A Little Bit Pregnant Read online

  “I’ll pick you up at seven. Wear something sexy” Zane told her.

  “You’re not picking me up,” Nicki called after him. “I’ll drive myself.”

  He paused and stared at her. “I never let my date drive herself.”

  “D-date?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  He flashed her the kind of smile designed to reduce her to a quivering mass. Damn the man—it worked.

  “I’m going to show you all my best moves,” he said. “You’ll be impressed.”

  Nicki watched him walk out of the room and had a really bad feeling that Zane was right. She was going to be impressed, and where exactly would that leave her?

  Zane thought he could knock her socks off. Well, two could play at that game. Maybe if she surprised him, she could get the upper hand for once. Of course, what she would do with it once she had it was another question entirely!

  Dear Reader,

  As you ski into the holiday season, be sure to pick up the latest batch of Silhouette Special Edition romances. Featured this month is Annette Broadrick’s latest miniseries, SECRET SISTERS, about family found after years of separation. The first book in this series is Man in the Mist (#1576), which Annette describes as “…definitely a challenge to write.” About her main characters, Annette says, “Greg, the wounded lion hero—you know the type—gave me and the heroine a very hard time. But we refused to be intimidated and, well, you’ll see what happened!”

  You’ll adore this month’s READERS’ RING pick, A Little Bit Pregnant (SE#1573), which is an emotional best-friends-turned-lovers tale by reader favorite Susan Mallery. Her Montana Millionaire (SE#1574) by Crystal Green is part of the popular series MONTANA MAVERICKS: THE KINGSLEYS. Here, a beautiful socialite dazzles the socks off a dashing single dad, but gets her own lesson in love. Nikki Benjamin brings us the exciting conclusion of the baby-focused miniseries MANHATTAN MULTIPLES, with Prince of the City (SE#1575). Two willful individuals, who were lovers in the past, have become bitter enemies. Will they find their way back to each other?

  Peggy Webb tantalizes our romantic taste buds with The Christmas Feast (SE#1577), in which a young woman returns home for Christmas, but doesn’t bargain on meeting a man who steals her heart. And don’t miss A Mother’s Reflection (SE#1578), Elissa Ambrose’s powerful tale of finding long-lost family…and true love.

  These six stories will enrich your hearts and add some spice to your holiday season. Next month, stay tuned for more page-turning and provocative romances from Silhouette Special Edition.

  Happy reading!

  Gail Chasan

  Senior Editor

  Susan Mallery

  A LITTLE BIT PREGNANT

  To my real-life Nicki

  Books by Susan Mallery

  Silhouette Special Edition

  Tender Loving Care #717

  More Than Friends #802

  A Dad for Billie #834

  Cowboy Daddy #898

  *The Best Bride #933

  *Marriage on Demand #939

  *Father in Training #969

  The Bodyguard & Ms. Jones #1008

  *Part-Time Wife #1027

  Full-Time Father #1042

  *Holly and Mistletoe #1071

  *Husband by the Hour #1099

  †The Girl of His Dreams #1118

  †The Secret Wife #1123

  †The Mysterious Stranger #1130

  The Wedding Ring Promise #1190

  Prince Charming, M.D. #1209

  The Millionaire Bachelor #1220

  ‡Dream Bride #1231

  ‡Dream Groom #1244

  Beth and the Bachelor #1263

  Surprise Delivery #1273

  A Royal Baby on the Way #1281

  A Montana Mavericks Christmas: “Married in Whitehorn” #1286

  Their Little Princess #1298

  **The Sheik’s Kidnapped Bride #1316

  **The Sheik’s Arranged Marriage #1324

  **The Sheik’s Secret Bride #1331

  ‡‡The Rancher Next Door #1358

  ‡‡Unexpectedly Expecting! #1370

  ‡‡Wife in Disguise #1383

  Shelter in a Soldier’s Arms #1400

  **The Sheik and the Runaway Princess #1430

  Christmas in Whitehorn #1435

  **The Sheik & the Virgin Princess #1453

  **The Prince & the Pregnant Princess #1473

  *Good Husband Material #1501

  The Summer House “Marrying Mandy” #1510

  *Completely Smitten #1520

  *One in a Million #1543

  *Quinn’s Woman #1557

  A Little Bit Pregnant #1573

  Silhouette Intimate Moments

  Tempting Faith #554

  The Only Way Out #646

  Surrender in Silk #770

  Cinderella for a Night #1029

  Silhouette Books

  36 Hours

  The Rancher and the Runaway Bride

  Montana Mavericks Weddings

  “Cowgirl Bride”

  World’s Most Eligible Bachelors

  Lone Star Millionaire

  Sheiks of Summer

  “The Sheikh’s Virgin”

  Harlequin Books

  Montana Mavericks: Big Sky Grooms

  “Spirit of the Wolf”

  Harlequin Historicals

  Justin’s Bride #270

  Wild West Wife #419

  Shotgun Grooms #575

  “Lucas’s Convenient Bride”

  SUSAN MALLERY

  is the bestselling and award-winning author of over fifty books for Harlequin and Silhouette Books. She makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her handsome prince of a husband and her two adorable-but-not-bright cats.

