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To Love, Honor and Betray Kindle Edition
She thought she’d found the perfect man in her dangerously seductive boss, Eduardo Cruz, but “Get out!” wasn’t exactly the morning-after treatment she’d hoped for.
Now pregnant with his child, Callie stands holding her wilting bouquet, waiting for her substitute groom—her best friend, a man she’d never kissed, or even wanted to kiss.
But once the eminently powerful Eduardo knows about the bump concealed under Callie’s oversize, secondhand wedding dress, there’s no way he’s going to let her walk up the aisle with someone else.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherHarlequin Presents
- Publication dateSeptember 1, 2012
- File size1319 KB
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About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
When she was seven, she placed a long white towel on her head and walked down an imaginary aisle in her father's barn, surrounded by teddy bears as guests and with her baby sister toddling behind her, chewing on flower petals from a basket.
At seventeen, as a plump, bookish wallflower with big glasses and clothes hand-sewn by her loving but sadly out-of-date mother, Callie was mocked and ignored by the boys at her rural high school. She told herself she didn't care. She went to prom with her best friend instead, an equally nerdy boy from a neighboring farm. But Callie dreamed of the day she would finally meet the darkly handsome man she could love. She knew that somewhere out there in the wide world, he waited for her, this man who would wake her with the sensual power of his kiss.
Then, when she was twenty-four, that man had come for her.
Her ruthless billionaire boss had kissed her. Seduced her. He'd taken her virginity, as he'd already taken her heart, and for one perfect night she was lost in passion and magic. Waking up in his arms on Christmas morning, in the luxurious bedroom of his New York brownstone, Callie thought she might die of pure happiness. For that one perfect night, the world was a magical place where dreams came true, as long as your heart was pure and you truly believed.
One magical, heartbreaking night.
Now, eight and a half months later, Callie sat on the stoop outside her former apartment on a leafy, quiet street in the West Village. The sky was dark, threatening rain, and though it was early September it was hot and muggy. But her cleaned-out apartment felt almost ghostly in its emptiness, so she'd come outside to wait with the suitcases.
Today was her wedding day. The day she'd always dreamed of. But she'd never dreamed of this.
Callie looked down at her secondhand wedding dress and the wilting bouquet of wildflowers she'd picked from the nearby community garden. Instead of a veil, pearl-laced barrettes strained to hold back her long, light brown hair.
In a few minutes, she'd marry her best friend. A man she'd never kissedor even wanted to kiss. A man who wasn't the father of her baby.
As soon as Brandon came back with the rental car, they'd be wed at City Hall, and start the long drive from New York to his parents' farm in North Dakota.
Callie closed her eyes. It's best for the baby, she told herself desperately. Her baby needed a father, and her ex-boss was a selfish, coldhearted playboy, whose deepest relationship was with his bank account. After three years of devoted service as his secretary, Callie had known that. But she'd still been stupid enough to find out the hard way.
A car turned off Seventh Avenue onto her residential street in the West Village. She saw an expensive dark luxury sedan and watched it go by, then exhaled. It wasn't Eduardo's style of car, and yet, as clouds covered the noonday sun, Callie looked up at the sky and shivered. If her ex-boss ever found out their single night of passion had created a child
"He won't," she whispered aloud. Last she'd heard, he was in Colombia, developing offshore oil fields for Cruz Oil. After Eduardo possessed a woman in bed, she was pretty much dead to him, never to be remembered again. And though Callie had witnessed this scores of times during her time as his secretary, she'd still thought that she might be different. That she would be the exception.
Get out of my bed, Callie. She'd still been naked and blissful and sleepy in the pink light of Christmas morning when he'd shaken her awake, his voice hard. Get out of my house. I'm through with you.
Eight and a half months later, his words were still an ice pick in her heart. Exhaling, Callie wrapped her arms around her baby bump. He would never know about the life he'd created inside her. He'd made his choice. So she'd made hers. There would be no custody battle, no chance for Eduardo to be as domineering and tyrannical a father as he'd been a boss. Her child would be born into a stable home, with a loving family. Brandon, her best friend since the first grade, would be her baby's father in all the ways that counted, and Callie would be a devoted wife to him in return. In every way but one.
