Inherited: One Baby!

Candy had wanted that kiss from the moment Jake strolled through the door on Monday afternoon

She suspected it had something to do with that sexy grin, maybe a little more with his delicious masculine scent. But more and more she was suspecting it was the way he cared for baby Bonnie. Walking in on the two of them sleeping in that recliner flip-flopped her heart in a thousand tiny ways.

For all these years, she’d blamed him for breaking her heart, but had he been the one responsible? Or had she done the breaking all by herself?

Because as tough as Jake came across on the outside, those moments when she caught him smoothing Bonnie’s hair, fixing the collars on one of her tiny dresses or planting a kiss on top of her head, spoke louder than any words he ever could have spoken. Jake was no heartbreaker, for in taking orphaned Bonnie into his home and arms he was a heart mender.

Dear Reader,

What a spectacular lineup of love stories Harlequin American Romance has for you this month as we continue to celebrate our 20th anniversary. Start off with another wonderful title in Cathy Gillen Thacker’s DEVERAUX LEGACY series, Taking Over the Tycoon. Sexy millionaire Connor Templeton is used to getting whatever—whomever—he wants! But has he finally met his match in one beguiling single mother?

Next, Fortune’s Twins by Kara Lennox is the latest installment in the MILLIONAIRE, MONTANA continuity series. In this book, a night of passion leaves a “Main Street Millionaire” expecting twins—and has the whole town wondering “Who’s the daddy?” After catching a bridal bouquet and opening an heirloom hope chest, a shy virgin dreams about asking her secret crush to father the baby she yearns for, in Have Bouquet, Need Boyfriend, part of Rita Herron’s HARTWELL HOPE CHESTS series. And don’t miss Inherited: One Baby! by Laura Marie Altom, in which a handsome bachelor must convince his ex-wife to remarry him in order to keep custody of the adorable orphaned baby left in his care.

Enjoy this month’s offerings, and be sure to return each and every month to Harlequin American Romance!

Melissa Jeglinski

Associate Senior Editor

Harlequin American Romance

Inherited: One Baby!

Laura Marie Altom

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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This one’s for grandparents. Those I dearly miss: Joe and Lu Jachim, Shirley Jeanne Alisch and Doris Altom. And those I’m still fortunate enough to have with me: Fred Alisch, Sylvia Altom-Shelton and my honorary grandparents, Katie and Paul Sage. I love you all very much.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

After college (Go Hogs!), Laura Marie Altom did a brief stint as an interior designer before becoming a stay-at-home mom to boy/girl twins. Always an avid romance reader, Laura knew it was time to try her hand at writing when she found herself replotting the afternoon soaps. She has written three romances for another publisher.

When not immersed in her next story, Laura enjoys a glamorous lifestyle of lounging by a pool that’s always in need of cleaning, zipping around in a convertible while trying to keep her dog from leaping out and she is constantly striving to reach the bottom of the laundry basket—a feat she may never accomplish! For real fun, Laura’s content to read, do needlepoint and cuddle with her handsome hubby.

Laura loves hearing from readers at either P.O. Box 2074, Tulsa, OK 74101, or via e-mail: [e-mail].

Books by Laura Marie Altom

HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE

940—BLIND LUCK BRIDE

976—INHERITED: ONE BABY!

Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Epilogue

Prologue

“Come again?” Jake Peterson said to the silver-haired dynamo in charge of his infant daughter’s adoption case. The metal desk she sat at had probably once been painted a color, but over the years it had become a crazy quilt of smiling faces. Children’s faces captured in photos. Hundreds of them—maybe even thousands. Mrs. Starling had made all of these children happy. Why couldn’t she do the same for his baby girl?

“You’re telling me that just because this Elizabeth Mannford is related by blood to Bonnie that that makes her a better parent? Having me raise their daughter was my friends’ dying wish. You can’t take Bonnie away from me—the only family she knows!”

