Jacqueline Diamond - Prognosis: A Baby? Maybe

Lying with her head on Jason’s chest, Heather listened to the evenness of his breathing and waited for sleep to claim her.

They’d shared something tonight that ran deeper than a casual encounter. He’d felt it, too, she was certain.

She tried not to think about what might happen as a result. Perhaps, this time, there wouldn’t be any emotional fallout. Surely she hadn’t misjudged Jason’s capacity for intimacy.

A momentary uneasiness disturbed her tranquillity. They’d forgotten to take precautions. What if something came of it?

A longing jolted through her. A baby. To nurture a child through the miraculous stages of growth would be a joy almost as great as finding the love of her life.

As sleep began to claim her and she snuggled closer to Jason, Heather wondered whether it was possible that she might have both.

Dear Reader,

This month Harlequin American Romance delivers favorite authors and irresistible stories of heart, home and happiness that are sure to leave you smiling.

COWBOYS BY THE DOZEN, Tina Leonard’s new family-connected miniseries, premieres this month with Frisco Joe’s Fiancée, in which a single mother and her daughter give a hard-riding, heartbreaking cowboy second thoughts about bachelorhood.

Next, in Prognosis: A Baby? Maybe, the latest book in Jacqueline Diamond’s THE BABIES OF DOCTORS CIRCLE miniseries, a playboy doctor’s paternal instincts and suspicions are aroused when he sees a baby girl with the woman who had shared a night of passion with him. Was this child his? THE HARTWELL HOPE CHESTS, Rita Herron’s delightful series, resumes with Have Cowboy, Need Cupid, in which a city girl suddenly starts dreaming about a cowboy groom after opening an heirloom hope chest. And rounding out the month is Montana Daddy, a reunion romance and secret baby story by Charlotte Maclay.

Enjoy this month’s offerings as Harlequin American Romance continues to celebrate its yearlong twentieth anniversary.

Melissa Jeglinski

Associate Senior Editor

Harlequin American Romance

Prognosis: A Baby? Maybe

Jacqueline Diamond

www.millsandboon.co.uk

This book is dedicated to Marcia Holman with thanks

for her friendship and her expert advice.

The daughter of a doctor and an artist, Jacqueline Diamond claims to have researched the field of obstetrics primarily by developing a large range of complications during her pregnancies. She’s also lucky enough to have a friend and neighbor who’s an obstetrical nurse. The author of more than sixty novels, Jackie lives in Southern California with her husband and two sons. She loves to hear from readers. You can write to her at P.O. Box 1315, Brea, CA 92822, or by e-mail at JDiamondfriends@aol.com.

HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE

79—THE DREAM NEVER DIES

196—AN UNEXPECTED MAN

218—UNLIKELY PARTNERS

239—THE CINDERELLA DARE

270—CAPERS AND RAINBOWS

279—GHOST OF A CHANCE

315—FLIGHT OF MAGIC

351—BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS

406—OLD DREAMS, NEW DREAMS

446—THE TROUBLE WITH TERRY

491—A DANGEROUS GUY

583—THE RUNAWAY BRIDE

615—YOURS, MINE AND OURS

631—THE COWBOY AND THE HEIRESS

642—ONE HUSBAND TOO MANY

645—DEAR LONELY IN L.A.…

674—MILLION-DOLLAR MOMMY

687—DADDY WARLOCK

716—A REAL-LIVE SHEIKH

734—THE COWBOY AND THE SHOTGUN BRIDE

763—LET’S MAKE A BABY!

791—ASSIGNMENT: GROOM!

804—MISTLETOE DADDY

833—I DO! I DO!

855—DADDY, M.D.

875—KISS A HANDSOME STRANGER

889—SURPRISE, DOC! YOU’RE A DADDY!

913—THE IMPROPERLY PREGNANT PRINCESS

962—DIAGNOSIS: EXPECTING BOSS’S BABY * Конец ознакомительного фрагмента. Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес». Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес. Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

971—PRESCRIPTION: MARRY HER IMMEDIATELY * Конец ознакомительного фрагмента. Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес». Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес. Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

978—PROGNOSIS: A BABY? MAYBE * Конец ознакомительного фрагмента. Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес». Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес. Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

HARLEQUIN INTRIGUE

435—AND THE BRIDE VANISHES

512—HIS SECRET SON

550—CAPTURED BY A SHEIKH

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

The last man in the world that Heather Rourke wanted to see stood in the doorway of her office. She glanced up questioningly, trying to mask her speeding pulse with an air of cool professional detachment.

