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Their Baby Bond
When
Louise Marsden agreed to be a surrogate mother to a baby for her sister,
she never dreamed she would bring up the child she was expecting.
Yet only weeks into her
pregnancy, when the man she loves, Will Galligher, walks back into her
life, he is confronted with far more than he bargained for!.
Excerpt
"Hey, Pete," said Lydia casually. "I’ve an idea. Why don’t you ask our
new colleague about the shave?" She nodded towards Will.
Pete’s eyes lit up. "Good idea, Lydia. Brilliant. Just
brilliant."
Pete smiled at Will and rubbed his hands together.
Lydia gave him a baleful smile. "What?" Will said warily.
"Dr Galligher," said Pete, narrowing his eyes speculatively.
"You do know what they say about bald men, don’t you?"
Will nodded, still wary. "Ah, but is it true Pete?"
"Never had any complaints," Pete winked. "But seriously, Shave for a
Cure is on in a few weeks and I just need one more person to agree to
have their hair cut."
"That’s for the
Leukaemia Foundation?" Will asked.
Pete nodded. "I’ve been trying to convince Lou."
Will looked at Lou and her beautiful hair completely horrified by
Pete’s suggestion. Over my dead body! "That’s the dumbest idea
I’ve ever heard," he said dismissively.
"No, no," Pete said, shaking his head emphatically. "Think about it.
That plait is famous in this hospital. It’s been part of the history
here for years. We’d raise a fortune. People would come from all over
the hospital to finally see Lou lose the plait."
"Sacrilege," Lydia said.
"Here, here," said Will, suddenly warming to Lydia again.
"Yes, I can see the signs around the hospital now. ‘Come see
our Lou Lose her plait’," Pete said, staring at a point in mid-air and
flicking his hands to emphasis each word.
"Are you insane?" asked Will incredulously. How could he even
think of cutting off Lou’s gorgeous locks?
Lou listened to their conversation about hersel and her hair,
feeling suddenly invisible. Like a life support system for a head of
hair.
"Oh come on, there wouldn’t be one person who hadn’t thought
about snipping it off as she’s walked past all these years. And it would
make such a glorious wig," Pete said, lifting Lou’s plait and examining
the blend of colours.
"Ahh, excuse me, I am actually standing here in the same room," said
Lou, bemused by their in-depth discussion.
"The plait stays," Will said firmly.
"Lou," Pete entreated, appealing to his boss one last time.
Louise opened her mouth to graciously decline.
"No Pete," said Will, even more firmly this time. "Absolutely
not."
Lou turned and raised her eyebrow at Will. She knew he’d
always been obsessed with her hair but this was ridiculous. He was
looking at her as if he owned her hair. As if he owned her. She felt the
early simmer of her blood pick up to a slow boil. Did he really think he
actually had a say over what she did with her hair? Or any other part of
her body? Did he think he could walk back in after a year and she’d
just fall back into her old Will-worshiping ways?
If she was going to hold on to herself and her sanity now
Will was back, he had to know that their old dynamic was dead. Following
meekly wherever he led. I am over you, buddy boy. Time to draw a
line in the sand.
"I’ll do it," she said, talking to Pete but looking pointedly at
Will.
"Oh no," gasped Kristy.
"Lou," warned Lydia.
"Yes!" Pete rubbed his hands together with glee and picked up a
pen.
"No. Don’t put her down. I’ll do it," Will instructed still holding
Lou’s gaze.
Lou broke eye contact. "Do not listen to him. Long hair with a baby
is not a good combination. I’m doing it."
"He doesn’t need you now," said Will, placing a stilling hand on
Pete’s, hovering above an official form, pen poised. "I’ve already
volunteered."
Everyone in the nurse’s station looked at Lou. She felt like
she was in a tennis match, her colleagues looking left and right as they
lobbed the bone of contention between them.
She shrugged. "You want to as well, fine. But I’m not
changing my mind. He can have both of us," she said.
"Lou," said Will, looking at the stubborn set of her chin,
"you’re just trying to prove a point now. You don’t have to do this."
Will realised his fatal error. By disagreeing he had goaded her into it.
"No, my mind is made up. It’s for kids with cancer. I’m the
kids’ ward nurse unit manager. It’s a good cause. I normally go along,
sponsor everyone, sell raffle tickets, do my bit. But this year, I’m
going to lead by example."
Will shook his head not really able to believe that she was
seriously going to go through with it.
"Are you really going bald?" asked a mystified Kristy.
"No," Lou laughed, not quite indignant enough to agree to
that. "But shaved all over. Like Lydia’s Matt. How short does he have
his?" she asked her friend. Lydia’s ten- year-old son always got a crew
cut.
"He usually gets a number four blade," Lydia said, almost as
horrified as Kristy.
"Good," Lou nodded emphatically. "A number four it is."
Will still couldn’t believe the direction of the
conversation. He searched around for something to deter her, one last
ditch effort.
"Jan will have a fit," he said. Lou’s sister probably coveted
Lou’s hair even more than he did. Jan had always bemoaned her thin,
stringy can’t-do-anything-with-it hair, especially as Lou’s was the
exact opposite.
Lou blinked and braced herself for the inevitable pain. She
heard a slight gasp come from Kristy and felt, rather than saw, the
sudden tension emanating from Lydia and Pete. It was suddenly deathly
quiet, as if the entire ward had chosen that moment to cease all noise
and activity.
"Hardly," she said, keeping the gut wrenching sorrow from her
voice. "Jan’s dead." And she pushed herself off the desk and calmly
walked away, before she did something awful - like burst into tears at
the unexpected reminder of her sister’s tragic death.
From "THEIR BABY BOND" by Amy Andrews
Mills and Boon® Special Release March 2007
ISBN: 978-0-263-85826-6
Copyright: © 2007 Amy Andrews
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. The edition
published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A. For more
romance information surf to:
http://www.eHarlequin.com
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Review
Their Baby Bond by Amy Andrews
Mar 07 UK , Mar 07 Aust
ISBN:
978-0-263-85826-6
Category: Anthology
Rating:
4
1/2 stars
Louise Marsden knew that being a surrogate mother
for her sister’s child wouldn’t be easy but when tragedy strikes Lou is left
with more than her fair share of worries. Enter Dr Will Galligher, the man
she loved, the man that left her a year before. Will didn’t know what to
expect when he sees Lou again but seeing her pregnant is not what he was
expecting. Together can these two recapture the love that still exists
between them?
A moving tale of one woman’s motivation to raise
the child that should have been her sister’s, Their Baby Bond by Amy Andrews
is a fascinating and tender story to warm the heart. Part of the
Mothers-To-Be anthology from Mills & Boon this story is an amazing addition
and will tug at the heartstrings of all readers that love contemporary
romance. The characters of this tale are so realistic they seem to come to
life. I loved Lou because she could so easily have been overwhelmed by her
responsibilities but she stood tall and faced everything head on, including
welcoming back the man she loved, the man that left her. Will had a lot to
make up for but by the end he did so admirably. Amy Andrews always leaves me
smiling and this story did not disappoint.
Sheryl
Cataromance Reviews
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