Kissed by Cat. Shirley Jump
Garrett flicked the switch for the overhead light in his office.
His gaze swept across the space in front of him. Beige carpet, the leg of a cherry desk, several crumbs from yesterday’s cookies baked as a thank-you by Mrs. Crane and…one woman’s naked foot.
He stood there for a second, blinking. One woman’s naked foot.
His gaze traveled up. A naked foot, attached to a naked leg. Garrett jerked upright and found himself looking at a twenty-ish blonde who filled out a lab coat—his lab coat—in ways that should be illegal.
His jaw dropped open. Not a word came out.
Dear Reader,
Let this month’s collection of Silhouette Romance books sweep you into the poetry of love!
Roses are red,
or white in the case of these Nighttime Sweethearts (SR #1754) by Cara Colter. Scarred both physically and emotionally, this cynical architect will only woo his long-lost love under the protection of night. Can a bright beauty tame this dark beast? Find out in the fourth title of Silhouette Romance’s exquisite IN A FAIRY TALE WORLD… miniseries.
Violets are blue,
like the eyes of the ladies’ man in Myrna Mackenzie’s latest, Instant Marriage, Just Add Groom (SR #1755). All business, even in his relationships, this hardened hero would never father a child without the protection of marriage—but he didn’t count on falling for the prim bookseller next door!
Cupid’s at play,
and he’s got the use of more than arrows for matchmaking! Even a blinding blizzard can bring two reluctant people together. Watch the steam rise when a gruff, reclusive writer is stranded with a single mom and her adorable baby in Daddy, He Wrote (SR #1756) by Jill Limber.
And magic, too!
With only six days left to break her curse, Cat knew she couldn’t count on finding true love. Until she happened upon a dark, reticent veterinarian with a penchant for rescuing animals—and damsels—in distress! You’re sure to be enchanted by Shirley Jump’s SOULMATES story, Kissed by Cat (SR #1757).
May love find you this Valentine’s Day!
Mavis C. Allen
Associate Senior Editor
Kissed by Cat
Shirley Jump
To my daughter, whose love of cats provided
the inspiration for this book as well as many of the details about how cats behave, walk and think. Someday, I promise, you’ll be old enough and I’ll let you read past the first chapter. I love you, honey, more than words can say.
Books by Shirley Jump
Silhouette Romance
*The Virgin’s Proposal #1641
*The Bachelor’s Dare #1700
*The Daddy’s Promise #1724
Her Frog Prince #1746
Kissed by Cat #1757
SHIRLEY JUMP
has been a writer ever since she learned to read. She sold her first article at the age of eleven and from there, became a reporter and finally a freelance writer. However, she always maintained the dream of writing fiction, too. Since then, she has made a full-time career out of writing, dividing her time between articles, nonfiction books and romance. With a husband, two children and a houseful of pets, inspiration abounds in her life, giving her good fodder for writing and a daily workout for her sense of humor.
From the journal of Hezabeth, the witch: Curse #581:
I had a perfectly good black cat, until Catherine Wyndham came along and set it free, like some dogooder on an animal rescue mission. So I cursed her. Hee-hee-hee.
Yes, I did. I cursed her but good. If she loves animals so much, I told her, she could have a taste of life as one. I tossed my magic powder at her and in the language of the ancients said, “By day a woman, by night a cat. The curse can only be broken if you find a man who loves you as both.”
That’s never going to happen. No man in his right mind would love a woman like that. Especially not when he sees what happens to her when the sun goes down.
Hee-hee-hee. Sometimes, I’m too bad for my own good!
Contents
Chapter One
Being chased down Broward Street by an ugly, hungry Great Dane at one in the morning did not rank on the top ten of Catherine Wyndham’s favorite ways to spend an evening. She’d much rather have been curled up in front of a fireplace with a fuzzy blanket, a saucer of warm milk and a freshly opened can of tuna.
The lumbering beast of a dog opened his jaws and lunged forward. Catherine scampered up someone’s back porch, across the railing and into the next yard, leaving the dog barking at nothing but cold November air.
For the ten thousandth time in two hundred years, Catherine regretted ever tangling with that witch. She’d always had a bad habit of helping stray and mistreated animals. She’d picked the wrong black cat one day and had thus been cursed by Hezabeth the Witch to live a half life—which was really no life at all.
Today, though, had been a good day, relatively speaking. Catherine turned the corner, quite pleased with her getaway.
She jerked to a stop. There it was. Their scent. She lowered her head to the ground, concentrating as she tracked. Her instincts perked up, telegraphing a warning signal, but she ignored it.
Five more seconds. I’ve almost—
And then she was being scooped up by a pair of strong, masculine hands. She shrieked and tried to twist away but the man held tight, depositing her into a small