Authors: Christie Ridgway
Right by Her Side
While he'd known that was what Rebecca was after, it made him almost angry to hear her say it. “Am I such a bad guy?”
Her gaze dropped. “You're not a bad guy, no.” Color stained her cheeks and she pressed her lips together.
It made him think of the kiss they'd shared earlier. That surprising burst of heat. Maybe he would be better off distancing himself permanently from her. From the baby.
But he couldn't! Memories slammed into him from all sides. Chubby cheeks, little fingers, hero worship. He couldn't lose another child. He couldn't.
“I have to be honest, too,” he said. “I can't just walk away, Rebecca. Besides, our baby should have a mother and a father in its life. Full-time.”
Rebecca shrugged. “That's ideal, but not a necessity.”
“Well, maybe we should get married.”
A native Californian, Christie started reading and writing romances in middle school. It wasn't until she was the wife of her college sweetheart and the mother of two small sons that she submitted her work for publication. Many contemporary romances later, she is happiest when telling her stories despite the splash of kids in the pool, the mass of cups and plates in the kitchen and the many commitments she makes in the world beyond her desk.
Besides loving the men in her life and her dream-come-true job, she continues her longtime love affair with reading and is never without a stack of books. You can find out more about Christie at her Web site, www.christieridgway.com.
USA TODAY
Bestselling Author
HRISTIE
R
IDGWAY
RIGHT BY HER SIDE
Be a part of
Because birthright has its privileges and family ties run deep.
She is pregnant with his baby, and when he learns of his impending fatherhood, he proposes a marriage of convenience.
Will love enter the bargain?
Trent Crosby:
He conducted his personal life as he would a business meeting. So when he heard Rebecca's news, he made her an offer she couldn't refuseâ¦until she did. Suddenly he had to raise the stakes and risk everything!
Rebecca Holley:
She wanted her baby to have it all, so when Trent proposed a marriage of convenience, she was definitely tempted. He was charming and a good provider, but did he feel the same stirring of attraction that she felt? And did this have the potential to be more than just a business arrangement?
Baby recovered!
After a frantic search, Lisa Sanders's adorable baby was recovered unharmed and in good health. The tight community of Portland rejoiced! But one more mystery was still unsolvedâ¦.
Because birthright has its privileges and family ties run deep.
AVAILABLE JUNE 2010
1.)
To Love and Protect
by Susan Mallery
2.)
Secrets & Seductions
by Pamela Toth
3.)
Royal Affair
by Laurie Paige
4.)
For Love and Family
by Victoria Pade
AVAILABLE JULY 2010
5.)
The Bachelor
by Marie Ferrarella
6.)
A Precious Gift
by Karen Rose Smith
7.)
Child of Her Heart
by Cheryl St. John
8.)
Intimate Surrender
by RaeAnne Thayne
AVAILABLE AUGUST 2010
9.)
The Secret Heir
by Gina Wilkins
10.)
The Newlyweds
by Elizabeth Bevarly
11.)
Right by Her Side
by Christie Ridgway
12.)
The Homecoming
by Anne Marie Winston
AVAILABLE SEPTEMBER 2010
13.)
The Greatest Risk
by Cara Colter
14.)
What a Man Needs
by Patricia Thayer
15.)
Undercover Passion
by Raye Morgan
16.)
Royal Seduction
by Donna Clayton
T
he man across the heavy, gleaming desk cleared his throat. “Rebecca, I know who fathered your child.”
Rebecca Holley blinked. When she'd been called away from her shift as an OR pediatric nurse to meet with Morgan Davis at the Children's Connection facility adjacent to Portland General, she hadn't known what to expect. Certainly not a statement of the obvious.
“Well, of course you know, Morgan.” Though the sperm donor had been anonymous to her, as director of the fertility clinic where she'd been inseminated, the man sitting opposite her had access to the complete records. Her palm slid across the lavender smock of her Minnie Mouse-printed scrubs to rest over her still-flat
stomach. At seven weeks pregnant she'd yet to experience morning sickness, but the odd expression on Morgan's face was beginning to make her queasy.
She cleared her throat. “What's going on?”
“Rebecca⦔ His gaze dropped to the open folder on his desk and then moved back up to meet her eyes. “There's no easy way to say this.”
Now her stomach mimicked a dying fishâflop, flop, flop. “The pregnancy test wasn't wrong, was it?”
“No, no! You're pregnant.” Leaning forward, he lowered his voice. “But we recently discovered a mix-up of some donor vials, so we went back and checked our recent insemination cases.”
A mix-up? Rebecca swallowed, trying to stay calm. He was telling her there had been a mix-up of donor sperm. As a nurse, she could see why the clinic would be concerned about an error, but how could such a thing affect her? She'd looked over the profiles of the donors and selected one with a working-class backgroundâhe'd spent time as an enlisted navy man like her dadâwho was dark-haired and dark-eyed like herself.
But she wasn't picky.
She let out a little laugh to cover her nervousness. “As long as the baby's healthy, Morgan, it won't matter to meâeven if it's as blond-haired asâ¦Blondie.”
Morgan glanced down at the folder again and grimaced. “Your baby may very well look as you describe, Rebecca. We inseminated you with the sperm of a blond-haired man. A very wealthy, respected manâ¦and one who didn't provide his sperm for this purpose.”
“But that doesn't matter, right?” Rebecca pressed her palm against her stomach.
Don't worry, Eisenhower.
The nickname tumbled into her mind, and she almost smiled at the old family joke. It was the name Rebecca's folks had used when referring to each of her four younger brothers and sisters before they were born. Apparently she was going to carry on the tradition.
Eisenhower, it's going to be okay.
“Everything's still anonymous, Morgan,” Rebecca continued. “
I
don't know the man. I don't know who the father is.”
Morgan shook his head. “But this man has a right to know he
is
going to be a father, Rebecca. Children's Connection can't keep this a secret from him.”
She found herself rising to her feet, her voice rising, too. “What? Why not?” Her protective instincts were quivering like antennae, though it was hard to wrap her mind around all the ramifications this “mix-up” might mean to her and her baby.
“It's the ethical thing to do, Rebecca. You can see that.”
What she could see was her hopes and her dreams turning from something joyful to something dreadful. No, no! She couldn't think like that. She wouldn't. Her baby was still
her
baby. “Who is this man, Morgan? You let me talk to him and I'llâ¦I'll straighten it out.” She'd explain what had happened and then assure him that she and Eisenhower expected nothing from him whatsoever.
Morgan frowned. “Rebeccaâ”
“You owe me, too, Morgan,” she said, her voice
sounding thin and breathless. “You owe me the chance to talk to this man first.”
His frown deepened. “Rebeccaâ”
“Tell me who he is, Morgan.”
Morgan and his wife were in the process of adopting a baby and it must have given him sympathy for Rebecca's fierce desperation because he glanced down at the file once more, then sighed. “The father of your baby is Trent Crosby, Rebecca. Trent Crosby, the Crosby Systems CEO.”