His Unexpected Heir. Maureen Child

      

      Between duty, honor...and a baby! Only from USA TODAY bestselling author Maureen Child.

      Six months. That’s how long Rita Marchetti has mourned Jack Buchanan. Yet here he is, alive, standing in front of her, perfect...and devastatingly sexy! Even more amazing is the former marine’s admission that he wanted Rita to think he’d died. But the two of them are about to become three and Jack is back just in time.

      That baby Rita is carrying is his. Despite the pain he holds so close to his heart, Jack can’t walk away from his child. A marriage in name only would solve everything. Everything except a desire too deeply buried and too long denied...

      Congratulations Maureen Child on OVER 14 MILLION copies sold worldwide with Harlequin!

      She was pregnant. Very pregnant.

      He had a million questions and didn’t have time to nail down a single one before Rita threw herself into his arms.

      “Jack!” She hugged him hard, then seemed to notice he wasn’t returning her hug, so she let him go and stepped back. Confusion filled her eyes even as her smile faded into a flat, thin line. “How can you be here? I thought you must be dead. I never heard from you and—”

      “Not here,” he ground out, giving himself points for keeping a tight rein on the emotions rushing through him. “Let’s take a walk.”

      “I’m working,” she pointed out, waving her hand at the counter and customers behind her.

      “Take a break.” He needed some answers and he wasn’t going to be denied. She was here. She was pregnant. Judging by the size of her belly, he was guessing about six months pregnant. That meant they had to talk. Now.

      * * *

      Little Secrets: His Unexpected Heir is part of the Little Secrets series: Untamed passion, unexpected pregnancy...

      His Unexpected Heir

      Maureen Child

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      MAUREEN CHILD writes for the Mills & Boon Desire line and can’t imagine a better job. A seven-time finalist for a prestigious Romance Writers of America RITA® Award, Maureen is an author of more than one hundred romance novels. Her books regularly appear on bestseller lists and have won several awards, including a Prism Award, a National Readers’ Choice Award, a Colorado Romance Writers Award of Excellence and a Golden Quill Award. She is a native Californian but has recently moved to the mountains of Utah.

      MILLS & BOON

       Before you start reading, why not sign up?

      Thank you for downloading this Mills & Boon book. If you want to hear about exclusive discounts, special offers and competitions, sign up to our email newsletter today!

       SIGN ME UP!

      Or simply visit

      signup.millsandboon.co.uk

      Mills & Boon emails are completely free to receive and you can unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email we send you.

      To my mom, Sallye Carberry, because she loves romance novels and shared that love with me.

      Contents

       Cover

       Back Cover Text

       Introduction

       About the Author

       Title Page

       Dedication

       One

       Two

       Three

       Four

       Five

       Six

       Seven

       Eight

       Nine

       Ten

       Eleven

       Extract

       Copyright

       One

      Jack Buchanan listened to his interior decorator talk about swatches and color and found his mind drifting...to anything else.

      Four months ago, he’d been in a desert, making life-and-death decisions. Today, he was in an upholstery shop in Long Beach, California, deciding between leather or fabric for the bar seats on the Buchanan Company’s latest cruise ship. He didn’t know whether to be depressed or amused. So he went with impatient.

      “Which fabric will hold up better?” he asked, cutting into the argument between the decorator and the upholsterer.

      “The leather,” they both said at once, turning to look at him.

      “Then use the fabric.” Jack pointed at a bolt of midnight blue cloth shot through with silver threads. “We’re building a fantasy bar. I’m less interested in wear and more concerned with the look of the place. If you want black leather in the mix, too, use it on the booth seats.”

      While the decorator and the upholsterer instantly jumped on that idea and put their heads together to plan, Jack shifted his gaze to encompass the shop. Family-owned, Dan Black and his sons, Mark and Tom, ran the place and did great work. Jack had seen that much for himself.

      The shop itself was long and wide and filled with not only barstools, but also couches, chairs and tables being