“Mr. Peterson, please, there’s no need for raised voices. Butterscotch?” She gestured toward a lumpy clay dish brimming with gold-wrapped candies. “I find butterscotch to be the most soothing of flavors, don’t you?”

Jake hardened his jaw.

He didn’t want to come down on this grandma. Really, he didn’t, but what else could he do?

He wouldn’t break his promise to Cal and Jenny who had been killed six weeks earlier by a drunk driver. He wouldn’t lose this chance in a million to make good on a dream he’d long since had for himself. The dream to somehow, some way become a father—just as long as that way didn’t include having a wife.

“Look,” he said, taking a calming breath. “I love Bonnie. And as CEO of Galaxy Sports, I make much more than an adequate living.”

“Miss Manning doesn’t dispute either of those things.”

“Then what’s her problem? Why is she doing this?”

“In a nutshell,” Mrs. Starling said, lacing her fingers atop a stack of manila folders. “After speaking with her at length this past Tuesday, it’s my opinion that she’s just plain lonely. Bitter about the way her life has turned out…and is now wanting to make amends, but not quite sure how to best go about it.

“From what you’ve told me about her relationship within her great-niece’s family, she was an outcast. The black sheep, if you will. Her niece, Jenny, was all she had left in the world—and, of course, Bonnie. As such, I can see where she wouldn’t want her last remaining link to family—even if it is a family she previously wanted nothing to do with—being signed away to a virtual stranger.”

“But that’s just it,” Jake said, leaning forward in his chair. “I’m not the stranger here—at least not to Bonnie.”

Mrs. Starling lowered her gaze, making a slight clucking sound before once again glancing his way. “I’m so sorry about all of this. I’ve seen you and the infant together. The way the child seems so at peace when she rests her little cheek on your shoulder. Precious. Just precious. Believe me,” she said, gesturing to all of her pictures. “No one likes happy endings more than me. These photos, they aren’t just snapshots, they’re my life. My successes. Tangible proof that I’ve turned healing broken hearts into my life’s work.” Again lowering her gaze, she added, “Unfortunately, for all of these smiling faces, I’ve seen an awful lot of tears.”

On the edge of his seat, proverbial hat in his hands, Jake swallowed hard.

Yeah, well, if I have anything to say about it, tears you’ll never see are mine or my baby’s.

To anyone else, it might sound selfish, but what this woman didn’t realize was that it wasn’t just Bonnie’s future at stake, but his.

Growing up, he’d had an idyllic childhood. His parents were the best—especially his dad. Which was probably one of the reasons Jake had always wanted to be a dad. To do the Little League and birthday party routine. To help with homework and to tuck freshly scrubbed rug rats into bed.

After marrying Candy, his high school sweetheart, Jake had thought all of those dreams were finally within reach. But that was before she’d become obsessed with her business and started spouting nonsense about never wanting to be a mom.

He thought he’d die from the pain when, after five years of marriage, Candy had filed for divorce. But ten years after signing the papers, here he was, still going strong without her—or any woman. Here he was, holding steadfast to his vow to never again fall victim to love, and to his conviction that if it took a wife to have children, then he’d just have to suffer through life without them.

When Cal and Jenny died, fate had given Jake his dream after all. Finally, finally, he was a dad, and no matter what it took, there was no way in hell he was giving up his precious baby girl.

“Look,” he said, softening his voice. “I can do this. The diaper changing, bottle washing, shopping for prom dresses—none of it’s a problem. Besides which, I’m all Bonnie’s got. Her parents weren’t just friends, but family.”

“In a strictly nonrelated way. You must understand, Mr. Peterson, I can’t hand out babies to anyone who asks. There are procedures to follow, all of which center around not just the current well-being of this infant, but her future, as well. Please don’t think for a minute that I don’t believe you’d make an excellent father. All I’m saying is that sometimes judges…well, they tend to side with the law, which all too often sees these matters as being neatly tied with a bow when the man or woman appointed custody also happen to be a blood relative.”

“But that’s not right—or fair. In Elizabeth Mannford’s case, her being a member of Bonnie’s family is nothing more than semantics.”

