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Luca was everything she shouldn’t want. He was dangerous.
He was a man who was used to people doing what he wanted them to, and he was willing to take whatever measures were necessary to make it happen.
They would come to a coparenting arrangement that suited them both, but that was it. That’s all there could be.
Claire looked up to notice Luca was watching her as he held their child. His gaze flicked over her casually, and yet she could feel the knot in her belly tighten. She wasn’t misinterpreting this. Luca made it plainly clear that he was attracted to her, as well. It might just be a negotiation strategy to soften her up, but when he looked at her that way, it almost made her feel like resistance was futile.
Luca was a man who got what he wanted. What would she do if he decided he wanted her?
* * *
The CEO’s Unexpected Child is part of Mills & Boon Desire’s no. 1 bestselling series, Billionaires and Babies: Powerful men … wrapped around their babies’ little fingers.
The CEO’s Unexpected Child
Andrea Laurence
ANDREA LAURENCE is an award-winning author of contemporary romances filled with seduction and sass. She has been a lover of reading and writing stories since she was young and is thrilled to share her special blend of sensuality and dry, sarcastic humor with readers. A dedicated West Coast girl transplanted into the Deep South, she’s working on her own happily-ever-after with her boyfriend and their collection of animals.
To Those Battling Cancer —
You never expect the C word and when it shows up, your whole life turns upside down. Things that seemed so important are suddenly trivial compared to getting through this disease. I can’t even imagine the full scope of emotions that go through a person as they face that uncertain future. My wish is that this book provides you a welcome distraction and gives you hope for a happy ending of your own.
Contents
“I don’t care, Stuart. I’m not letting a total stranger just take my daughter from me.”
Claire Douglas’s lawyer, Stuart Ewing, patted her on the hand. He had a grandfatherly way about him, an easygoing attitude that belied the fact that he was a courtroom barracuda. She had a lot of faith and money invested in the man, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t terrified deep down.
“We’ll work something out, Claire. I just need you to keep your cool when we go in there. Don’t let your emotions get the best of you.”
Claire frowned. Keeping her emotions in check was not exactly her specialty. She’d been bombarded with emotions over the past two years. Her life had become a roller coaster from the moment she found out she was pregnant. After years of failed fertility treatments, it had been their last chance. That moment had been the highest of highs.
Her husband dying in a car accident when she was five months pregnant was the lowest of lows. Especially the painful revelations that followed it. The birth of her daughter had been the only thing that pulled her out of that dark place, giving her a reason to be joyful and live her life again.
But she’d never expected this. The disclosure of the mistake they’d made at the fertility clinic had changed her whole life. It had made her a millionaire, and at the same time had threatened the stability of her small family.
“Mrs. Douglas? Mr. Ewing? They’re ready for you.” The receptionist at the front desk gestured to a set of double doors that led to a conference room.
There, Claire presumed, waited the man who was trying to take her child and the lawyer he’d hired to help him. She felt her stomach roll, threatening to return the coffee and bagel she’d forced down her throat that morning.
“Come on, Claire,” Stuart said, pushing up from the waiting-room chair. “Everything is going to be fine. You’re not going to lose your daughter.”
Claire nodded, trying to act calm and assured, though she was anything but. There were no guarantees. They were marching into a room where Edmund Harding was waiting for them. He was the kind of lawyer every billionaire in Manhattan had on speed dial. Harding had such a level of prestige and influence that he could probably get the courts to do anything
