man who doesn’t believe in second chances has a change of mind—not to mention heart—when he meets the beautiful new public relations guru at the midwifery clinic. In Cattleman’s Heart by Lois Faye Dyer, a businesswoman assigned to help a struggling rancher finds that business is the last thing on her mind when she sees the shirtless cowboy meandering toward her! And Susan Mallery’s popular DESERT ROGUES are back! In The Sheik & the Princess in Waiting, a woman learns that the man she loved in college has two secrets: 1) he’s a prince; and 2) they’re married! Next, can a pregnant earthy vegetarian chef find happiness with town’s resident playboy, an admitted carnivore…and father of her child? Find out in The Best of Both Worlds by Elissa Ambrose. And in Vivienne Wallington’s In Her Husband’s Image, a widow confronted with her late husband’s twin brother is forced to decide, as she looks in the eyes of her little boy, if some secrets are worth keeping.

      So enjoy the beginnings of spring, and all six of these wonderful books! And don’t forget to come back next month for six new compelling reads from Silhouette Special Edition.

      Happy reading!

      Gail Chasan

      Senior Editor

      The Best of Both Worlds

      Elissa Ambrose

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      For my mother.

      Acknowledgments

      Special thanks to Anne Lind, Sharon Skinner and

       Sarah Mlynowski, critique partners par excellence;

       and to Mireya Merritt, gourmet chef extraordinaire.

       ELISSA AMBROSE

      Originally from Montreal, Canada, Elissa Ambrose now resides in Arizona with her husband, her smart but surly cat and her sweet but silly cockatoo. She’s the proud mother of two daughters, who, though they have flown the coop, still manage to keep her on her toes. She started out as a computer programmer and now serves as the fiction editor at Anthology magazine, a literary journal published in Mesa, Arizona. When she’s not writing or editing or just hanging out with her husband, she can be found at the indoor ice arena, trying out a new spin or jump.

      Chicken Soup without the Chicken

      From Rebecca Roth’s The Lover’s Guide To Vegetarian Cooking

      Just as comforting as chicken soup with the chicken, this recipe will soothe any man—body and soul.

      3 tbsp olive oil

      1 ½ onions finely chopped

      3 carrots, sliced horizontally

      2 stalks celery, sliced horizontally

      1 small turnip, cubed in to ¾-inch pieces (optional)

      ½ tsp Hungarian or Spanish paprika

      2 quarts cold vegetable stock

      1 ½ tsp salt

      ¼ tsp black pepper

      2 tsp fresh dill, minced; or ½ tsp dried leaf

      2 tsp fresh parsley, minced; or ½ tsp dried leaf

      1 cup dried bow tie noodles

      Procedure:

      Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until transparent.

      Add carrots, celery and turnip, then let sweat for 10 minutes. (Sweating means allowing the vegetables to cook with the onions until they start releasing their juices and begin to mingle with the onions and oil.)

      Add paprika and stir for one minute.

      Pour the cold stock over the vegetables and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the vegetables are somewhat tender.

      Stir in salt, pepper, dill and parsley, then add noodles. Simmer for another 10 to 12 minutes, or until the vegetables and pasta are tender. Check for seasoning.

      Serving Suggestions:

      Get your man into bed and cover him with a comforter. Place a bowl of hot soup on a serving tray with plenty of saltine crackers, then spoon-feed him the soup and hand-feed him crackers. It won’t take him long to feel a new surge of strength!

      Contents

      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 One

       “N ow you’ve done it,” Becky said. “You didn’t have to yell at her. Christina is sobbing in the storeroom, and all because of you. Sometimes you’re as sensitive as a steamroller.”

      The round-faced, fuzzy-eyebrowed owner of Merlin’s Fine Diner glared at her from behind the counter. “Christina got the order wrong again,” he snarled. “The customer’s always right.”

      “In this case the customer was wrong. He ordered a BLT without the bacon, tomato on the side, and that’s exactly what he got!”

      “Yeah, right. Who orders a BLT without the bacon?”

      “Me, for one,” Becky answered. “Not that I’ve ever been inclined to eat in this dive.” These days, however, just seeing all that grease sizzling in the kitchen, never mind the smell, was enough to send her stomach reeling. “I’d better check on Christina,” she mumbled, fighting back a fresh wave of nausea.

      “You people are all alike,” Merlin said. “Trouble-makers, everyone of you.”

      Becky