The Honor Bound Groom

The Honor Bound Groom
Jennifer Greene

Fortune's Children: The Brides: Meet the Fortune brides-six special women who perpetuate a family legacy greater than mere riches! ALTAR BOUND… .Pregnant bride Kelly Sinclair had agreed to a marriage-in-name-only to secure her baby's birthright. CEO Mac Fortune was dutifully marrying her as the baby's father-his playboy brother - had skipped town.Falling in love wasn't part of the deal. Until Kelly got to the alter… and the groom sealed their vows with a blood-spinning kiss. Could she turn an honorable deed into a lifetime commitment?

Kate Fortune’s Journal Entry (#ueef85c4e-dd41-510d-9b2d-a60eadf7d340)Letter to Reader (#uf1fcbc0c-a2f3-581e-9440-f614f7dd6fd7)Title Page (#u7173868a-f2a7-5d31-a4e9-cd2085ebc504)Acknowledgments (#ub0384d9d-6a5e-5743-8161-d6cadd846ded)About the Author (#u5b08db4c-7af8-5e63-b230-96992949098c)Chapter One (#uc5f4de93-0d10-5e52-8b01-322354e24ba9)Chapter Two (#u8b56a82b-fd1e-5fab-910c-f14133c644ee)Chapter Three (#ub8955160-d90a-5b1b-a50e-3679411ae0df)Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)Teaser chapter (#litres_trial_promo)Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

Kate Fortune’s Journal Entry

I couldn’t be happier about Kelly and Mac’s wedding! Thank goodness Mac knows the meaning of family honor and doing the right thing, especially since Kelly Sinclair had always been more like a daughter to me than an employee. Mac knows how worried I’ve been about Kelly once I learned how his brother Chad took advantage of her trusting innocence and ran off, leaving her pregnant and unwed! I’m just so proud of the way Mac’s taken charge of this awful situation, and I know he’s going to make Kelly a wonderful husband.

It’s been such fun helping these two dears plan their wedding. Oh, I know they’re not in love now! But I think Kelly’s about to show Mac exactly what’s missing in his life.... And I can hardly wait to see what this new year holds for them and the rest of my precious family!

Dear Reader,

Welcome to a new year with Silhouette Desire! We begin the year in celebration—it’s the 10th Anniversary of MAN OF THE MONTH! And kicking off the festivities is the incomparable Diana Palmer, with January’s irresistible hero, Simon Hart, in Beloved.

Also launching this month is Desire’s series FORTUNE’S CHILDREN: THE BRIDES. So many of you wrote to us that you loved Silhouette’s series FORTUNE’S CHILDREN—now here’s a whole new branch of the family! Awardwinning author Jennifer Greene inaugurates this series with The Honor Bound Groom.

Popular Anne Marie Winston begins BUTLER COUNTY BRIDES, a new miniseries about three small-town friends who find true love, with The Baby Consultant. Sara Orwig offers us a marriage of convenience in The Cowboy’s Seductive Propasal. Next, experience love on a ranch in Hart’s Baby by Christy Lockhart. And opposites attract in The Scandalous Heiress by Kathryn Taylor.

So, indulge yourself in 1999 with Silhouette Desire—powerful, provocative and passionate love stories that speak to today’s multifaceted woman. Each month we offer you six compelling romances to meet your many moods, with heroines you’ll care about and heroes to die for. Silhouette Desire is everything you desire in a romance novel.

Enjoy!

Joan Marlow Golan

Senior Editor, Silhouette Desire

Please address questions and book requests to:

Silhouette Reader Service

U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

The Honor Bound Groom

Jennifer Greene

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to

Jennifer Greene for her contribution to the

Fortune’s Children miniseries.

JENNIFER GREENE

lives near Lake Michigan with her husband and two children. Before writing full-time, she worked as a teacher and a personnel manager. Michigan State University honored her as an “outstanding woman graduate” for her work with women on campus.

Ms. Greene has written more than fifty category romances, for which she has won numerous awards, including three RITA Awards from the Romance Writers of America in the Best Short Contemporary Books category, and she entered RWA’s Hall of Fame in 1998. She is also the recipient of a Career Achievement award from Romantic Times Magazine.

Meet the Fortunes—three generations of a family with a legacy of wealth, influence and power As they gather for a host of weddings, shocking family secrets are revealed...and passionate new romances are ignited

KELLY SINCLAIR: This sweet, single woman trusted the wrong man, but she’s determined to do anything to protect the littlest Fortune—even if it means marrying the baby’s uncle!

MAC FORTUNE: The brooding CEO thought he knew all about being responsible and acting honorably when he proposed a marriage-in-name-only to pregnant Kelly Sinclair. Until she and precious Annie moved into his home, and suddenly, keeping them at arm’s length became physically—and emotionally—impossible....