  Dear Reader,

  Like most Silhouette authors, I’m not just a writer of romances, I’m also a fan. As a reader, I’ve enjoyed the Silhouette Special Edition READERS’ RING books very much and I’m delighted to have a book of mine as part of the collection.

  A Little Bit Pregnant is one of those special books that appeared fully formed in my writer’s brain. One minute I was searching for a story for Zane, a character from Shelter in a Soldier’s Arms (SSE #1400), and the next I knew exactly what was going to happen.

  Nicki and Zane have a unique relationship. Not just as best friends, but also as soul mates. However, the journey from friends to lovers can be hazardous at best. There is much on the line—if the romantic relationship goes badly, one can lose much more than just a significant other. But if the relationship goes well…is there any greater joy than marrying one’s best friend?

  I hope you’ll enjoy Nicki and Zane’s story. Here’s to happy endings for us all.

  Contents

  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

  Epilogue

  Discussion Questions

  Chapter One

  “Nicki, I’m desperate. You have to help me.”

  Nicole Beauman heard the impassioned plea over her headset. The words gave her a measure of satisfaction, but weren’t impressive enough to make her do much more than blink.

  “I’m filing my nails, Zane,” she said. “Filing my nails and yawning. That’s how impressed I am.”

  Swearing filled her ears. Despite the seven-hundred-plus miles between her and Zane Rankin, the sound was crystal clear. Modern technology was really amazing.<
br />
  “My butt is hanging in the wind,” Zane told her. “Dammit, Nicki, do something.”

  He wasn’t exactly begging, but it was close enough. Sighing softly, she set down her nail file and glanced at the half dozen monitors on the console.

  She’d tapped into the impressive security system of the Silicon Valley computer firm Zane was currently trying to break into. Nearly sixty camera positions showed everything from the six entrances to the lobby to the “sensitive” areas. All Nicki has to do was push a couple of buttons to get the view of her choice.

  She watched Zane type frantically on a small, portable keyboard that should have unlocked the side door. He knew the sequence of codes to enter, but sometimes these things were tricky, and required a woman’s touch.

  “Hit clear,” she told him.

  He nodded, pushing a single key, then waited.

  She used her keyboard to reenter the codes. When nothing happened, she used a backdoor entry into the security system and unlocked it from the inside. Zane glanced toward the camera monitoring his position and gave her a thumbs-up.

  “You’re the best,” he murmured.

  “You say that now,” she told him. “But yesterday you carefully explained to me how you didn’t need my help on this job. You said you were perfectly capable of doing it all on your own.”

  “I am.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  She switched camera positions and saw the security guards heading down the main corridor.

  “Then you don’t need me to tell you that you’re about to have a close encounter with your hosts, right?”

  Through the grainy security camera she saw Zane freeze. He glanced up and down the long hallway, then ducked into a room. Five seconds later, the security guards turned the corner and walked past the closed door.

  “You’re clear,” she said when they were out of sight. “And if you have this covered, I’m going to head home.”

  There was a heavy sigh that originated in the northern California storeroom and made its way to her headset in Seattle.

  “What do you want from me?” he asked in resignation.

  Nicki grinned at her victory. “Money, but as you’re not here to deliver, I’ll take an apology.”

  Zane stepped into the hallway and faced the security camera. “You’re the best,” he said in a tone of long suffering. “I couldn’t do this without you.”

  She smiled. “You left out the W word.”

  “Wrong. I was wrong. Okay? Now will you get me into the research lab?”

  “Of course.” She could afford to be gracious in her victory. “It’s on the second floor. Take the back stairs and wait on the landing until I give you the all clear.”

  Five minutes later he was at the door to the research lab. Nicki coaxed the heavy double doors into releasing, then talked Zane through the laser sensors. The safe, hidden in the supply closet, wasn’t connected to the main computer system, so she couldn’t help with that, but she did temporarily disable the smoke detectors in the lab so the charred smell from the explosion wouldn’t set them off.

  Zane ducked out of the supply closet and shut the door. Two seconds later there was a thud-bang and the door shuddered. He hurried back inside, only to reemerge with a small black box in his hand.

  “Got it,” he said, slipping the unit into his backpack. “Now get me out of here.”

  “I should let you get caught, just to teach you a lesson.”

  He glanced at the camera and grinned. “But you won’t.”

  He was right, she thought as she located the guards. “Okay. Take the north stairs to the main floor. I’ll unlock the front door before you get there. Just breeze on through.”

  When he was safely speeding away from the building, she reset the security system, cleared the fire alarms and turned them back on, then disconnected from their computer. There was no way to disguise the fact that someone had broken in, but they wouldn’t trace the entry back to her. She’d made sure to cover her tracks.

  Of course at about nine-fifteen the following morning Zane’s partner, Jeff Ritter, was going to review the computer logs for the previous twenty-four hours and find lots of unauthorized searches, entries and activity. To say he would be unamused was putting it mildly. Nicki wondered if there would be an actual explosion of tempers or just fireworks.

