Not the Boss's Baby

She looked up at him, aware that tears were trickling down her cheeks but completely unable to do anything about it. “This is what you’ve been doing for the last ten days?”

He grinned and wiped a tear off her face. “If I could have finalized the sale, I would have. It’ll still take a few months for all the dust to settle, but Harper should be happy he got his money and got even with Hardwick, so I don’t think he’ll hold up the process much.”

“And Helen? The divorce?”

“My lawyers are working to get a court date next week. Week after at the latest.” He gave her a look of pure wickedness. “I made it clear that I couldn’t wait.”

“But...but you said a job? For me?”

His arms tightened around her waist, pulling her into his chest like he wasn’t ever going to let her go. “Well, I’m starting this new business, you see. I’m going to need someone working with me who can run the offices, hire the people—a partner, if you will, to keep things going while I make the beer. Someone who understands how I operate. Someone who’s not afraid of hard work. Someone who can pick a good health care plan and organize a party and understand spreadsheets.” He rubbed her back as he started rocking from side to side. “I happen to know the perfect woman. She comes very highly recommended. Great letter of reference.”

“But I can’t be with you while I work for you. It’s against company policy!”

At that, he laughed. “First off—new company, new policies. Second off, I’m not hiring you to be my underling. I’m asking you to be my partner in the business.” He paused then and cleared his throat. “I’m asking you to marry me.”

“You are?”

“I am.” He dropped to his knees so suddenly that she almost toppled forward. “Serena Chase, would you marry me?”

Her hand fluttered over her stomach. “The baby...”

He leaned forward and kissed the spot right over her belly button. “I want to adopt this baby, just as soon as your old boyfriend severs his parental rights.”

“What if he won’t?” She was aware the odds of that were small—Neil had shown no interest in being a father. But she wasn’t going to just throw herself into Chadwick’s arms and believe that love would solve all the problems in the world.

Even if it felt like that were true right now.

Chadwick looked up at her, his scary businessman face on. “Don’t worry. I can be very persuasive. Be my wife, Serena. Be my family.”

Could they do that? Could she work with him, not for him? Could they be partners and a family?

Could she trust that he’d love her more than he loved his company?

He must have sensed her worry. “You told me to do what makes me happy,” he told her as he stood again, folding her back into his arms. “You make me happy, Serena.”

“But...where will we live? I don’t want to live in that big mansion.” The Beaumont Estate was crawling with too many ghosts—both dead and living.

He smiled down at her. “Anywhere you want.”

“I...I already signed a lease for an apartment in Aurora.”

He notched an eyebrow at her. “We can live there if you really want. Or you can break the lease. I’ll have enough left from my golden parachute that we won’t have to worry about money for a long, long time. And I promise not to drop thousands on gowns or jewels for you anymore. Except for this one.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small dark blue box. It was just the right size for a ring.

As he opened it, he said, “Would you marry me, Serena? Would you make me a happy man for the rest of my life and give me the chance to do the same for you? I won’t fail you, I promise. You are the most important person in my life and you will always come first.”

Serena stared at the ring. The solitaire diamond was large without being ostentatious. It was perfect, really.

“Well,” she replied, taking the box from him. “Maybe a gown every now and then....”

Chadwick laughed and swept her into his arms. “Is that a yes?”

He was everything she wanted—passion and love and stability. He wouldn’t fail her.

“Yes.”

He kissed her then—a long, hard kiss that called to mind a certain evening in front of a mirror. “Good,” he said.

It was.

* * * * *

THE BEAUMONT HEIRS trilogy continues with

TEMPTED BY A COWBOY

Available October 2014

A BEAUMONT CHRISTMAS WEDDING

Available November 2014

Coming soon from Sarah M. Anderson and Harlequin Desire!



Keep reading for an excerpt from A TEXAN IN HER BED by Sara Orwig.





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Ten years ago one devastating night changed everything for Austin, Hunter and Alex. Now they must each play their part in the revenge against the one man who ruined it all.

Austin Treffen has the plan… Hunter has the money… Alex has the power!

Read each of their stories in the captivating Fifth Avenue trilogy,

only from Harlequin Presents:

Avenge Me by Maisey Yates (June 2014)

Scandalize Me by Caitlin Crews (July 2014)

Expose Me by Kate Hewitt (August 2014)



And don’t miss the Fifth Avenue prequel that started it all, Take Me, by Maisey Yates!

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One


What Sheriff Wyatt Milan liked most about his job was that he knew what to expect in his quiet town of Verity, Texas. But on this October afternoon when he turned his car around the corner onto Main Street he knew change was in the air.

A red limousine took up his parking space, plus some, right in front of city hall.

“What the hell?” he said quietly.

“Gosh almighty, there goes a quiet afternoon,” Deputy Lambert whispered. “Will you look at that,” he said louder.

Wyatt was looking. Directly in front of the small city hall building stood a prominent sign with large letters: No Parking—Reserved for the Sheriff of Verity, Texas.

He had expected the usual big empty space where he could park Verity’s official black-and-red sheriff’s car. Instead, the red stretch limousine took every inch of the allotted area.

He and his family had money, as did many families in the town, but no one owned anything as flashy as an all-red limo. “That limo doesn’t belong to anyone living in these parts,” Wyatt said, more to himself than to his deputy, thinking something was about to shatter some of the peacefulness of his hometown.

“In my whole life, I’ve never seen a limo that big and that red,” Val said with awe in his voice. “I’ll go look for the driver.”