Lips pursed, Mrs. Starling said, “I’m afraid you’re right. Now, if you were married, I could maybe—”

“What?”

She scrunched her nose. “Excuse me?”

“That last part,” he said, making a hurry-up gesture. “Come again on that last part.”

“I was only pointing out that if you had a wife, then—Oh, my. A wife. That’s it. Why didn’t I think of that?” Her gray eyes sparkled in direct proportion to the lifting in his heart. “Mr. Peterson? Where are you going?”

Leaving the office, Jake let out a whoop. “Where do you think I’m going? To my country club. Surely there’s a blonde lounging around the pool who’ll temporarily marry me.”

“Not so fast!” Mrs. Starling shouted.

Stopping dead in his tracks, Jake groaned. “Now what?”

“Come back here. I see where you’re headed with this and while I must admit to being wholeheartedly in favor of your plan, you can’t marry a stranger. Any family judge worth his or her salt will see right through that old trick. No, what you need is an honest-to-goodness relationship. A loving relationship in which you share not just a future with a woman, but a past.” She paused, flashing him a hopeful smile. “You’ve got to have known this woman for a lifetime. Long enough to trust with every fiber of your being that she’d make a loving mother and wife. Long enough to know she’ll stand by you through a long, and quite possibly nasty, legal battle.”

Popping another butterscotch into her mouth, she said, “There now. Finding a wonderful woman like that doesn’t sound too terribly difficult, does it?”

Jake’s stomach fell the three flights of stairs he’d climbed to get to Mrs. Starling’s office.

Was the woman nuts?

Because from where he was sitting, he could only think of one woman in his life who’d ever even remotely fit such a lofty bill. Candy. In his mind’s eye, he clearly recalled her pretty smile and eyes so deliciously brown, that just meeting her gaze was akin to sinking in a vat of sinfully rich melted chocolate.

Unfortunately, the last time he’d been looking into those eyes, his ex-wife hadn’t been smiling. She’d been crying. And the sight of those tears hadn’t just ripped his heart in two, but made him adhere to a strict vow to never, ever get married again.

So now, here he was being told the only possible way he could keep baby Bonnie was to not only marry again, but to marry the one woman on the planet who’d torn his life apart?

In a perfect world, he’d oh-so-politely tell Mrs. Starling right where she could put her ludicrous suggestion. Problem was, his world was nowhere close to perfect, and if he didn’t go along with her suggestion, he wouldn’t even have a world—that was how strong his bond to Bonnie had become.

Steeling his jaw, Jake reached an inevitable conclusion. As unpalatable—hell, as downright unthinkable—as it sounded, if he was to have even a prayer of keeping Bonnie, he’d have to once again marry Candy. Fast!

Chapter One

Three days later…

In super-stealth mode, Jake Peterson stepped onto the brick step of the Candy Kisses Confectioner’s Shop and Ice Cream Parlor. But just as he was about to launch the most important merger meeting of his life, his cell phone rang.

Cursing himself for not leaving the stupid thing in his rental car, he answered, “Yeah?”

“Did you do it?”

“Hell, no, I didn’t do it.” He ducked out of the unseasonably hot Missouri May sun and into the shade of a bush trimmed into the shape of a—Was that a giant cat? On the branches of the cat’s belly, a flock of starlings bickered like toddlers vying for the teacher’s last animal cracker. Covering his left ear, Jake said, “I thought I told you to wait for me to call you.”

“I know, but I’ve got a baby question.”

“What?”

“Bonnie’s poop’s lookin’ a little off.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, man, it’s kind of purple. Something about it just isn’t right. And it smells a little like catfish bait.”

Jake sighed before asking Rick, his best friend from high school and now the manager of the original Galaxy Sports Store, located a few doors down from where he now stood, “What did you guys feed her? I’ve only been gone fifteen minutes.”

“Creamed chicken and some leftover noodle stuff—oh, and Dietz let her have a grape Popsicle. Man, you should’ve seen that little gal sucking away. Oh—and right after you left, she gummed a cherry Pop-Tart.”

