Secrets Of An Old Flame

Secrets Of An Old Flame
Jill Limber

She'd walked away betrayed, brokenhearted…and pregnant. A year later, desperate to protect her infant son, frightened senseless by the bullets lodged in her bedroom wall, Nikki Walker was back in Joe Galtero's life. Back in his house. And hell-bent on staying out of his bed. It was a scandal that still dominated headlines: murder, embezzlement and a missing executive - Joe's prime suspect and Nikki's father.Torn between duty and honor, Joe had lost Nikki, his badge…and three months with a son he didn't know he had. Now, with the threats against Nikki increasing, Officer Galtero raised the stakes. He would settle for nothing less than family - even if it meant losing his badge and his heart all over again.

“Is it mine?”

Joe breathed the question, but he already knew the answer.

He had a child. Nikki had carried his baby for nine months. The baby had to be about three months old. All that time, and she hadn’t told him.

A sharp stab of anger sliced through him. How could she keep something so important from him?

Finally she spoke. “Michael’s mine,” she said fiercely without looking up.

A boy. He had a son. Overwhelmed, he stared at the baby, trying to take in the fact that Nikki had given birth to his child.

She’d known for a year they’d made a baby and never contacted him. He had seen her just this afternoon, and she hadn’t said a word. If she hadn’t had the break-in, he still wouldn’t know. Emotion came surging back in a hot rush.

Dear Reader,

The year may be coming to a close, but the excitement never flags here at Silhouette Intimate Moments. We’ve got four—yes, four—fabulous miniseries for you this month, starting with Carla Cassidy’s CHEROKEE CORNERS and Trace Evidence, featuring a hero who’s a crime scene investigator and now has to investigate the secrets of his own heart. Kathleen Creighton continues STARRS OF THE WEST with The Top Gun’s Return. Tristan Bauer had been declared dead, but now he was back—and very much alive, as he walked back into true love Jessie Bauer’s life. Maggie Price begins LINE OF DUTY with Sure Bet and a sham marriage between two undercover officers that suddenly starts feeling extremely real. And don’t miss Nowhere To Hide, the first in RaeAnne Thayne’s trilogy THE SEARCHERS. An on-the-run single mom finds love with the FBI agent next door, but there are still secrets to uncover at book’s end.

We’ve also got two terrific stand-alone titles, starting with Laurey Bright’s Dangerous Waters. Treasure hunting and a shared legacy provide the catalyst for the attraction of two opposites in an irresistible South Pacific setting. Finally, Jill Limber reveals Secrets of an Old Flame in a sexy, suspenseful reunion romance.

Enjoy—and look for more excitement next year, right here in Silhouette Intimate Moments.

Yours.

Leslie J. Wainger

Executive Editor

Secrets of an Old Flame

Jill Limber

JILL LIMBER

lives in San Diego with her husband. Now that her children are grown, their two dogs keep her company while she sits at her computer writing stories. A native Californian, she enjoys the beach, loves to swim in the ocean, and for relaxation she daydreams and reads romances. You can learn more about Jill by visiting her Web site at http://www.JillLimber.com.

To my two little heroes, Christopher and Nicholas.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 1

Lucky for Joe Galtero that Nikki Walker wasn’t armed, because she was tempted to shoot him before he could make it to her porch.

Nikki watched him in the fading afternoon light through the narrow beveled glass window beside the front door, surprised he could still arouse such contrary feelings in her after a year apart.

She’d always had a sixth sense when it came to Joe. She’d known it was him when she’d heard the car. He parked opposite the house, slid out of the unmarked sedan and walked across the street as if he owned it.

Unwillingly, she drank in the sight of him. His black hair was shorter, cut in the latest style. He wore a suit and tie—always a classy dresser. Too bad the big cop inside the expensive clothes had turned out to be such a double-dealing weasel.

The cold terrazzo tile chilled her bare feet and goose bumps roughened the skin on her arms, but the heat inside her raged. Watching him move toward her house with his unhurried grace started a flutter deep in her belly. She placed an unsteady hand low over her stomach, pressing hard on the spot that warmed to the memory of his clever mouth.

Disgusted by her reaction, she knew she had to be on her guard. As much as she might hate him, he still had the power to take her breath away.

Memories she didn’t want came rushing back. She’d fallen for him like a fifteen-year-old in love for the first time. Instantly and completely.

Blindly she’d trusted him and let him use her.

She felt foolish because she’d known he was a cop, known his job was to investigate her father’s mysterious disappearance. Still, she had believed he cared about her. She couldn’t have been more wrong.

Two short weeks into the affair, she’d found out he was using her to get to her missing father. He thought her father had disappeared on purpose, to cover a hideous crime.