She'd been doubtful at first that a marriage based on friendship could work. But Brandon had assured her that they didn't need romance or passion to have a solid partnership. "We'll be happy, Callie," he'd promised. "Really happy." Over the months of her pregnancy, he'd worn her down with kindness.
Now, as Callie leaned back against their suitcases on the stoop, her eyes fell on her Louis Vuitton handbag. Brandon kept telling her to sell it. It would look ridiculous on the farm, she knew. It had been a gift from Eduardo last Christmas. Totally unnecessary, she'd wept, amazed that he'd noticed her gaze lingering upon the shop window months before. I reward those who are loyal to me, Callie, Eduardo had replied. A woman like you comes along only once in a lifetime.
Squeezing her eyes shut, Callie turned her face upward, feeling the first cool raindrops against her skin. Such a ridiculous trophy, a three-thousand-dollar handbag, but it had been a hard-won symbol of her hours of devotion, of their partnership. But Brandon was right. She should just sell it. She was done with Eduardo. With New York. Done with everything she'd once loved.
Except this baby.
A low roll of thunder mingled with the honk of taxis and distant police sirens on Seventh Avenue and the hiss from the subway vent at the end of the street. She heard another car pull down the street. It stopped, and she heard a door slam. Brandon had returned with the rental car. It was time to marry him and start the two-day journey to North Dakota. Forcing her lips into a smile, she opened her eyes.
Eduardo Cruz stood beside his dark Mercedes sedan, powerful and broad-shouldered in an impeccable black suit.
The blood drained from Callie's cheeks.
"Eduardo," she breathed, starting to rise. She stopped herself. Maybe he couldn't see her pregnant belly. She prayed he couldn't. Wrapping her arms loosely over her knees, she stammered, "What are you doing here?"
Silently Eduardo stepped onto the sidewalk. His long-limbed, powerful body moved toward her with a warrior's effortless grace, but she felt every step like a seismic rumble beneath her.
"The question is" his dark eyes glittered "what are you doing, Callie?"
His voice was deep, with only a hint of an accent from his childhood in Spain. It was a shock to hear that voice again. She'd never thought she would see him again, outside of her haunted, sensual dreams.
She lifted her chin. "What does it look like I'm doing?" She jabbed her thumb toward the suitcases. "Leaving." Her voice trembled in spite of her best efforts, and she hated Eduardo for that, as she hated him for so much else. "You've won."
"Won?" he ground out. He slowly circled her at the end of the stoop. "A strange accusation."
Beneath his gaze, her body shuddered with ice, then fire. She stiffened, glaring at him. "What else would you call it? You fired me then made sure no one else in New York would hire me."
"So?" he said coldly. "Let McLinn provide for you. You are his bride. His problem."
A chill went down her spine.
"You know about Brandon?" she whispered. If he knew about her coming marriage, did he also know about her pregnancy? "Who told you?"
"He did." He gave a harsh laugh. "I met him."
"You met? When? Where?"
Eduardo gave her a hard smile. "Does it matter?"
She bit her lip. "Was it a chance meeting or "
"You might call it chance." His casual drawl belied the cold accusation in his eyes. He looked up at the expensive town house behind her. "I stopped by your apartment and was surprised to find you had a live-in lover."
"He's not my"
"Not your what?"
"Never mind," she mumbled.
Eduardo moved closer. "Tell me," he said acidly, "did McLinn enjoy living here? Did he relish living in the apartment I leased as a gift of gratitude for the secretary I respected?"
She swallowed. A year ago, she'd been living in a cheap studio in Staten Island, so she could send most of her salary to her family back home. Then Eduardo had surprised her with a paid yearlong lease for a gorgeous one-bedroom apartment close to his own expensive brownstone on Bank Street. Callie had nearly wept with joy, believing it was proof that he actually cared. She'd later realized he'd only wanted to eliminate her commute so he could get more hours out of her.
"What could you possibly have to say to me now?" She frowned. She'd been home all weekpacking boxes, directing the movers, being informed by the airlines that she was too pregnant to fly, calling car rental agencies. "When were you even here?"
"While you were in bed," Eduardo ground out.
Her heart lifted to her throat.
