One Day Bride, Book #1

• Secret Baby
• Marriages of Convenience
• Enemies to Lovers
• Workplace Romance

I have everything I could ever want in life.
But I don't have her!

Enter . . .
The Matchmakers

I couldn’t forget the one night I spent with Dani Sheraton. I’m assuming Dani can’t either, considering our baby’s arrival is, well … imminent. Unfortunately, she’s kept her pregnancy a secret for the past nine months. She claims it’s because I’m incapable of love. Maybe that’s true, but in the next twenty-four hours she’s about to become my wife and the mother of my child. Surely that’s more important than love.

Find out if Nick Colter discovers the error of his ways—as well as the importance of love—in One Day Bride, a passionate, tender contemporary romance, guaranteed to make you a believer in happily-ever-after.

Note to Readers: Book #1, One Day Bride is the first story in The Matchmakers Series, a contemporary romance series by USA Today bestselling author and eleven-time RITA© (Romance Writers of America) finalist, Day Leclaire. This story features a hot, take-charge alpha hero and the perfect woman for him, and a sizzling romance between soul mates.

“You’re pregnant.”

Dani gripped the front doorknob, wrath vying with a crippling pain so intense it threatened to bring her to her knees. Anger won, giving her the strength she needed.

She glared at Nick, furious that not a flicker of emotion dimmed the brilliance of his flinty blue eyes. As usual, he remained cold as ice while she needed every ounce of restraint to keep from going up in flames.

“You have a talent for stating the glaringly obvious,” she snapped, splaying a protective hand across her extended belly. She’d been a fool to think she wouldn’t feel anything for Nick when they next met. If anything, her longing had grown with each passing month until it had reached staggering proportions. How was that possible, when he clearly felt nothing? “You’re right. I’m pregnant.”

“How far along are you?” He didn’t wait for a response, but shook his head, shards of September sunlight darting through the white-blond streaks. It gave her a wrenching pang to recall that the last time she’d seen him it had been moonlight ricocheting off those pale streaks, frosting his hair with silver icicles. “Never mind. I already know. Nine months.”

Denying the truth was pointless. “Almost to the day.”

“Which means it’s my baby.”

“Brilliant observation, Sherlock.” It wasn’t her wittiest comeback, but it would have to do, considering Nick had banged on her door without so much as a phone call to warn of his return.

Of course, if he had called, she’d have made a run for it. Or at least a waddle for it, which was about as fast as she could move these days. She just couldn’t face the consequences of her actions from that long-ago night.

Nor could she face the knowledge that once again she’d given herself—heart and soul—to a man incapable of love. She shot him a wary glance.

Why, oh, why did he have to catch her now, when she was totally off guard? Why couldn’t he have come home in two more weeks, as planned? In another few days, she’d have given birth and... And what?


In the endless months since he’d left, she’d never quite figured out what would come after that momentous occasion. She grimaced, conceding an undeniable fact of life. As usual she’d allowed her late husband’s personal motto to make her decision—why plan tomorrow when it can be left to chance?

She stood before Nick, torn between wanting and fleeing, the want far outweighing the urge for flight.

“Why don’t you let me in while you work on your explanation,” he suggested mildly.

Dani folded her arms across her chest, refusing to budge. “I don’t need to come up with an explanation.”

To her utter amazement, a tiny spark of fire ignited those cool blue eyes. “Yes, sweetheart. I’m afraid you do. Now, are you going to deactivate the alarm system and let me in?”

“No.”

He didn’t ask again, but simply eased her to one side and stepped across the threshold. Instantly an alarm sounded.

“System override,” he snapped. “Colter zero-zero-one. Cancel alarm, MIA.”

“Alarm cancelled, Mr. Colter.” The sweetly feminine voice issued from hidden speakers. “Reset system?”

“Affirmative.”

There was a momentary pause and then MIA announced, “System reset in progress. Alarm reactivated for zone one. Welcome home, Mr. Colter.”

“Dammit, Nick!” Dani protested. “Why is she welcoming you home? This is my house and my security system.”

“Perhaps it’s a glitch in the programming.”

“Not likely, considering you designed the thing.”

“Enough, Dani.” A wintry chill settled across his features, and she felt an anxious pang. “I didn’t come here to talk about MIA, as you damn well know. You can’t avoid discussing the real issue any longer.”

“What issue is that?” she asked as blandly as she could manage.

“The baby.” His mouth twisted. “Or had you forgotten?”