  “I owe you big time.”

  Zane’s voice came over her headset.

  “I know,” she told him as she shut down her computer.

  He chuckled. “Want me to bring in doughnuts in the morning?”

  “That hardly makes up for it, but all right. Don’t eat all the glazed this time.”

  “Promise.”

  “Ha.”

  She knew exactly what his doughnut promises meant. She would be lucky to have a glazed crumb to nibble on.

  “I’m heading home,” she told him.

  “Drive safely. And Nicki?”

  “Yes?”

  “You’re the best.”

  “I know. Night, Zane.”

  She smiled as she disconnected their call and dropped her headset onto her console.

  “I saved you one,” Zane said the following morning as he strolled into Nicki’s office and placed a glazed doughnut on her desk.

  She glanced from it to him and wondered why she’d bothered with coffee. There was no need for caffeine to get her body jump-started—not when she could watch Zane’s easy stride and casual smile. The combination always sent her pulse to racing, her blood to boiling and her heart to fluttering. Embarrassing but true.

  Being around Zane was nearly as much of a workout as an aerobics class. One of these days she would actually calculate the calorie burn rate. Now if only keeping her crush a secret was a form of strength training, she would be fit enough to kayak around the world.

  “What time did you get back last night?” she asked.

  “The flight was about ninety minutes. I was sliding into bed shortly before one.” He settled on the chair next to her desk and grinned. “Slept like a baby.”

  “What? No new chickie keeping the sheets warm?”

  “Not this week. I need to catch up on my beauty sleep.”

  Nicki had seen Zane on zero sleep and happened to know he was still way too pretty for her comfort zone. Tall, lean, handsome, with dark hair and deep-set eyes that held too many secrets, he could have made his fortune on the soaps as the hunk of the month.

  He was one of those men women found irresistible. While she prided herself on being unique, in this case she was just one of the crowd. The only difference between her and every other woman mooning over Zane’s broad shoulders and high, tight fanny was she kept her foolish dreams to herself. He didn’t date women with an IQ larger than their bust measurement and she’d been blessed with plenty of smarts. Unfortunately all the brains in the world didn’t seem to be an antidote for his particular brand of charm.

  “What about you?” he asked, snagging her cup of coffee and taking a sip. “Did Brad wait up for you?”

  She grabbed her mug back. “His name is Boyd and no, I didn’t see him last night.” She hadn’t been seeing much of Boyd at all, lately, but she wasn’t going to share that with Zane.

  Zane raised his eyebrows. “Why not? All that computer jargon getting boring? Seriously, Nicki, don’t you get tired of the guy talking in binary code?”

  “Boyd isn’t a programmer. He’s an electrical engineer who—” She broke off in midsentence and shook her head. “Why do I bother? You make fun of the men in my life because you’re embarrassed about the women you date. I mean what about Julie?”

  Zane chuckled. “Embarrassed? Julie is a former Miss Apple Festival who is studying very hard to be a dental hygienist.”

  “Right. She’s in year four of a nine-month program.”

  “Math isn’t her thing.”

  “She’s going to clean teeth. How much math could there be? What? She can’t count high enough to know how many teeth there actually are in someone’s mou
th?”

  “She’s gorgeous.”

  “She’s an idiot. Don’t you ever want to have a conversation with these women? I mean when the sex is over for the evening, then what?”

  He winked. “I go home and sleep. Besides, when I want to have a conversation with a woman, I come see you.”

  “How flattering.” The good old female best friend, Nicki thought with a combination of chagrin and humor. That was her.

  “I’m telling you, Nicki, let go of the smart guy thing,” he said. “Find some stud and let him have his way with you.”

  “No, thanks.”

  “Why not? You’re pretty enough.”

  “How flattering. Pretty enough? Pretty enough to get a brainless fool who thinks with his biceps? Why would I want to?”

  “For the fun.”

  “I’m into substance, but thanks for the offer.”

  She would never understand Zane’s casual attitude toward the opposite sex. Didn’t he want to settle down? But she already knew the answer to that question. In the two years she’d worked for him, she’d never seen Zane get involved with anyone for more than a few weeks. There was always a new airhead on his arm and he didn’t seem to care that they were interchangeable.

  For her part, she gravitated toward serious men who used their brains. Unfortunately none of them had been appealing enough to get her over her Zane crush. Biceps-Man would be a change, if nothing else.

  Oh, like that was going to happen.

  “I need to like the guy before I have sex,” she said. “Call me old-fashioned, but it’s true.”

  “Fascinating information,” Jeff Ritter said as he walked into her office. “Thanks for sharing, but we have more pressing matters.”

  Nicki winced silently. If she could have picked some part of the conversation for her other boss to overhear, it wouldn’t have been that.

  Jeff stalked into the glass-enclosed office and slammed the door shut behind him. Nicki braced herself for the explosion while Zane seemed singularly unimpressed. He remained slumped in the chair next to her desk.