“I just wondered…what should I do about good-night kisses?”
“What?” Max replied with a scowl.
“A good-night kiss,” Annie repeated. “How soon is it all right to kiss your date?”
“Don’t think so much about it,” Max advised brusquely. “A first kiss isn’t such a big deal anymore…. Let it be spontaneous.”
“Oh. Like this, you mean?” An impish smile curved Annie’s mouth. She threw her arms around his neck and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
As kisses went, it was one of the most innocent he’d ever received, but it hiked up Max’s temperature more than he’d thought possible. Suddenly he didn’t want Annie trying any of those innocent kisses on any man but him!
Dear Reader,
I hope the long hot summer puts you in the mood for romance—Silhouette Romance, that is! Because we’ve got a month chock-full of exciting stories. And be sure to check out just how Silhouette can make you a star!
Elizabeth Harbison returns with her CINDERELLA BRIDES miniseries. In His Secret Heir, an English earl discovers the American student he’d once known had left with more than his heart.…And Teresa Southwick’s Crazy for Lovin’You begins a new series set in DESTINY, TEXAS. Filled with emotion, romance and a touch of intrigue, these stories are sure to captivate you!
Cara Colter’s THE WEDDING LEGACY begins with Husband by Inheritance. An heiress gains a new home—complete with the perfect husband. Only, he doesn’t know it yet! And Patricia Thayer’s THE TEXAS BROTHERHOOD comes to a triumphant conclusion when Travis Comes Home.
Lively, high-spirited Julianna Morris shows a woman’s determination to become a mother with Tick Tock Goes the Baby Clock and Roxann Delaney gives us A Saddle Made for Two.
We’ve also got a special treat in store for you! Next month, look for Marie Ferrarella’s The Inheritance, a spin-off from the MAITLAND MATERNITY series. This title is specially packaged with the introduction to the new Mills & Boon continuity series, TRUEBLOOD, TEXAS. But The Inheritance then leads back into Silhouette Romance, so be sure to catch the opening act.
Happy Reading!
Mary-Theresa Hussey
Senior Editor
Tick Tock Goes the Baby Clock
Julianna Morris
To Carol R., Joan, Debbie R. and Brenda—friends like you make each day better.
Books by Julianna Morris
Silhouette Romance
Baby Talk #1097
Family of Three #1178
Daddy Woke up Married #1252
Dr. Dad #1278
The Marriage Stampede #1375
*Callie, Get Your Groom #1436
*Hannah Gets a Husband #1448
*Jodie’s Mail-Order Man #1460
Meeting Megan Again #1502
Tick Tock Goes the Baby Clock #1531
JULIANNA MORRIS
has an offbeat sense of humor, which frequently gets her into trouble. She is often accused of being curious about everything…her interests ranging from oceanography and photography to traveling, antiquing, walking on the beach and reading science fiction.
Julianna loves cats of all shapes and sizes, and last year she was adopted by a feline companion named Merlin. Like his namesake, Merlin is an alchemist—she says he can transform the house into a disaster area in no time flat. And since he shares the premises with a writer, it’s interesting to note that he’s particularly fond of knocking books onto the floor.
Julianna happily reports meeting Mr. Right. Together they are working on a new dream of building a shoreline home in the Great Lakes area.
Contents
Chapter One
A car pulled into the parking area of the store, and Annie James’s eyes widened as she recognized the driver.
“Max Hunter,” she breathed.
A quiver of awareness went through her body, no matter how hard she tried to stop it. Okay, so it was Max. She still lived next door to his grandmother, so there was nothing remarkable about seeing him, especially now that he’d moved back to California.
“Nothing,” she assured herself. He might be the most attractive man she’d ever known and sent tingles down her spine with his smile, but they were just friends.
Max helped an elegantly clad woman from his BMW, and Annie bit her lip. It was a good thing she’d accepted that Max was Max and that he preferred sophisticated city women, not small-town girls more comfortable in T-shirts than silk blouses. She just wasn’t his type. Problem was, she didn’t seem to be any man’s type.
“Stop that, Barnard.” Annie absently pulled a ledger book away from the large brown rabbit chewing on the corner.
His velvety nose twitched, and he hopped until he could sink his teeth into the paper again.
“Silly thing.”
Annie stroked his soft fur and sighed. The usual Saturday bustle of a farm-supply store revolved around her, and here she was, talking to a rabbit.
She had to get a life.
Preferably a life that included a gold ring, a baby on the way and a honest-to-goodness man in her bed every night. There was just one tiny drawback to that idea—she didn’t have the slightest idea how to carry it out.
It wasn’t a new thought. Having grown up with a widowed father and being firmly planted in all the local boys’ minds as a “nice” girl, she didn’t have much experience with the opposite sex. If she wanted to break out of