by Sarah Morgan
With a groan he lowered his head to hers, his kiss unusually tender. ‘Now answer me another question.’ He murmured the words against her mouth, his eyes holding hers. ‘Do you love my children?’
‘I adore your children!’
‘Then what’s the problem?’
Distracted by the kiss, it took Hayley a moment to answer. ‘Pregnancy isn’t a good reason to get married.’
‘We’ve just established that I proposed before I knew you were pregnant.’
Unable to argue with that, she pulled away slightly. ‘It isn’t just you, Patrick,’ she confessed softly. ‘It’s me, too. I mean, I was brought up in a stepfamily and frankly it was awful. Dysfunctional just doesn’t begin to describe it. All right, we love each other—but that might not be enough! It isn’t just about us, is it? It’s about Alfie and Posy and how they might feel about the baby. What if they resent it?’
‘We won’t resent it!’ Alfie was standing in the doorway, shivering in his dressing gown, Posy in his arms. ‘We can’t wait for you to marry Daddy and give us a baby brother or sister, can we, Pose? Well, Posy doesn’t really know, of course, because she’s still little and only interested in her blanket, but also because she hasn’t had a sister yet, and I have. It’s great.’ He frowned. ‘Well, maybe not the nappy part, that’s pretty gross actually, but the rest of it is cool.’
Hayley gave a cry of concern. ‘How long have you been standing there? Alfie, you must be freezing.’
‘We’ve been here long enough to hear everything. We’re a family, Hayley. Team Buchannan. You should join our team.’ Alfie shifted Posy awkwardly. ‘Dad is a pretty good catch. All the women around here want him.’
Hayley bit back a laugh. ‘You’ve only known me for a couple of weeks. Why would you want me to be on your team?’
‘Well, there’s the obvious stuff of course—you can cook well, and you’re great at clearing up after us. And then there’s the fact that two of the kittens are yours so if you stay we get to keep all four, which would be cool. But the real reason is because we love you and we know you love Dad.’ Alfie hitched Posy up in his arms. ‘I heard you say you love him. Mum never said that. Not once. I heard her say loads of stuff to Dad, but she never said I love you. You do love Dad, I can tell. And he loves you. And so do we. And do you mind if I go in now, because Posy weighs a ton? It must be all the turkey she’s eaten.’ Staggering slightly, he backed into the house, leaving Hayley with tears pouring down her cheeks.
‘I can’t believe he just said all that.’ She was humbled by the children’s warmth and acceptance.
‘Do you really think our family isn’t going to work?’ Laughing, Patrick took her hand and slid the ring back onto her finger. ‘We’re not going to let you say no, Hayley. We want you on Team Buchannan. Say yes. Come on—of all the words I’ve heard you say, that’s the one I want to hear.’
Hayley looked around her. She looked at the beautiful barn, the mountains and the snow-covered trees. And then she looked at the man standing in front of her—the man she loved.
‘You do realise that Alfie is right—if you marry me you’ll end up keeping all four kittens,’ she said, and her voice wobbled. ‘He gave them to me as a present and I won’t be parted from them.’
Patrick rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. ‘I think I can probably cope.’
‘You’re sure you don’t want more time to think about it?’
‘I’m sure. I love you, Hayley, that isn’t going to change.’
‘In that case, yes,’ she said in a choked voice. ‘Yes, of course. I’ll marry you. Oh, Patrick…’ She flung her arms round his neck and Jack beeped the horn madly and cheered.
‘Good job I don’t have any neighbours,’ Patrick drawled, his mouth against hers as he kissed her again. ‘Given that he knows such a lot about your underwear, I think perhaps we’d better invite Jack to the wedding. What do you think?’
‘I think I love you, Patrick Buchannan,’ Hayley said huskily. ‘I think I love you with all my heart.’
Recent titles by the same author:
Medical™ Romance
THE GREEK BILLIONAIRE’S LOVE-CHILD ITALIAN DOCTOR, SLEIGH-BELL BRIDE THE REBEL DOCTOR’S BRIDE* THE ITALIAN’S NEW-YEAR MARRIAGE WISH**
Sarah Morgan also writes for Modern™ Romance. Her sexy heroes and feisty heroines aren’t to be missed!
Modern™ Romance
POWERFUL GREEK, UNWORLDLY WIFE CAPELLI’S CAPTIVE VIRGIN THE PRINCE’S WAITRESS WIFE
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MISTLETOE & MATERNITY
Marriages made under the mistletoe!
Snowflakes are starting to fall, Christmas carols are ringing out, and for the Buchannan brothers there are festive surprises in store…
These two gorgeous and dedicated doctors lost their faith in love a long time ago, but they’re about to meet the women who can unlock their hearts and give them the most precious gift of all…
A family—just in time for Christmas!
Bestselling author Sarah Morgan brings you two brand-new linked stories in one book—full of all the magic of Christmas!
All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention.
All Rights Reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises II B.V./S.à.r.l. The text of this publication or any part thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the prior consent of the publisher in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.
First published in Great Britain 2009
Harlequin Mills & Boon Limited,
Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR
© Sarah Morgan 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4089-1227-0