“And did that make her poop red?”

“Come to think of it…”

Jake brushed his left hand over his face. Having grown up and later worked with most of the guys now manning the store, he’d thought they were all capable of watching Bonnie for a few hours. But maybe he’d been wrong. Come to think of it, maybe he was wrong to have even thought about setting foot back in this town. “Where’s Warren?” he asked.

“He got a call from his kid’s school. Millicent got knocked in the front tooth during gym class and he had to take her to the dentist.”

Great. So the only guy in the store with practical parenting skills was gone. “Look, Rick, baby poop is literally a fluid situation. Changes all the time. Don’t worry about it unless—well, hell, just don’t worry. And don’t call me for at least the next thirty minutes. I’m going in.”

“LET’S SEE…I’ll take two Coco Locos, a Dino Bar, and a chocolate-covered strawberry.”

“Mmm, I like your style.” Without looking up, Candy Jacobs-Peterson opened the glass storage case and gave the confections housed inside an appreciative whiff. Even after all her years in the candy business, she still loved the rich smell of her creations.

She reached for a piece of tissue, then snatched a couple of her most celebrated masterpieces. The milk chocolate, almond and toasted coconut Coco Loco blend outsold her other candies three to one. At Monday’s closing, she’d have to remind Candy Kisses’ new owners to make extra for the weekend rush.

Hard to believe that a week from today, the business that had become her family would be sold. For all practical purposes, she’d never had a mother. After her dad had died when she was eleven, she’d been raised by her grandfather right here in this store. Her brief marriage to Jake had started out as a blessing, but ultimately, as she’d feared it would, fallen victim to her curse.

After her divorce, Candy had returned to the store and her grandfather, believing that hard work would be the cure for whatever ailed her. For a while, it had been enough. But when he died and, over the year since he’d been gone, despite receiving comfort from many dear friends, the loneliness had consumed her.

She’d felt lost. Adrift.

And now…

Now, she needed more. Of what, she had no clue.

Yes, you do.

Candy ignored her conscience’s nudge toward unthinkable directions. Truly, something was missing from her life. But whatever that elusive something was, she’d had no luck finding it here in Lonesome, the only town where she’d ever lived. Which was why, first thing next Monday morning, she planned to sign the sale papers for Candy Kisses, close up her house, then leave Lonesome for however long it would take to find peace.

She swallowed a fresh batch of jitters to hand the customer his distinctive pink box that had her kindergarten picture right on the front, lips puckered for a kiss. “Can I get you anything el—”

The box, along with its contents, tumbled to the floor, hitting glowing hardwood with a soft thwack. Candy fluttered her hands to her mouth. “Oh, my gosh…Jake.”

He matched her shock with a wry smile. “That happy to see me, huh?”

“It’s not that—well, it’s just that I…” Pull yourself together, she admonished. So what if it’s been ten years? So what if he’s grown taller, darker and infinitely more handsome? Just treat him like any other customer.

Easily enough said, but how many other customers broke your heart?

“In town for the reunion?” she asked, trying to play it cool while kneeling to clean up the mess.

“Yep. I thought I wasn’t going to make it, but at the last minute…” She stood in time to see him shrug. “You know how plans change.”

“Yes, well…” No one knew that better than her. “It’s good that you could make it after all. I know the guys down at the store must be glad to see you.”

What about you, Candy? Are you glad to see me? Jake reminded himself to breathe.

His ex had always been a knockout, but now…

He swallowed hard, forcing himself to look past her whiskey-brown eyes, honeyed complexion and too-damned-sexy, sable-toned hair. In the millisecond it took to blink, he pictured her lounging in bed, wearing that ivory-silk negligee she’d bought him for their first wedding anniversary. Fine lace played hide-and-seek with her breasts while from behind her half curtain of sleek, dark waves, she grinned, beckoning him closer, inviting him to unwrap his gift.

Jake released a sharp breath.