ANNIE FORTUNE: This adorable baby may be the youngest Fortune, but she’s a heartbreaker-in-waiting for the next generation.

KATE FORTUNE: She’s just celebrated her eightieth birthday, but the family matriarch is still going strong, rejuvenated by all the lovely newcomers to the Fortune family!

One

The wedding was a mistake. Getting married had seemed an outstanding idea to Kelly Sinclair two weeks ago, last week and even when she’d woken up this morning. But that was then and this was now. At this precise moment, Kelly realized—with a flash of brilliant clarity—that she’d have to be bonkers to go through with this.

The creamy gardenias clutched in her hands started trembling and wouldn’t quit. Anxiety sloshed in her stomach in sick, dread-filled waves. Maybe most brides suffered some nerves on their wedding day, but the average, normal bride wasn’t seven months pregnant. She not only felt scared, but she also felt ugly, fat and scared—a lethal combination. To add insult to injury, her pregnant condition made a swift escape an especially challenging problem. Her fastest speed was a waddle. A duck could probably beat her in a sprint.

She tested her memory for any time in her life when she might have been this petrified—but no. There was nothing to compare to this level of terror. At twenty-seven, Kelly had certainly been hurt before. She’d been frightened before. But she’d never been in a situation where she felt this hopelessly, helplessly trapped. Panic was swimming in her pulse.

The door to the bathroom whooshed open. Kate Fortune, the seventy-year-old matriarch of the Fortune Cosmetics empire, poked her head in and then marched straight toward the bride. With slim, competent hands, she gently tugged the pearl-seed veil resting on Kelly’s blond curls a little down to the left. “Everyone’s seated. I told them to start the wedding march in two minutes. And I thought you might need some last-minute help, but I can see you’re all ready. And you look absolutely breathtaking, sweetheart.”

Kelly met the older woman’s eyes in the vanity mirror. “I look like a watermelon stuck on a toothpick.”

“You sure do—and I’m so jealous. There’s nothing like a pregnancy to give a woman a special radiance, and you’ve got it in spades.” Just as Kate stepped back to give her one last critical look-over, the door whooshed open again.

Mollie Shaw charged in with a brilliant smile, her long red hair swinging halfway down her back. “There’s our bride! I figured you’d be having some last-minute jitters and wanted to tell you that everything’s ready, nothing to worry about Hi, Ms. Fortune—man, do I love that smoky blue dress. It’s so elegant, looks wonderful on you. And, Kel, you couldn’t possibly be more gorgeous....”

Mollie gently tugged Kelly’s veil just a little down on the right. “...and now you’re perfect. The music’s going to start in just a minute or so. Remember what I told you about taking three deep breaths?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, I’m going back out—but you know I’ll be around to help during the reception. Everything’s going to be fine, sweetie. Trust me.”

Nothing was going to be fine. But Mollie had already charged back out the door before Kelly could get a word in—much less find the courage to announce her escape plans and that the whole deal was off.

“That girl’s face is so familiar,” Kate said absently.

The comment confused Kelly enough to distract her—at least for a second. “Well, sure she’s familiar—you know Mollie, Kate—”

“Yes, and she’s been a godsend. Lucky for all of us that your friend was already in the wedding planner business. As young as she is, she’s really a dynamo. I don’t know how we could have put all this together in two short weeks without her. It’s not that. It’s just that her red hair and green eyes are so distinctive, and every time I see her face I think I should recognize her from somewhere else, but I just can’t place it. Well...it certainly doesn’t matter now. Especially when we’ve only got a few more seconds, and there’s something I really want to tell you.”

Kate fixed the veil one more time. Her way. If she noticed the bride’s crepe white pallor or the frantic alarm in her eyes, she never let on. “Kelly...I’m so honored that you’re letting me be the one to give you away. I’m sorry your mom isn’t still alive to be part of this—she’d be so proud. But I want you to know, I couldn’t care more if you were my own daughter.”

Well, spit. Her conscience was already suffering from muck-deep guilt, and Kate’s words only made her feel worse. She had to tell Kate that her mind was made up; the wedding was off—there was no way she could possibly go through with it. But somehow she couldn’t get the words said.

Kate had done so much for her. Four years ago when Kate had plucked her from the pool of clerks and given her the job as her personal social secretary, Kelly’s whole life had irrevocably changed. Most people found her boss to be irascible and ruthless and domineering. She was all those things—even to her family—but never to Kelly. Their working relationship had long turned personal. Kate was the one who had picked out the cream satin wedding dress with the pearl-studded collar and cuffs. The simple style with the subtly draping pleats almost hid her beachedwhale-size tummy, and heaven knew it was the most glamorous, gorgeous dress she’d ever owned. And it wasn’t just the blasted dress. Kate had paid for the wedding, the clothes, everything, even made all the arrangements to have the ceremony at the Fortune company headquarters—probably the one place on earth where they could control security and be completely protected from the media.