Forever...Again. Maureen Child

      

      “Who the hell are you, Lily Cunningham?” Ron asked.

      “A rich dilettante killing a few months in a backwater?”

      She sucked in air like a drowning man. “That’s what you think of me?”

      “Am I wrong?”

      “Only totally.” Planting both hands on his broad chest, she gave him a mighty shove that, much to her disgust, didn’t budge him an inch. “You are a completely infuriating man.”

      “That’s been said before.”

      “Hardly surprising.” Liliy whirled around and took two quick steps.

      Ron dropped one big hand on her shoulder. “Running away?”

      “I do not run away from anything.”

      “Then what’s your hurry?”

      She took a long, deep breath and prayed for patience. “Tell me why I should stand here and let you insult me in my own office.”

      He looked down at her and held her gaze. Then he said, softly, unexpectedly, “I don’t want you to go.”

      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

      Forever…Again

      Maureen Child

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      To Cherry Adair, for helping me

       find the writing magic…again.

      MAUREEN CHILD

      is a California native who loves to travel. Every chance they get, she and her husband are taking off on another research trip. The author of more than sixty books, Maureen loves a happy ending and still swears that she has the best job in the world. She lives in Southern California with her husband, two children and a golden retriever with delusions of grandeur.

      Visit her Web site at www.maureenchild.com.

      Merlyn County Regional Hospital Happenings

      Congratulations to midwife Milla Johnson on her engagement to our very own handsome pediatrician, Dr. Kyle Bingham! With two such wonderful people on our staff, the children of Merlyn County couldn’t be in better hands! A bridal shower for the happy couple is in the works. Please see the receptionist’s desk for more details.

      Detective Bryce Collins is still working alongside Dr. Mari Bingham on the investigation into procedures at the Foster Clinic. Please give the detective your full cooperation should he request information about the hospital. And please continue to report any strange behavior at the Foster Clinic or in the pharmacy department to Dr. Bingham or her receptionist.

      Volunteers for PR director Lily Cunningham’s next great fund-raising idea should contact the receptionist’s desk. (And anyone who sees CEO Ron Bingham hanging around Lily’s office and grumbling about the festivities—ignore him!)

      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 Thirteen

      Chapter Fourteen

      Chapter Fifteen

      Chapter One

      Lily Cunningham laughed to herself as she swiped a paper towel along the counter in one of the birthing rooms. If her friends in New York could see her now, she thought. They’d never believe it. But then who would?

      A woman of forty-five who’d hit the top of her profession, made tons of money and lived in a plush apartment in Manhattan would appear to have everything she’d ever wanted. Right?

      Wrong.

      Lily crumpled the paper towel, stepped on the pedal of the gleaming stainless steel trash can and dropped the used paper inside. Smiling to herself, she left the birthing room, turning the light out behind her.

      Stepping into the hall, she breathed deeply, enjoying the cool, soothing pastel tones on the walls and the scent of fresh flowers drifting through the women’s clinic. The sound of the three-inch heels of her scarlet pumps were muffled on the carpeted hallway as she made her way to her office. Smiling and nodding at the people she passed, she heard the indignant cry of a newborn from one room, and from behind the closed door of another, she heard a midwife calmly saying, “You have to remember to breathe, Shelley.”

      Lily smiled and kept walking.

      This is what made her happy, she thought.

      Being here.

      In Kentucky.

      At the Foster Midwifery Clinic.

      Doing work that meant something. That had impact on people’s lives. That required more of her than looking spectacular at a business dinner.

      “Lily!”

      She stopped and swung around to face Mari Bingham, the wonderful doctor who’d brought Lily on as public relations director in the first place. As usual, Mari was walking at a half run. The woman simply never slowed down.

      “Where’s the fire?” Lily asked, smiling.

      “Where isn’t a fire?” Mari shook her head and then jammed both hands into the pockets of her white lab coat, rummaging around in their depths. “I swear, it’s as if the whole county decided nine months ago that it would be a great time to make a baby.”

      “I