Harlequin Romance April 2015 Box Set by Jennifer Faye and Kate Hardy Jessica Gilmore Michelle Douglas

and held him close. It was a warm body, and at that moment Mac found he needed a warm body.
    Eventually the dog settled beside him.
    ‘So you’ve decided to love someone else, huh?’ Mac scratched Bandit’s back and the dog groaned his pleasure. ‘You should’ve chosen Jo, you know? She’s a much better proposition.’
    How would she take it when she realised the dog had chosen
him
as his new owner? He suspected some part of her had already realised, but...
    He folded his arms across his knees and rested his chin on them. She’d take it as more proof that she wasn’t good enough, that she’d been overlooked once again.
    He lifted his head and glared at the glorious breakers rolling in. Why on earth couldn’t she see how gorgeous she was? She’d mentioned something abouther grandmother and great-aunt having a challenging relationship. Did that extend to her as well? Did they make her feel she hadn’t measured up? A scowl lowered through him. Or had some jerk made her doubt her own loveliness?
    So what if she wasn’t one of those little stick figures who paraded around in tiny dresses and squealed that a carrot stick would make them gain weight? It was no funcooking for those women. It would be fun to cook for Jo, though.
    If he still cooked.
    He blew out a breath. If he’d met Jo before all this had happened...
    But he hadn’t.
    He clenched a handful of sand in his fist before releasing it. He couldn’t imagine going through his entire life believing he was completely unattractive to the opposite sex.
    He’d been lucky. Until theaccident. Now he could definitely relate. No woman would look twice at him—
    He froze.
    Jo had. In fact Jo had kissed him with so much unbridled hunger and joy that... Well, it meant he’d been mistaken. There was at least one beautiful woman who found him desirable enough to kiss. He scowled. Even if she had discounted the possibility of something deeper and more permanent with him.
    You discounted it first.
    He swallowed. He’d kissed her and she’d given him an unexpected gift. She’d made him realise that other people might see beyond his scars too.
    Which was a moot point if he never left this place. But if he ever did manage to pay off his debts? Well, it would matter then. Either way, it had lightened something inside him.
    Could he make her realise she wasbeautiful too?
    How? Not by kissing her, that was for sure. That would lead to too much trouble and too much heartbreak. Until he could guarantee Ethan would be looked after for the rest of his life Mac wasn’t free to offer any woman his heart.
    But it didn’t stop him from liking the way she looked. He loved her height, her stature, and the way she held herself. She was strong and powerful—aforce to be reckoned with. And she’d fitted into his arms as if she’d been designed to be there.
    He turned to Bandit. ‘How can I prove to her that she’s gorgeous?’
    Bandit merely rolled onto his back, presenting his belly for a rub. Mac stared. ‘Bandit! You’re not a boy dog!’ He ran his hand over the fur of Bandit’s tummy. ‘You’re a girl dog.’
    He ran both hands gently over Bandit’stummy and started to laugh.
    ‘You’re a girl dog who I
think
is expecting puppies.’

CHAPTER SIX
    M AC FOUND J O in the kitchen and opened his mouth to give her the news about Bandit, eager to get things on an easy footing between them again and hoping this latest news would push the memory of their kiss—kisses—to the nether regions of their minds, where it would never see the light of day again.
    Jo beat him to the punch, though. ‘You had a phone call,’ she said,without preamble.
    She didn’t smile, and his nape and his top lip both prickled with sudden perspiration. There was only one person who called the house phone. Russ and his friends had his mobile number, though they usually resorted to email.
    ‘Mrs Devlin,’ she said—unnecessarily, though she couldn’t know that.
    ‘How...?’ He swallowed.