Mistletoe Seductions. Nicola Marsh

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      “You had a life before we arrived.”

      “Yes—a lonely, empty life with nothing in it but work. I like having you here, Liv. Believe me.”

      “You are sweet to us.”

      He made a disgusted noise, and she smiled sadly. “You are. Don’t be macho and funny about it. You’ve been really kind, Ben, and it’s not right to take advantage anymore.”

      “You’re not taking advantage.”

      “Yes, we are.”

      “No. Okay, I’ll admit as a housekeeper you aren’t able to give it your best shot because of the kids, but there are other ways in which you more than earn your keep. Just having someone to come home to—someone who knows me, who can understand my sense of humor, knows my likes and dislikes. Someone who smiles and says, ‘How was your day?’ when I come in.”

      “That’s not a housekeeper, Ben—that’s a wife,” she said wistfully.

      He looked up, his eyes unreadable. “So marry me.”

      What happens when you suddenly discover your happy twosome is about to be turned into a…family?

      Do you panic?

      Do you laugh?

      Do you cry?

      Or…do you get married?

      The answer is all of the above—and plenty more!

      Share the laughter and the tears as these unsuspecting couples are plunged into parenthood! Whether it’s a baby on the way, or the creation of a brand-new instant family, these men and women have no choice but to be

      When parenthood takes you by surprise!

      TEMPORARY FATHER

      by Barbara McMahon

      Delivered: One Family

      Caroline Anderson

      

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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      CONTENTS

       CHAPTER ONE

       CHAPTER TWO

       CHAPTER THREE

       CHAPTER FOUR

       CHAPTER FIVE

       CHAPTER SIX

       CHAPTER SEVEN

       CHAPTER EIGHT

       CHAPTER NINE

       CHAPTER TEN

      CHAPTER ONE

      IT WAS a big front door. Big and solid and made of oak, a sturdy door that Liv leant on for a moment while she conjured up the courage to ring the bell.

      It was four in the morning, and she was probably the last person Ben wanted to see, but she wasn’t in a position to be considerate—not then, with all that had happened. She’d apologise later—if he was still speaking to her! There was no guarantee he would be.

      The doorbell echoed eerily through the silent house, and Liv pulled her coat round her and shivered. She wasn’t sure if it was cold or shock. Probably both. All she knew was that Ben had to come to the door. He had to be at home—there was nowhere else for her to go.

      Because, with this last reckless and impulsive act, Olivia Kensington had come to the end of the line.

      ‘All right, all right,’ Ben muttered. ‘Hang on, I’m coming.’ He ran downstairs, belting his dressing gown securely and flicking on the lights as he reached the darkened hallway.

      He turned the key, yanked the door open and blinked as his eyes adjusted to the light.

      ‘Liv?’

      She looked up at him, her eyes indistinct, shimmering pools of green and gold in the too bright light of the porch. Her dark hair was artfully rumpled, and her smile was as bright as the light. She was clearly oblivious of the hour and the fact that he had been fast asleep, and Ben was tempted to strangle her.

      He was always tempted to strangle her. Instead he propped himself against the door jamb and folded his arms across his chest with a resigned sigh. ‘What on earth are you doing here at this time of night?’ he asked with the last shred of his usually endless patience. ‘You aren’t locked out, you’re too far from home—so what is it, Liv? Staying with someone locally and the party ended too soon? You got bored? You’re lost?’

      She shook her head.

      ‘No? OK, I give up. To what do I owe the singular honour of your company at—’ he checked his watch ‘—stupid o’clock in the morning?’

      The smile widened, became wry. ‘Sorry, it is a bit late. It’s just—you know you rang me a few weeks ago to ask if I knew anyone who was looking for a housekeeper’s job?’

      ‘Housekeeper?’ He went still, anticipating trouble and knowing he wouldn’t be disappointed. Not with Liv. ‘Yes?’ he said cautiously, trying to see into the taxi behind her. Had she dragged some prospective candidate along? At whatever time it was? Only Liv—

      ‘I’d like to apply—if it’s still free.’

      ‘You?’ For a moment he didn’t move, and then he shrugged himself away from the frame and peered down at her more closely. That was when he noticed the smudge of mascara round her eyes, the brittleness of the smile, the slight tremor running through her frame.

      ‘For God’s sake, Liv, what’s happened?’ he said softly, stepping down into the porch and putting an arm round her.

      She dragged in a huge breath and smiled gamely up at him, lifting her shoulders in a devil-may-care shrug, but the smile shattered and her mouth firmed into a grim line. ‘He threw me out—Oscar. He said—you don’t want to know what he said.’ She shuddered. ‘Anyway, he threw us out of the door and slammed it—I tried to