Big-city Bachelor. Ingrid Weaver
It was nothing but chemistry
It was bound to happen to Alex eventually, considering the monklike existence he’d been living. But of all people, why did the chemistry have to happen with Lizzie Hamill?
He couldn’t explain it. She wasn’t his type. He’d never been attracted to unsophisticated women, or innocent smiles or uncontrollable red hair. Yet, the more he was around Lizzie, the stronger the attraction became. It had only been twelve hours since she’d burst into his life—how powerful would the attraction get if she stayed around longer?
Good God, he didn’t want to risk finding out.
Dear Reader,
May is the perfect month to stop and smell the roses, and while you’re at it, take some time for yourself and indulge your romantic fantasies! Here at Harlequin American Romance, we’ve got four brand-new stories, picked specially for your reading pleasure.
Sparks fly once more as Charlotte Maclay continues her wild and wonderful CAUGHT WITH A COWBOY! duo this month with In a Cowboy’s Embrace. Join the fun as Tasha Reynolds falls asleep in the wrong bed and wakes with Cliff Swain, the very right cowboy!
This May, flowers aren’t the only things blossoming—we’ve got two very special mothers-to-be! When estranged lovers share one last night of passion, they soon learn they’ll never forget That Night We Made Baby, Mary Anne Wilson’s heartwarming addition to our WITH CHILD…promotion. And as Emily Kingston discovers in Elizabeth Sinclair’s charming tale, The Pregnancy Clause, where there’s a will, there’s a baby on the way!
There’s something fascinating about a sexy, charismatic man who seems to have it all, and Ingrid Weaver’s hero in Big-City Bachelor is no exception. Alexander Whitmore has two wonderful children, money, a successful company….What could he possibly be missing…?
With Harlequin American Romance, you’ll always know the exhilarating feeling of falling in love.
Happy reading!
Melissa Jeglinski
Associate Senior Editor
Big-City Bachelor
Ingrid Weaver
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ingrid Weaver admits to being a compulsive reader who loves a book that can make her cry. A former teacher, now a homemaker and mother, she delights in creating stories that reflect the wonder and adventure of falling in love. When she isn’t writing or reading, she enjoys old Star Trek reruns, going on sweater-knitting binges, taking long walks with her husband and waking up early to canoe after camera-shy loons.
Ingrid recently received the Romance Writers of America’s RITA Award for Best Romantic Suspense Novel.
Books by Ingrid Weaver
HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE
828—BIG-CITY BACHELOR
WHITMORE AND HAMMIL
Alex’s cooking tips—
1. Put spaghetti in pot and bring to boil. (Don't forget the water!)
2. When smoke alarm sounds, dinner is ready.
WHITMORE AND HAMMIL
Lizzie’s management tips—
1. Give bonus to staff members who share and play nicely together.
2. Ignore client tantrums, but offer oxygen if client turns blue.
Contents
Prologue
“We may have a slight problem, Alex.”
Leather groaned as Alexander Whitmore pushed away from his desk and leaned back in his swivel chair. The day couldn’t get any worse, could it? The presentation for the Starcourt account had bombed this morning. By noon the housekeeper had called with yet another threat to quit—this time the twins had painted her cat purple. Blood was throbbing at his temples in a prelude to one of his little-men-with-big-sledgehammers headaches, but somehow he forced himself to remain calm. Taking a deep breath, he regarded his lawyer warily. “How slight a problem?” he asked.
Jeremy Ebbet touched a hand to the knot of his tie and cleared his throat. “I’m afraid that Roland didn’t sign the papers before he…departed. It was so sudden, you see. No one could have foreseen this…occurrence.”
Roland. No. It wasn’t possible. The man was haunting him. “We had reached an agreement more than a week before the accident,” Alex said. “That was over a month ago.”
“Well, there was a letter of intent.” Jeremy repositioned his briefcase across his bony knees, pressing his feet together tightly at the ankles. His steel-rimmed glasses flashed opaque in the light from the window, giving the gaunt lawyer a distinctly insectoid appearance. “Unfortunately, when I met with Roland’s attorneys this morning I discovered that Roland didn’t sign the letter, either. He did initial the changes, so I’m sure he wanted to go through with the sale. The terms we had worked out were exceedingly generous.”
Generous? Alex ground his teeth. He would have been forced to liquidate more than forty percent of his assets in order to meet Roland’s exorbitant demands. But it would have been worth it to finally have complete control of Whitmore and Hamill, the company they had founded thirteen years ago.
Alex Whitmore and Roland Hamill. They were as different as two men could be. At first, the tension their conflicting management styles had created had been good, providing a stimulating, electric environment that contributed to their rapid success. With Roland’s flamboyance and Alex’s solid dependability, Whitmore and Hamill had become one of the busiest advertising agencies in Manhattan.
Yet