Focus, man. Remember, you’re in town to find a temporary mom for Bonnie—not a playmate for you.

Besides, Jake reminded himself, being burned once by Candy’s particularly painful brand of rejection had been more than enough to scar his lifetime.

“So,” he said with a light clap, rubbing his palms together. “The guys told me you’re about to start a new project.”

“I suppose that’s one way of putting it,” she said, straightening the already-perfectly-aligned jars of her signature ice-cream toppings.

“So? What’re you doing? Finally launching a new store? Some hot new candy you’re taking nationwide?”

Shifting two jars to a higher shelf, she stood on her tiptoes, raising her arms high enough for her breasts to strain the buttons of her white silk blouse. Finished, she said, “You were the only one around here with global dreams, Jake. Mine have always been simple.” A ghostly smile playing about her lips, she shook her head. “I can’t believe the guys didn’t tell you.”

Tell me what? That you’re hotter than ever?

He gulped. “How come I’m feeling like I’m the only one in town who doesn’t know?”

“In case you’ve forgotten, Jake, we’re kind of divorced.”

“Touché.”

Averting her gaze, she said, “Wow. I can’t get over the fact that you’re really here. The last person I expected to see today was you.” When she again looked his way, she’d captured long strands of her hair between her fingers, intently twirling it as if the action would fix whatever was causing the sadness in her eyes.

The last time Jake had seen her twirl her hair was the day she’d signed their divorce papers.

“Candy,” he said, stepping closer to the counter. “Is something wrong? I mean, besides seeing me?” He flashed her a weak grin, which she answered with one of her own.

“No. It’s just that this is a pretty strange day.”

“How so? It’s just another Monday, isn’t it?”

Her nod was followed by a tiny hiccup, which was in turn followed by a gasping sob. “Oh, Jake, I know I’m making the right decision, but…”

In a heartbeat he stormed behind the counter and pulled her close. “Shh…” he said, stroking her hair while at the same time denying a strange sense of déjà vu. “Whatever’s going on with you, Candy, I’m sure everything’s going to be okay.”

As if only just now realizing that he held her in his arms, she stepped back, gazing up at him with a teary-eyed wonder that quickly turned to distrust. “Look at me,” she said, wiping her cheeks with the backs of her hands. She took another step back and straightened her hair. “Here I am, on the threshold of the biggest adventure of my life, and acting as if it’s some kind of jail sentence.”

Jake scratched his head. “Mind explaining all that for those of us who showed up late to the party?”

“Oops,” she said with a brave smile. “I forgot that you don’t know. Today is my last Monday standing behind this counter.” She washed her fingers over the timeworn white marble. “A week from today I’m selling Candy Kisses and leaving Lonesome.”

“Temporarily, right?”

“No. That’s the most exciting part. First, I’m crossing the Andes—on a llama! It’s one of those adventure/eco trips. And then there’s my Amazon cruise, and from there, the Galapagos, and—”

“But wh-what about your grandfather?” Dear Lord, what was she thinking? Candy Kisses had been in her family for more than fifty years. Candy Kisses was her family. She couldn’t just sell it.

“You didn’t know that, either? Grandpa died last spring.”

Jake washed his face with his hands, released a deep-throated groan. “Jeez, I’m so sorry…But that makes your wanting to sell all the more baffling. Woman, have you lost your mind?”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re selling the only thing in your life you’ve ever really loved in exchange for riding some hairy beast through the Andes? What is this? Some kind of harebrained attempt to find yourself?”

“Yes—I mean, no. And what if it is? What gives you the right to question anything I do? And you don’t have to make it sound as if my trip is some whacked-out, New Age spiritual thing. It’s just a vacation. A chance to see new things. Meet new people.” A chance to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life.

Candy brushed past Jake, ignoring the icy-hot tingles where the cramped space forced their arms and hips to touch.

“Where are you going?”

Without looking back, she answered, “Home. I have a lot of packing to do.” From out of the cabinet at the end of the counter, she snatched her purse.