Forgotten? She pressed a hand to her stomach. How could she when every day she felt her baby’s sweet life fluttering within her?


Every tiny kick provided a constant reminder of that one delirious night with the man currently towering above her. She’d dreaded this meeting, uncertain of how a man of ice would take to impending fatherhood.

“I haven’t forgotten a damned thing. As for avoiding a discussion of the future...” She set her jaw, apprehension filling her at the thought of a future that included Nick Colter. “I’d be quite happy to avoid that discussion for days. Weeks. Maybe even months.”

“Not a chance, sweetheart. We’re going to resolve the matter here and now.”

She knew that tone, knew she wouldn’t be able to hold him off much longer. Still, she could try. “First, explain how you got in here. How were you able to override the security codes? You shouldn’t be able to do that!” She faced an intimidating bank of digital readouts on a panel by the front door. “You may not allow Mr. Colter in without my authorization! You got that, you mechanical hunk of junk?”

“Please use appropriate form of address when making a request,” came the melodious response.

Dani gritted her teeth. “Mr. Colter isn’t allowed in here, MIA. No more overrides without my permission. Got that?”

“Authorization code?” MIA requested crisply.

“Oh, hell. Um, three-eight-nine-eight-six-seven-four. I think.”

“Authorization oh - hell - um - three eight - nine - eight - six - seven - four - i - think refused. Error number four - thirteen. Please formulate request according to appropriate guidelines. Have a good day, Mrs. Sheraton.”

She whipped around to face Nick. “What the devil does that mean?”

“It means you can’t override my override.”

“Why not?”

“You don’t have the proper authorization codes.”

“Then give them to me.”

“Why? They won’t do you any good.”

She glared impotently. He had her with that one. She didn’t have a clue when it came to artificial intelligence monsters like MIA. “I could try. You never know, I might get lucky.”

The slightest smile touched his mouth. “Your particular brand of luck is likely to get you mistaken for a burglar and hauled off to jail again.”

“That was MIA’s fault. I forgot my card, and she wouldn’t accept my voice code.” She shook an accusing finger at the digital display. “She called the police on purpose!”

“MIA’s a machine, Dani. She was simply following her programming when she alerted the authorities.”

“Then why did she laugh?”

“It was a hiccup in her voice modulator. The error was with an earlier model. Her programming’s been upgraded several times since then.” His explanation sounded far too smooth. “But if it makes you feel any better I plan to give MIA a full overhaul later this week. We can’t afford any computer errors with a baby on the way.”

“Just make sure you take out that override while you’re at it.”

“Not a chance.” He changed the subject with typical decisiveness. “Where would you like to talk? Kitchen or living room?”

“My office.”

If she’d hoped to get a rise out of him, she failed. As usual. He simply inclined his head and motioned for her to proceed.

She’d chosen the office because it would offer some small advantage for what would undoubtedly prove to be a difficult conversation. She’d hoped to hide behind the desk and let him play the part of a client or visitor—not that the desk would hide much of her current bulk.

Nor, she suspected, would he willingly play any part she chose to assign him. He never had in the past, a fact that had always aggravated her no-end.

Nick gestured down the hallway. “Lead the way.”

He followed as Dani started toward her office, fighting to regain the pieces of his almost nonexistent self-control. A baby. His hands clenched. Heaven help him, Dani carried his child, bearing the priceless burden with an innate feminine grace.

Pregnancy gave a gentle sway to her hips, a rhythmic rock and roll that held his attention with frightening ease. It didn’t matter that the final stages of pregnancy were upon her. As far as he was concerned, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever known.

Her hair appeared glossier than he remembered, thicker, curling past her shoulders in heavy black waves. And her skin radiated a translucent quality, as though lit from within. It took every ounce of self-possession not to reach for her, to keep himself from pulling her into his arms and claiming all that should be his. Only one thing kept him from touching her.

She hadn’t told him about the baby. He’d had to find that out on his own. For nine long months, she’d kept it a secret. There could only be one explanation.

She didn’t want him in her life.

His mouth firmed, and he forced back an unsettling combination of fury and panic. Too bad. Whether she liked it or not, he intended to be a major player in her future—and in his child’s. He wouldn’t be shut out.

“When exactly is the baby due?” he asked the moment they entered the office.

“Any day.”

Determination filled him. “Then there won’t be much time.”

Dani eased into the leather chair behind her desk and eyed him suspiciously. “Much time for what?”

“To get married.”