Having The Best Man’s Baby–a conversation with Jean and Ryland

 

Harlequin has just reissued 5 of my Silhouette Desire titles in ebook format, written under my pseudonym of Shawna Delacorte, from my backlist of 21 Harlequin and Silhouette titles.  Visit my Shawna Delacorte blog for more information on these ebook reissues.  http://shawnadelacorte.blogspot.com

Excerpts and reviews of my 5 ebook reissues can be found on the Books page of my Samantha Gentry website.  All 21 of my of my Harlequin and Silhouette titles are listed on the Shawna Delacorte page of my Samantha Gentry website along with covers and blurbs.  www.samanthagentry.com

 HAVING THE BEST MAN’S BABY is the second of my five ebook reissues.  Jean Summerfield and Ryland Collier are my guests today.  Thank you, Jean and Ry, for joining me at Coffee Time Romance’s Coffee Thoughts blog.  The two of you first met in high school where you were good friends.  Then suddenly you were like strangers to each other.  After graduation you each went your separate ways and didn’t have any contact for fifteen years.  That seems odd to me.  If you were such good friends, why didn’t you stay in touch?

Jean:  That’s a tough question that doesn’t have an easy answer.

That’s an odd statement.  Can you elaborate?

Jean:  (glancing at Ry as if to determine if he agreed with what she was about to say)  I couldn’t imagine why he would want to be friends with me.  At sixteen, I was overweight, had a mouth full of metal braces, wore ugly glasses, and my wardrobe consisted of second hand clothes that looked like they belonged to a maiden aunt”¦which wasn’t far from the truth.  In other words, I was an awkward mess.  Ry, on the other hand, was star quarterback on the football team, class president, and had people falling all over him wanting to be his friend”¦especially the cheerleaders.  We had a couple of the same classes and just fell into a pattern of walking from the first class to the second together and struck up a friendship.

Ryland:  Jean was so easy to talk to.  I genuinely enjoyed her company.  As to what happened”¦well, it was my fault.  I wasn’t responsible for the circumstances that set it up, but I take full responsibility for the terrible way I handled it.

You keep referring to ‘it’ as in set ‘it’ up”¦handled ‘it”¦what is the ‘it’ you’re talking about?

Ryland:  A terrible mistake that haunted me for fifteen years.  Not a day went by that I didn’t have to deal with the guilt over what I’d done.  When I realized who the maid of honor was at my best friend’s wedding, I kept vacillating between the anxiety of having to face up to my guilt and the thrill of finding a long lost friend I thought I’d never see again.

So the two of you reconnected at a wedding after fifteen years.  And the wedding provided a conducive setting for your own romance?

Jean:  Yes and no.

Meaning what, if you don’t mind me asking.

Jean:  Certainly the week leading up to the wedding was filled with activities involving us with each other and a bride and groom obviously head-over-heels in love with each other.  But then a dark cloud descended over things”¦I thought I was pregnant, we discovered that Ry’s consulting contract connected to my job.  And then there was the arrival of his wife on the scene.

His wife?

Ryland:  Not wife”¦EX-wife.  The situation became confused, things were said in the heat of the moment”¦

So your path to happiness wasn’t as smooth as it might have been?

Ryland:  LOL.  That’s for sure.

Jean:  I thought for a while that the path had totally disappeared.

That sounds serious.  What happened?

Jean:  Sorry, you’ll need””

I know”¦LOL, I’ll need to read the book to find out.

Ryland:  That’s it, exactly.  🙂

On Wednesday, May 4, I’ll be back here at Coffee Time Romance’s Coffee Thoughts blog again.  This time I’ll have Jared Stevens and Kim Donaldson as my guests talking about another of my Silhouette Desire ebook reissues, AT THE TYCOON’S COMMAND.  I hope to see you then.

HAVING THE BEST MAN’S BABY, a Silhouette Desire by Shawna Delacorte reissued in ebook format.  Available at http://ebooks.eharlequin.com (do a search for title or author).  Barnes and Noble for NookBooks at www.bn.com.  And Amazon for Kindle at www.amazon.com.

Blurb:

Suddenly With Child:

Fifteen years had passed since Ry Collier broke her teenage heart.  Fifteen years during which the golden boy had amassed a fortune, making a name for the man.  Fifteen years during which she’d blossomed into a woman bearing little resemblance to an awkward schoolgirl, if Ry’s searing, searching appraisal in meeting her again was any indication.  But quickly, best man Ry knew why the maid of honor looked familiar.  And despite the past, they shared a bed.

And Jean Summerfield became pregnant.

