LITMIR.BIZ

      About BREAKFAST AT GIOVANNI’S, winner of the Romance Novelists’ Association Romance prize 2008:

      ‘BREAKFAST AT GIOVANNI’S is simply terrific! Sexy, funny, tender, passionate and romantic, this engrossing tale features a loveable heroine and a gorgeous Italian hero who will make you swoon! Kate Hardy is a writer readers can count on in order to deliver an entertaining page-turner which they will devour in a single sitting, and BREAKFAST AT GIOVANNI’S is certainly no exception!’

      —www.cataromance.com

       About ONE NIGHT, ONE BABY:

      ‘Hardy’s ONE NIGHT, ONE BABY is a terrific attraction-at-first-sight story. He’s hot, sexy and vulnerable, and she’s patient because in the end she knows he’ll be worth it.’

      —RomanticTimesBOOKreviews.com

      ‘Romantic fiction does not get any better than this! Fresh, funny, heartwarming and absolutely unputdownable, ONE NIGHT, ONE BABY is vintage Kate Hardy! Featuring a lovely heroine, a gorgeous hero, sizzling sexual tension, an adorable cast of secondary characters and steamy romance, ONE NIGHT, ONE BABY is the perfect book to curl up with on a cold winter night!’

      —www.cataromance.com

      Kate Hardy lives on the outskirts of Norwich with her husband, two small children, a dog—and too many books to count! She wrote her first book at age six, when her parents gave her a typewriter for her birthday. She had the first of a series of sexy romances published at twenty-five, and swapped a job in marketing communications for freelance health journalism when her son was born, so she could spend more time with him. She’s wanted to write for Harlequin Mills & Boon since she was twelve—and when she was pregnant with her daughter, her husband pointed out that writing Medical™ Romances would be the perfect way to combine her interest in health issues with her love of good stories. Now Kate has also ventured into Modern Heat™ Romance too, and SURRENDER TO THE PLAYBOY SHEIKH is her ninth novel for this series.

      Kate is always delighted to hear from readers—do drop in to her website at www.katehardy.com

       Also by this author:

      SURRENDER TO THE PLAYBOY SHEIKH*

      HOTLY BEDDED, CONVENIENTLY WEDDED

      SOLD TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER

      ONE NIGHT, ONE BABY

      BREAKFAST AT GIOVANNI’S

      *To Tame a Playboy duet

      Kate Hardy’s Medical™ Romance duet— The London Victoria :

      THE CHILDREN’S DOCTOR’S SPECIAL PROPOSAL

       THE GREEK DOCTOR’S NEW-YEAR BABY

      PLAYBOY BOSS, PREGNANCY OF PASSION

      BY

      KATE HARDY

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      For Michelle Styles—

      good friend and fellow history aficionado—with love

      PROLOGUE

      ‘SO WHAT’S her name, Luke?’ Karim asked as he and Luke left the squash court.

      ‘Whose?’

      ‘The woman who’s distracting you.’ Karim gave his best friend an appraising look. ‘Why else would I beat you by this much of a margin?’

      Luke smiled despite himself, recognising his own question thrown back at him. The difference was, when he’d asked, there had been a woman distracting Karim—the woman who was now his wife. It wasn’t the same for Luke, who had no intention of letting anyone that close to him. ‘Not my social life. Work,’ he said economically.

      ‘Sounds as if you need some TLC, Lily-style. Come back with me and have dinner with us.’

      ‘What, tonight? It’s hardly fair, dumping a guest on Lily at the last minute.’

      ‘You’re not a guest.’ Before Luke had the chance to protest further, Karim had already speed-dialled home. Two minutes later, he hung up and, in his best attempt at Luke’s East London drawl instead of his own cut-glass accent, said, ‘Sorted.’

      Luke, knowing that Karim was laughing with him rather than at him, gave in gracefully. It wasn’t as if he was going to find a replacement for Di tonight. The temp agency was sending someone first thing in the morning, and hopefully the temp would stay long enough for him to find proper maternity cover for his personal assistant.

      Even though that was going to take time he’d prefer to use more profitably, he was just going to have to be patient.

      Ha. Patient. A word that barely existed in his vocabulary. When Luke wanted something, he went for it. He didn’t waste time. And having to wait around on other people’s schedules was the quickest way to drive him crazy.

      To his relief, Karim didn’t press him to talk on the way back to his home. Karim simply let them in, headed straight for the kitchen and kissed his wife lingeringly.

      ‘Put the girl down. For pity’s sake, you’ve been married for three months. You should be over this stage by now,’ Luke said from the doorway.

      Lily just laughed. ‘You really are out of sorts, Luke. Here. These will keep you going until dinner.’ She gestured to a plate of canapés on the island unit.

      Luke suddenly realised that he’d forgotten to eat lunch—he’d been too busy fixing things to think about food, and now he was ravenous. He needed no second invitation to grab a bar stool and work his way through the canapés. ‘Thanks, Lily.’

      As always, her food was wonderful. Restorative. ‘Fabulous,’ he said after the first mouthful.

      She inclined her head in thanks. ‘So are you going to tell us what’s bugging you?’ she asked.

      He sighed. ‘I just wish I understood why on earth women want babies in the first place. Di hasn’t stopped throwing up since the day she did the pregnancy test, and—’ He stopped abruptly as he caught the glance that Karim and Lily were sharing. The kind of glance that could mean only one thing.

      He grimaced. ‘Sorry. I don’t have a shred of manners. I apologise—and of course what I just said doesn’t apply to you. I’m really pleased for you both.’

      ‘You’d better be,’ Karim said, ‘as you’re going to be an honorary uncle.’

      For all Luke knew, he might already be an uncle.

      He blocked the thought. The decision he’d made was harsh, but it was also the only one he could have made. If he’d stayed, he would’ve gone under and ended up like the rest of the men in his family.

      Doing time.

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