Шрифт:
Thoughts from Crudley, the cat: Letter to Reader Title Page Dedication About the Author The Silhouette Spotlight - “Where Passion Lives” Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Epilogue Copyright
Thoughts from Crudley, the cat:
I can’t believe someone stole me, thinking I was Princess Athabasca. The kidnapper must certainly not be a cat lover if he mistook a tomcat like me for that pedigreed feline. My owner, Cass, must be frantic with worry. She’s so sweet and loving, I know she would do anything to get me back home where I belong.
I’m hoping that the millionaire who’s helping her with the search will sweep Cass off her feet and into his elegant mansion. Cass deserves to be happy, and Gabe Preston would be the luckiest man alive if he married her. Then all my catnip wishes and caviar dreams would finally come true. He’ll put me in fancy collars and Cass in beautiful jewels. . .maybe they’ll even have a few babies who’ll play with me!
I’ll just have to keep my paws crossed and wait to see what happens....
Dear Reader,
Silhouette welcomes popular author Judy Chrisbenberry to the Romance line with a touching story that will enchant readers in every age group. In The Nine-Month Bride, a wealthy rancher who wants an heir and a prim librarian who wants a baby marry for convenience, but imminent parenthood makes them rethink their vows....
Next, Moyra Tarling delivers the emotionally riveting BUNDLES OF JOY tale of a mother-to-be who discovers that her child’s father doesn’t remember his own name—let alone the night they’d created their Wedding Day Baby. Karen Rose Smith’s miniseries DO YOU TAKE THIS STRANGER? continues with Love, Honor and a Pregnant Bride, in which a jaded cowboy learns an unexpected lesson in love from an expectant beauty.
Part of our MEN! promotion, Cowboy Dad by Robin Nicholas features a deliciously handsome, dutyminded father aiming to win the heart of a woman who’s swom off cowboys. Award-winning Marie Ferrarella launches her latest miniseries, LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER, with One Plus One Makes Marriage. Though the math sounds easy, the road to “I do” takes some emotional twists and turns for this feisty heroine and the embittered man she loves. And Romance proudly introduces Patricia Seeley, one of Silhouette’s WOMEN TO WATCH. A ransom note—for a cat!—sets the stage where The Millionaire Meets His Match.
Hope you enjoy this month’s offerings!
Mary-Theresa Hussey
Senior Editor, Silhouette Romance
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 Millionaire Meets His Match
Patricia Seeley
www.millsandboon.co.uk
For “Daddycakes”
PATRICIA SEELEY
graduated from the University of Denver with a degree in English. She has worked as a bakery clerk, a secretarial assistant, a waitress and a police dispatcher, and has even classified and identified fingerprints. She currently works in the adjustments division of a bank, searching various documents and computer data for missing money.
She grew up on the East Coast but came to Oregon to dog-and-cat-and-house-sit for a friend who was going on a walking tour of Europe for six months. By the time her friend had returned, Patricia had developed an attachment to the beautiful state, in spite of all the rain.
Patricia and her husband of ten years have one cat, who was semi-namelessly referred to as “The Kitty” for the first eight years they had her, and who is now technically named Kitty Sue.
The Silhouette Spotlight
“Where Passion Lives”
MEET WOMAN TO WATCH Patricia Seeley
What was your inspiration for THE MILLIONAIRE MEETS HIS MATCH?
PS: I saw two unrelated articles concerning missing pets that became the basis for the plot. Using the idea of a cat kidnapping as the impetus for bringing the hero and heroine together, I thought about the various roles each might play that would bring them together and at the same time create a conflict between them.
What about the Silhouette Romance line appeals to you as a reader and as a writer?
PS: I like the old-fashioned, sweet and innocently sexy feeling of the Romance line. I’m a fan of old 1940s films, particularly Claudette Colbert movies. I love the tone of those movies—romantic attraction played out with warmth, humor and clear but understated sexiness.
Why is THE MILLIONAIRE MEETS HIS MATCH special to you?
PS: I really like the characters in this book. The narrative line is so strongly character driven that it was always easy to pick up where I had left off. I also like the humor. And I really did have a cat named Crudley, and it was fun to use him in the story.
Chapter One
“What do you mean he’s gone?” Cass Appleton glared across the wide expanse of teak desk at the office manager safely shielded behind it.
Mr. Howard, as his brass nameplate proclaimed him, smiled with a practiced artificial concern that said he was used to dealing with overwrought women. “Simply that,” he said in his most consciously soothing voice. “When the attendants arrived this morning, they found the door open...”
“I don’t believe it!” Cass slapped both hands on the polished wood surface of the desk. “How could you let this happen? I told you he could slip off those ridiculous hook latches you use on the doors. I told you that you’d need to take extra precautions. It’s sheer negligence for you to have let him escape despite my warnings. With the rates you charge, the least I have a right to expect is that you won’t—” She broke off, unwilling to admit the harsh reality. “Won’t...misplace my cat. Have you checked behind all the furniture?”
“My dear Miss Appleton, you didn’t allow me to finish. It wasn’t simply your cat’s cage that was found open, but the rear door of the clinic itself. We were burglarized last night”
Cass continued to stare at him, unappeased. “Are you trying to tell me someone broke in here and stole my cat?”
Surprise ruffled briefly across Mr. Howard’s carefully composed features before he regained his self-possession. “Of course not,” he assured her. “Your animal, as you know, has very little monetary value. I meant that although your cat did, apparently, manage to get out of his cage, he still would have been perfectly safe and sound inside the clinic building had we not experienced this unforeseeable break-in. I’m happy to say our alarm system worked perfectly and the thieves were frightened off before any of the expensive drugs or equipment could be taken. Unfortunately, your—” he dropped his gaze to the file folder on his desk “—Cuddly evidently used the opportunity to run off through the outer office doors.”