LITMIR.BIZ

      “We need to talk.”

      Such arrogance. She used to find it attractive. Oh, who was she kidding, she still did. There was something about a man who knew what he wanted and made no bones about it.

      “Yes, we do,” Ava said, trying to project a little arrogance of her own.

      Christos arched an eyebrow at her. He said nothing more, and the silence built around them. Ava brushed her hands down the sides of her skirt and told herself she wasn’t still the small-town girl he’d once seduced. But she felt like she was.

      She tried to figure out what to say, but all the words running around in her head sounded banal. Best to be blunt.

      “So…why are you here?”

      “To claim your son, the Theakis heir.”

      The Texan’s Contested Claim

      PEGGY MORELAND

      The Greek Tycoon’s Secret Heir

      KATHERINE GARBERA

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      THE TEXAN’S CONTESTED CLAIM

      by

      Peggy Moreland

      Dear Reader,

      This story centres on Ali Moran – twin sister of Jase Calhoun, the hero from The Texan’s Secret Past – and Garrett Miller, founder and owner of Future Concepts, a billion-dollar computer company. Their story opens on the first day of January, the perfect time for all new beginnings. Ali and Garrett are the epitome of the odd couple, as she is creative, warm and friendly, and he is…well, he’s a geek. A wealthy and handsome geek, but a geek nonetheless.

      January is one of my favourite months – and not because of the weather! I really, really hate being cold! But I do like what January represents. For me, it’s a new beginning, a chance to re-evaluate my life and steer it in the direction I want it to take, making any necessary changes – as well as a few resolutions I may or may not keep.

      I hope you enjoy this last book in my series, and I hope you’ll take the time to jot down a few resolutions of your own for the New Year. And make sure the first one is to fill your year with romance!

      Happy New Year!

       Peggy

       PEGGY MORELAND

      published her first romance in 1989 and continues to delight readers with stories set in her home state of Texas. Peggy is a winner of a National Readers’ Choice Award, a nominee for Romantic Times BOOKreviews Reviewer’s Choice Award and a two-time finalist for a prestigious RITA® Award, and her books frequently appear on bestseller lists. When not writing, Peggy can usually be found outside, tending the cattle, goats and other creatures on the ranch she shares with her husband. You may write to Peggy at PO Box 1099, Florence, TX 76527-1099, USA, or e-mail her at [email protected].

      Without avid readers, where would an

      author be? Over the last eighteen-plus years,

      I’ve received thousands of letters and e-mails

      from readers all over the world, who were kind

      enough to take the time to write and tell me how

      much they enjoy my books. To each and every

      one of you, I dedicate this book.

      One

      To Garrett Miller, timing was everything, both in business and in life.

      And the timing on his trip to Austin, Texas, couldn’t be more perfect.

      His number one goal in making the trip was to reunite his stepmother with Ali Moran, the daughter she’d given up for adoption thirty years prior. If that failed, he intended to persuade—or coerce, if necessary—Ali to give him the missing portion of the deed she held, which would enable his stepmother and her new husband to fulfill the requirements to claim a ranch they had been given.

      As fate would have it, he also needed to locate property for an expansion he was planning for his company. Since Austin was quickly establishing itself as the Silicon Valley of the Southwest, it seemed the natural choice and gave him the perfect excuse to make the trip.

      The kick was, he had to accomplish it all without anyone discovering he was in Austin.

      Scowling, he punched in the code for the electronic gate of Vista Bed and Breakfast, given to his secretary when she booked his reservation. If he’d known success would make him so damn popular with the media, he would’ve remained a geek for the rest of his life and never started Future Concepts. Who would’ve thought the public would care about a businessman’s every move?

      Or that success would make him a target for some crazy who wanted him dead?

      He shoved the disturbing thought from his mind as he drove through the open gates. As far as the rest of the world was concerned, he reminded himself, Garrett Miller was currently attending a technology seminar in Switzerland, a lie his public relations department had fed the media at his request. All Garrett had to do was keep his presence in Austin under wraps, and his stalker would follow the bait to Switzerland and hopefully fall right into the trap being set for him there.

      Pulling up in front of the two-story home, he parked the rental car he’d picked up at the airport, then leaned across the seat to peer up at the house. He studied the structure a long moment, thinking of the woman inside, as well as his chances of gaining her cooperation. He’d given himself a month to find a way to convince her to reunite with his stepmother, though he doubted it would take anywhere near that long. Everyone had a price—or a weakness. It was just a matter of discovering Ali’s.

      He smiled smugly as he climbed from the car. He didn’t doubt for a minute he’d succeed. Knowledge was power and, thanks to the P.I. he’d hired and the research he’d done on his own, he knew all there was to know about Ali Moran.

      And she knew virtually nothing about him.

      Perched high on a ladder, Ali stretched to snag the last ornament from the Christmas tree’s uppermost branch. In spite of the cheery fire burning in the fireplace and her favorite Norah Jones CD playing on the stereo, she couldn’t have worked up a smile if she had wanted to. January 1 was usually her favorite day of the year—sleeping late after celebrating the New Year with her friends, eating a huge bowl

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