His eyes speared to hers as he straightened too, rocked back on his heels. ‘You thought I knew about Jesse?’
‘Yes, I did.’ Her eyes narrowed. ‘Are you suggesting that I am ashamed of my son?’
‘I wouldn’t dream of making such an accusation,’ he snapped.
‘Then what’s the big deal, Simon?’
But she knew what the big deal was. She and this man had forged a connection from the moment they’d swapped day-from-hell stories. The thought of her with another man infuriated him. Just like the thought of him with another woman curved her fingers into claws.
It made no sense. It couldn’t go anywhere, but it existed.
He seized her wrist, brought his face close to hers and slugged her with a super-duper dose of his scent. She wanted to swoon.
‘If I’d known you were a mother I would never—’
He broke off, released her wrist.
‘What?’ she challenged, glancing around to make sure their exchange hadn’t given rise to any curious glances. She rubbed at her wrist, wanting to rid it of the betraying jump of desire. ‘You wouldn’t have kissed me?’
‘No. I wouldn’t have.’
Praise for Michelle Douglas
‘Michelle Douglas makes an outstanding debut
with HIS CHRISTMAS ANGEL, a complex, richly
emotional story. The characters are handled especially
well, as are the many conflicts and relationships.
This one’s a keeper.’
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews
‘Packed with a smouldering tension and underlying
passion, THE LONER’S GUARDED HEART by
Michelle Douglas will leave readers wanting more…
Ms Douglas has written a story with characters that
you would swear you’ve known for years and of
a romance that brings together two souls who are
seeking the person that can make them whole…
If you are a reader who loves tender, heartfelt stories
then this book is a must-buy, because it has all these
elements and so much more.’
—Cataromance.com
Look out for more fantastic stories from Michelle coming soon in Mills & Boon ® Romance!
At the age of eight Michelle Douglas was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up. She answered, ‘A writer.’ Years later she read an article about romance-writing and thought, Ooh, that’ll be fun. She was right. When she’s not writing she can usually be found with her nose buried in a book. She is currently enrolled in an English Masters programme for the sole purpose of indulging her reading and writing habits further. She lives in a leafy suburb of Newcastle, on Australia’s east coast, with her own romantic hero—husband Greg, who is the inspiration behind all her happy endings. Michelle would love you to visit her at her website: www.michelledouglas.com
Recent titles by this author:
HIS CHRISTMAS ANGEL
THE LONER’S GUARDED HEART
THE ARISTOCRAT AND THE SINGLE MUM
BY
MICHELLE DOUGLAS
MILLS & BOON
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To Bryony Green and Sally Williamson.
your editorial input made all the difference. Thank you.
CHAPTER ONE
KATE reached the last item in the file, closed her eyes, closed the file and counted to ten. Then she opened her eyes, opened the file and started again. The bell above the door jangled, telling her someone had entered the office, but she didn’t move from her crouch in front of the filing cabinet. In fact, it was hard to move at all with all the boxes piled around her.
‘Hello?’
At any other time a voice like that would’ve had her swinging around in curiosity…and anticipation. The voice was deep and masculine, with an intriguing British burr. A lot of tourists with a lot of different accents passed through this part of the world and Kate loved accents. She’d once meant to travel to some of those faraway places and immerse herself in different cultures, different languages. But that was before she’d fallen pregnant with Jesse. This particular accent, though, was her all-time favourite and could turn her insides to mush in the space of a heartbeat.
‘I won’t be a moment,’ she called.
Half hidden by the desk, her customer probably couldn’t see her. And although she usually made it a point to deal with prospective customers first, she took a deep breath and carefully examined the file again, lifting out and checking each document before moving to the next one.
Darn it. It wasn’t there. Where had she put it? The accountant had wanted it last week. She’d promised to get it to him today. She slapped the side of the filing cabinet as if it were its fault. She glanced around at all the boxes and groaned.
‘Is something wrong?’
She couldn’t resist that accent any longer. ‘I’m sorry.’ She turned. ‘I…’
She blinked. Air squeezed out of her lungs. Oh, dear Lord, who cared
