Duets™
Two brand-new stories in every volume…twice a month!
Duets Vol. #69
Popular Barbara Daly serves up a delightful Double Duets this month featuring the smart, sexy, sassy Sumner sisters, Faith and Charity. The Telegraph Herald says this about Barbara’s books. Look for “…a delicious blend of humor, seduction and romance as refreshing as a day in New England.”
Duets Vol. #70
Cheryl Anne Porter returns with the second book in her humorous miniseries A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE DELIVERY ROOM. This talented writer always delivers “a funny ride—a roller coaster of fun and adventure.” Joining her is Silhouette author Kate Thomas with a neat premise. What does an overburdened working woman need these days? A stay-at-home “wife!”—in the form of the sexy, ever helpful hero!
Be sure to pick up both Duets volumes today!
Daddy by Design?
Cheryl Anne Porter
Her Perfect Wife
Kate Thomas
Contents
Daddy by Design?
Cheryl Anne Porter
The elevator stopped with a sick, grinding crunch.
“This is not happening.” Trey turned toward the panel of buttons, pushing every one. Nothing happened. He muttered beneath his breath then started beating on the door with a fist. “Hey, out there! We need help. There’s a woman in labor in here—and a man about to have a heart attack. Can anybody hear me?”
Apparently nobody could. Trey turned to Cinda, eyeing her as if he’d known all along that she’d be trouble. “So, how are you feeling right now?” he asked.
“Fine.” Trey gave her a doubting stare and Cinda caved. “Okay, so I could explode any minute here. I’m not any happier about this than you are.” She bit down on her bottom lip. “Oh, God. A labor pain. I don’t think I can hold on. You have to do something.”
His eyes widened. “Got any suggestions?”
Was she not busy enough already? Did she have to do everything? Cinda breathed through her physical pain and pointed to the emergency phone behind its glass case. “Try calling someone, Mr. Cooper. Because if my labor progresses much further, the two of us are quickly going to become the three of us….”
Dear Reader,
I always love writing books set in the South, because the stories seem to take on a life of their own. The sultry climate and the slow pace of living offer great potential for plot, character and conflict. And with all that in place, all I have to do is write what I know! See, I’m a Southern girl myself, born in Savannah, Georgia. So when I was thinking about writing my second book in the A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE DELIVERY ROOM miniseries, how could I set it anywhere else?
All I had to come up with was a fictitious small town, a couple of transplanted Yankees, a stuck elevator, a cute baby…and, well, you can read for yourself! I hope you have as much fun reading this story as I did creating it.
Enjoy!
Cheryl Anne Porter
Books by Cheryl Anne Porter
HARLEQUIN DUETS
12—PUPPY LOVE
21—DRIVE-BY DADDY
35—SITTING PRETTY
HARLEQUIN TEMPTATION
818—HER ONLY CHANCE
To my sweet baby girl, MacKenzie.
Love you, “Macaroon.”
And to all my relatives in Georgia
(about half the state at last count),
but most especially to my cousin Joyce Colbaugh
for her unflagging efforts to promote my books
in her neck of the woods!
1
IT WAS JANUARY 2. A gray and sleety New York City day, full of traffic gridlock, honking car horns, and short tempers. A day of overworked people in a hurry to get home. What a time for Cinda Cavanaugh to be waiting for the cranky elevator outside her obstetrician’s office. She’d just been given the news that she was about to become a mother—soon. Not that she didn’t know that. She was, after all, more or less nine months pregnant, the key words being “more or less.”
It turned out it was going to be “more.” Her routine appointment had suddenly become anything but. In her mind, Cinda could still hear Dr. Butler confirming that Cinda, after many false alarms, was now truly in the early stages of real labor. Only the baby was still in a breach position. So the doctor had promptly sent Cinda on her way to the hospital, promising to follow her as soon as she rearranged her other