“Now that we’re going to be colleagues, Doctor, I hope we can put the past behind us,” said Jason Carmichael.

Green ice, that’s what had formed his eyes in some glacial age when Neanderthals stalked the world, Heather thought. In this case, the Neanderthal had a degree from Harvard Medical School, short dark hair and a lean build beneath his expensive business suit. His collected manner failed to assuage her opinion that he was a semi-savage male who probably ate his steak sandwiches raw.

“As far as I’m concerned, there is no past,” Heather told the new head of the Infertility Clinic.

The latest addition to the Doctors Circle complex, the clinic was in the final stages of remodeling and would open officially in April, two months from now. Jason had arrived earlier this week but had been so busy that, until now, he and Heather had exchanged only brief, impersonal greetings. She wished they could keep it that way.

Ever since his appointment had been announced last fall, rumors had spread about her supposed dislike of him. They’d been right.

Some fellow staffers attributed Heather’s attitude to professional jealousy. Since she’d worked as an obstetrician at Doctors Circle for three years and had handled most of the infertility cases, she might have expected to be promoted to the post.

Others guessed that there was some personal conflict in their backgrounds. No one knew the truth, that she’d nearly made love to this man more than a year ago after meeting him at a convention. What a disaster that had been!

Heather hadn’t confided the story even to the few friends with whom she’d shared her other secret, that she’d given up a baby for adoption when she was fifteen. Although her daughter had reappeared in her life and, along with a baby granddaughter, was now very dear to her, Heather saw no reason to spread that information around Doctors Circle. In her opinion, the more private she kept her life, the better.

“Did you get my e-mail?” Jason said. “I expected a reply by now.”

“I’m not sure. Which e-mail was that?”

“I’ve only sent one.”

“Then no, I haven’t seen it,” Heather said.

Jason gritted his teeth. “I don’t see how you could have missed it. I sent it twice.”

“I’m sure it’s in the queue.” She gestured at the computer screen that dominated the scattering of files and medication samples on her desk. “I clear it every Friday.” Today was Wednesday.

Annoyance twisted his mouth. “You’ll find I’m a stickler for organization, Doctor. That includes keeping up with your messages.”

“I’m a stickler for being on time with my patients, even when that leaves me with a messy desk.” Heather checked her watch. “Why don’t you simply tell me what the message said? And why don’t we drop this ‘doctor’ nonsense and call each other by our first names?”

Judging by his frown, Jason wasn’t accustomed to being addressed so cavalierly. He’d better get used to it. People in Serene Beach, California, didn’t stand on ceremony. Especially her.

“Very well, Heather.” He emphasized her name. “I wrote to suggest that you and I walk through the new facility, unfinished as it is. I’d like to consult you about our planning.”

A blush heated her cheeks. With her short mop of red curls and sprinkle of freckles, Heather colored easily when embarrassed.

And she was embarrassed. She’d been giving Jason a hard time when all he’d wanted was to discuss the plans for the clinic. Although she hated paperwork and therefore hadn’t coveted the post of department head, she did want a say in how they set up staffing and scheduling.

So far, the two of them were the only doctors assigned to the clinic, although others would be arriving soon. His request was an appropriate professional courtesy.

“My four o’clock staff meeting got canceled. I could join you then,” she said. “Would that work?”

“Certainly.” Jason cleared his throat. “Listen, that isn’t the only thing I wanted to discuss. We have some unfinished business to clear up.”

Uh-oh. “Which business would that be?”

“Atlanta,” he said.

Heather definitely did not want to discuss the medical convention in Georgia where they’d met some fifteen months earlier. That unpleasant experience was best consigned to the scrap heap of memories.

What on earth had possessed her to go up to his room and throw her inhibitions out the window? Thank goodness he’d fallen asleep before they could consummate a passion that, in retrospect, struck her as incomprehensible. His crankiness the following day had made it evident what a close call she’d had.

“That business is finished. You dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s very succinctly the next morning.” She closed the file she’d been reviewing.

“I wasn’t at my best that Friday,” Jason said. If she hadn’t known him better, it might have sounded like an apology.