Now she had to tell Ry that one reckless, remarkable night of passion had made a baby.  And risk history repeating itself…

G-rated excerpt (inside front cover):

The passion of Ry Collier infused her with a heated desire.  Certainly physical desire.  But mere infatuation?  No matter how much she denied it, things had moved far beyond mere infatuation.  Once again she was losing her heart to someone in spite of her intentions never to do it again.  Then all her thoughts stopped and she gave herself over to the exhilaration building inside her.

Tonight, following the rehearsal dinner…

The decision to make love with him would take them down an unknown path, one that could lead to love or disaster.  An uneasiness tried to replace the positive feeling.  She shoved it aside.  If she was falling in love””

If…  That was a laugh.  She knew in her heart that it had gone beyond the “if” stage.  She was far too involved to turn back now.

G-rated Excerpt #1:

(JEAN RECALLS)

Jean Summerfield froze in her tracks. Her breath caught in her throat. She spotted him as soon as she entered the private banquet room of the hotel. Her gaze remained riveted on the one face among those in the crowd that sent a shockwave of anxiety crashing through her reality. Painful memories from the past immediately shoved to the forefront. Her heart leaped into her throat and her mouth went dry. It couldn’t be…not Ryland Collier…not after all these years. Ry Collier…the boy who had humiliated her and broken her heart fifteen years ago.

“”Are you all right, Jean? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Jean turned at the sound of her best friend Susan Brundage’s voice. “”I…uh…yes, I’m fine. I thought I saw someone I knew from a long time ago, but I’m sure I was mistaken.”

She glanced toward Ry again. Her stomach knotted into an uncomfortable ball. Her throat tightened. She thought she had put the past behind her, but in a fraction of a second all the insecurities suffered by that plain, overweight and shy sixteen-year-old girl came rushing back at her.

Susan grabbed Jean’s arm, pulling her out of her thoughts. “”There’s someone you need to meet. He arrived from Chicago just this afternoon.” Susan let out a soft chuckle. “”He’s what every woman’s mother always warned her about…a bad boy with looks, charm and lots of money. A dangerous combination for sure. And guess what…he’s single.”

The knot in Jean’s stomach tightened as Susan dragged her across the room toward the man she thought she would never see again. She took a calming breath, but it didn’t help. She steeled her nerves against the inevitable, not sure what to expect.

“”Ry, I’d like to introduce my maid of honor, Jean Summerfield. Jean, this is Bill’s best man, Ry Collier. The two of you need to get acquainted. You’ll be seeing a lot of each other during the upcoming week between now and the wedding.”

A sexy smile lit Ry’s handsomely chiseled features and a devilish gleam sparkled in his silver eyes as he made an obvious visual inventory of Jean’s physical assets. He extended his hand toward her. “”Jean, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” His smooth masculine voice tickled her senses as he clasped her hand in his, sending an immediate rush of sensual warmth through her body.

She reluctantly worked her hand out of his grasp, breaking the all-too-tempting sizzle of energy created by his touch. He was even more handsome up close than he had been from across the room. A sense of relief settled over her when he showed no outward signs of recognizing her. Perhaps the pain and emotional trauma of the past would remain safely tucked away.

(RY RECALLS)

“”I know the bride is always supposed to be the center of attention, but you’re certainly the most beautiful woman in the room.”

The crimson flush of embarrassment quickly spread across Jean’s cheeks as she glanced self-consciously around the room. “”That’s nonsense.” A slight quaver surrounded her words, as if she wasn’t sure exactly how to respond to what he had said. “”Susan is a very beautiful woman. That marvelous mane of honey-blond hair and her big blue eyes…she’ll be a stunning bride.”

“”I’m more impressed with the maid of honor.”

Her embarrassment seemed genuine to him, not a pretense. Was it possible that she didn’t realize just how beautiful she was? That she was not accustomed to compliments? Or even pickup lines? What a welcome change from some of the vain women he had known whose primary concern was how they looked on the outside without a thought to whether they were beautiful on the inside.

As they moved to the music, his mind drifted back fifteen years. He had known a girl in high school whom he liked very much. She was a beautiful soul on the inside and the one person he truly felt comfortable around…someone he could really talk with. He hadn’t meant to, but he had destroyed that friendship as surely as if he had told her he never wanted to see her again. And for fifteen years the guilt and anguish had lived inside him.

Ry shook away the unpleasant memories and returned his attention to his very desirable dance partner.

————

Text Copyright ©2003 by SKDennison, Inc.  Cover Art Copyright ©2003 by Harlequin Enterprises Limited. Permission to reproduce text granted by Harlequin Books S.A. Cover art used by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises Limited. All rights reserved. ® and â„¢ are trademarks owned by Harlequin Enterprises Limited or its affiliated companies, used under license.