Special Deliveries Collection - Kate Hardy Mills & Boon e-Book Collections

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searched her eyes, trying to figure out what technique would work. Trying to assess the risks versus the rewards of each scenario, but this wasn’t work. This was a little girl. His little girl.

      “I’m good at what I do, but—” he shrugged and gave up trying to hide “—I suck at the emotional stuff.”

      Her face softened slightly, but her body remained tense.

      He took a deep breath as if he were about to jump into a pool. “I don’t know how to be a daddy.”

      She dropped her arms. “She needs to know you care about her. No one’s asking you to be her daddy.”

      “But I want to be.”

      “You do?” Skepticism lingered in her expression.

      He closed the distance between them. “I’ve missed so much already. I don’t want to miss any more. Amber is an amazing kid.” He paused. “Our kid.”

      “I haven’t made my mind up about you yet.”

      He could tell that he was winning here. Even as he felt more exposed than he had ever felt. “What if she doesn’t like me? What if her fantasy of her dad is built up so high in her mind that only Superman could fulfill her dreams?”

      Maggie’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. “All a little girl wants from her father is for him to be there for her.”

      “Was your father there for you?” he asked, pushing gently for more information. There was something there. He’d sensed it before.

      She shook her head, and a tear escaped down her cheek.

      He smoothed it away with his thumb. “I’ll do my best to not disappoint either of you.”

      That small smile crept onto her lips and he wanted to shout his victory. Her smooth skin beneath his thumb sent electricity down his spine. His body tensed at the sudden flood of desire pumping through his veins.

      “I know you won’t.” She placed her hand over his on her cheek.

      Trust. Had he ever known anyone quite like Maggie Brown? From a starry-eyed girl to a sultry teenager to this glorious woman standing before him, Maggie would never cease to amaze him.

      He kissed her. He’d only meant to kiss her briefly. He wasn’t even sure why. He wanted to, so he did. He could taste the vanilla ice cream. Her lips were incredibly soft beneath his. His only thought was he didn’t want to stop kissing her.

       Chapter Ten

      Brady’s lips were pressed against hers, firm and questing. Maggie couldn’t help but part hers on a sigh, surrendering to the pent-up passion.

      Until her mind butted in with the reminder that this was some other woman’s man. In New York, she hadn’t known, but now…

      She pushed her hands on Brady’s chest, breaking the connection. His eyes were hazy and confused.

      “What about…” She searched for the name she’d heard today. “Jules?”

      His eyebrows drew together. “What about Jules?”

      “Wow.” Her hands were on his chest and she could feel the muscle beneath her fingertips. Heat flushed her cheeks, remembering how his naked skin felt pressed against hers. She pulled her hands away from the fire that he ignited in her. Crossing her arms to keep them from checking out other muscles, she looked down her nose at him as she tried to rally her indignation. “Your girlfriend?”

      Brady had the audacity to appear genuinely confused. “Jules?”

      “I’m not stupid.” Though she was starting to wonder about him. “I heard you on the phone today. You said you were dating.”

      Clarity transformed his face into a grin. “Aah.”

      “Do you typically kiss other women when you date someone these days? Because I can tell you, I’m not okay with that.” Maggie wished she’d felt that way the minute his lips touched hers, but they hummed with pleasure and longed to jump right back into kissing.

      “I’m not dating Jules.” He closed the distance between them.

      She backed up a step on the porch stairs. “I’m not a fool. Just because I’m here doesn’t mean I’m available.”

      “Are you involved with someone?” He stepped onto the bottom step, bringing their bodies within touching distance again. Even though the night was cooling rapidly, his heat curled out from his body and wrapped itself around her.

      “I’m not a cheater,” she said in her best holier-than-thou voice.

      His wolfish grin hit her below the belt. His gaze roamed over her possessively. She almost stumbled trying to get up another step.

      “Just because your girlfriend isn’t here doesn’t make you available.” She held her chin a little higher, proud that she hadn’t crumpled under the power of the attraction between them.

      “Jules isn’t my girlfriend.” He stepped again and they were eye to eye, chest to chest.

      “But you said—”

      “I said she could tell Peterson, a coworker of ours, that we were dating so that he’d stop asking her out. He won’t take no for an answer.” He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. His hand slipped behind her neck and every nerve in her body tingled in response. “I wouldn’t betray her or you in that way, Maggie.”

      “Oh.” Her brain completely shut down on her. The blue of his eyes held her hypnotized, waiting for his next move. Her whole body was a shiver of anticipation.

      “Found it!” Amber shouted through the door. Brady touched his forehead to hers. “To be continued.”

      Brady sat at the table as Amber leafed through the pages of a scrapbook. Maggie had followed him in and disappeared.

      “I wasn’t allowed to have a dog, but Nana let me put the stickers on this page, anyway.” Amber pointed at the little stickers of dogs surrounding a picture of Amber and Mrs. Brown.

      “We have a dog out at the farm. His name is Barnabus.” Brady tried to not get distracted wondering where Maggie was and if she’d felt the same powerful draw that he had.

      “I’ve never been on a farm. Is it like the zoo?” Amber turned the page. “See, we went to the zoo. It took a really long time to get there.”

      “Never been on a farm?” Brady needed to stay focused on Amber.

      Amber tucked her dark hair behind her ear. A motion he’d seen Maggie do at least a dozen times. “Billy has a farm, but I’m not friends with him.”

      “We’ll have to fix that.” Brady pointed to a picture of Maggie with a monkey. “Did you take this?”

      “Yeah, Mommy said it was silly, but I liked the picture.” She closed the scrapbook and met his eyes. “Would you take me to your farm?”

      “It’s not my farm,” he said automatically. “My brother runs it, but I grew up there. I’d love to show you around.”

      “This weekend?” Amber gave him a pleading smile and put her hands together. “Do you have horses?”

      “Maybe. We don’t have horses.”

      Amber gazed intently at his eyes. “You have the same color of eyes that I do.”

      Brady held his breath. Would she make the connection?

      “Time for bed, baby,” Maggie called from the other room.

      “Will I see you tomorrow? Please, please, please, say yes.”

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