From irresistible beast in the bedroom...
to father of her child!
The first time Javiero Rodriguez sees CEO Scarlett Walker after their impassioned night together, she’s in labor with his baby! No matter how shocking the surprise, Javiero won’t let his son grow up in a broken home like he did.
Scarlett has worked hard for independence and she can’t accept empty vows. Yet the scars Javiero gained in a jaguar attack haven’t lessened the tycoon’s rugged appeal. Which means every day is a heated reminder of the pleasure they shared...and could share again!
USA TODAY Bestselling Author
Dear Reader,
Duets are tricky and I keep promising myself I won’t write them with timelines that happen at the same time. However, when I wrote A Hidden Heir to Redeem Him, it was too darned tempting to have Scarlett go into labor in the opening scene. Of course, that meant I had to open this book in Scarlett’s point of view. You’ll see we’re very much in medias res (the middle of things) from line one.
As for Javiero, I thought he would be a white-knight type in contrast to his darker brother, Val. When the opportunity came up to give this book a fairy-tale spin, I leaped on turning Javiero into a beast. It worked perfectly for his character and this duet!
I hope you love Javiero’s transformation from grouch to good guy. Scarlett deserves her hero and their happily-ever-after. So do you! Enjoy!
Hugs,
Dani
Once Upon a Temptation
Will they live passionately ever after?
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there was a billionaire—or eight! Each billionaire had riches beyond your wildest imagination. Still, they were each missing something: love. But the path to true love is never easy...even if you’re one of the world’s richest men!
Inspired by fairy tales like Beauty and the Beast and Little Red Riding Hood, the Once Upon a Temptation collection will take you on a passion-filled journey of ultimate escapism.
Fall in love with...
Cinderella’s Royal Secret by Lynne Graham
Beauty and Her One-Night Baby by Dani Collins
Shy Queen in the Royal Spotlight by Natalie Anderson
Claimed in the Italian’s Castle by Caitlin Crews
Expecting His Billion-Dollar Scandal by Cathy Williams
Taming the Big Bad Billionaire by Pippa Roscoe
The Flaw in His Marriage Plan by Tara Pammi
His Innocent’s Passionate Awakening by Melanie Milburne
Dani Collins
Beauty and Her One-Night Baby
Canadian Dani Collins knew in high school that she wanted to write romance for a living. Twenty-five years later, after marrying her high school sweetheart, having two kids with him, working at several generic office jobs and submitting countless manuscripts, she got The Call. Her first Harlequin novel won the Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best First in Series from RT Book Reviews. She now works in her own office, writing romance.
Books by Dani Collins
Harlequin Presents
Untouched Until Her Ultra-Rich Husband
Cinderella’s Royal Seduction
Conveniently Wed!
Claiming His Christmas Wife
Bound to the Desert King
Sheikh’s Princess of Convenience
Feuding Billionaire Brothers
A Hidden Heir to Redeem Him
Innocents for Billionaires
A Virgin to Redeem the Billionaire
Innocent’s Nine-Month Scandal
The Montero Baby Scandal
The Consequence He Must Claim
The Maid’s Spanish Secret
Bound by Their Nine-Month Scandal
Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.
For Phil, Eva and your adorable boys. Thank you for showing us such a wonderful time in Madrid. There aren’t enough heart emojis to express our love for all of you.
Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
EPILOGUE
EXCERPT FROM SHY QUEEN IN THE ROYAL SPOTLIGHT BY NATALIE ANDERSON
CHAPTER ONE
HER WATER BROKE.
Horrified, Scarlett Walker hoped that if she didn’t look it wouldn’t be true. She stared at the hook on the back of the stall door where her handbag hung and prayed she was wrong.
She knew what had happened, though. There was no mistaking such an event and no, no, no. This was supposed to happen next week, at the island villa that had been her home for the last six years. Or last week, when she’d been sitting vigil at her employer’s bedside. Anytime but today.
Not now.
Please not now.
It was a futile wish. In fact, she should have predicted this would happen. She had so many butterflies in her stomach they were knocking her baby clean out of her right before she walked into a boardroom to face a small but extremely volatile group of personalities—including the baby’s father.
What would he say?
She’d found Javiero Rodriguez dynamic and powerful and intimidating before she’d slept with him. For nine months she’d been dreading and anticipating the moment when she would finally face him again.
Now she had to rush off to the hospital.
Thanks a lot, baby, she thought with a fleck of ironic hysteria. She wouldn’t have to face any of them. Saved!
But how was this her life?
The Walker colors were shining brightly in her today. If there was a way to turn an everyday, natural occurrence into a trashy satire, the Walkers were there to make it happen. Scarlett wanted to sit back down on the toilet and cry her eyes out.
No time for that, though. With a sob of desperation, she fumbled her phone from her handbag and texted her best friend, Kiara.
My water broke. Help!
She pulled up the skirt she had so recently wriggled into place over her hips. Only her maternity underwear and one shoe were wet. She wrangled herself out of the unflattering cotton knickers with the stretchy front panel and discarded them in the bin.
Don’t need those anymore.
Shakily, she left the stall long enough to wet a hand towel and grab a small stack of the folded ones off the shelf. Thank God it was empty in there. She edged back into the narrow stall and closed the door, then dropped the towels on the floor to blot up the puddle while she gave herself the quickest of bird baths.
She had let her doctor’s “any day now” yesterday go in one ear and out the other. Had she really expected this baby would stay inside her forever?
Kind of. She’d had so much going on that she hadn’t let