"Oh," she whispered. It suddenly made sense. She slept in the bedroom, while Brandon had the couch. "He never mentioned meeting you. But why? What do you want?"
His black eyes glittered at her. He was staring at her as if she were a stranger. Noas if she were a bug beneath his Italian leather shoe. "Why didn't you ever tell me about your lover? Why did you lie?"
"I didn't!"
"You hid his existence from me. The very day after you moved into this apartment, you had him move in with you. But you never mentioned him, because you knew it would make me question your commitment and loyalty."
She stared at him then her shoulders sagged. "I was afraid to tell you....
Product details
- ASIN : B0088NH00E
- Publisher : Harlequin Presents; Original edition (September 1, 2012)
- Publication date : September 1, 2012
- Language : English
- File size : 1319 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 189 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #741,692 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #3,942 in Sisters Fiction
- #4,841 in Billionaires & Millionaires Romance eBooks
- #12,848 in Contemporary Women's Fiction
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
USA Today-bestselling romance novelist Jennie Lucas lives with her family in the Western U.S. For latest news, excerpts and booksigning events, please visit her website at www.jennielucas.com.
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At the start of this book it was so easy to hate Eduardo who was Callie's boss of 3 years. At the end of the book he won my heart over. He made mistakes, but some of his mistakes were out of the love he found in his heart for Callie. He didn't think he could ever love anyone, and was shocked at his own feelings, and emotions that he found he did have for Callie. Callies character was easy to love too, she pulled at my heartstrings as I read this book. I would recommend this book, if you like a really good romance. I love books where people change for the better. The characters who you love to hate, would love to shout at, or throw something at, weave a place into your heart by the end of the book!
Eduardo didn't believe in love, or happy ever after's. His childhood tugged at my own heart. Here is a sample of the book from chapter 3. - Eduardo's stomach growled. there was no food at home, but that wasn't the reason. He'd been sent home from school early today for getting into a fight, but his father hadn't cared about what caused the fight. He'd just hit Eduardo across the face and kicked him from the house. He was too disabled and too drunk to do anything but lie on the couch and rage against his faithless wife. Eduardo's mother, who worked as a barmaid in the next village, had been coming home less and less, and three days ago, she'd disappeared completely. The boys at school had taunted Eduardo. Not even your mother thinks you're worth staying for.
Here is a sample from chapter 7 - " I Love you, Eduardo," Closing her eyes, she pressed her cheek against his bare chest. "I never stopped loving you, and I never will." A tremble went through his body as he stroked her hair,. Hearing those words on his wife's lips - the words he'd detested and avoided hearing from any other woman - was a sudden, precious gift. Sweet beyond measure. Poison in heart. Now he had even more to lose. Even more to protect. His arms tightened around her.
Here is a sample of the playful banter between Callie, and Eduardo. taking from chapter 8 - "You look hot, in all those clothes." She giggled. "You always say that. You told me I looked hot when it was pouring rain in London in January. I was shivering like a drowned rat and you started taking off my clothes.!" "I'm always available to help take off your clothes." Taking her hand in his own, he said innocently, "care for a nice refreshing swim?"
There are some issues, as in any other HP (Harlequin Presents) books, such as how Eduardo just believes her when she says it's his baby, even though he was accusing her of not even knowing who the father was just one second before. So Eduardo goes from that attitude to suddenly admiring Callie and wanting to make their marriage last forever just because he saw her go through labor and delivery. So Eduardo is not a perfect hero because he has issues relating from his childhood. However, I don't necessarily see or buy how his childhood affected him the way that it did. So other than that, I enjoyed the book.
The pace was nice and quick, there were other characters to make it interesting, and I loved the surprise twist at the end.
SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER
The couple actually separate and divorce and then get back together. I've always thought that sometimes the man really needs to let go and give the woman the choice to really decide if she wants to start over. And with this plot, it really was the perfect resolution towards working out their future relationship.
The ending was pretty satisfactory. Not a bad read overall.
Top reviews from other countries
I was not disappointed, this is a lovely story, Callie had worked for Eduardo her millionaire boss as his secretary. Till one night of passion between them changed everything. The following morning he threw her out and fired her.
But now she's eight and a half months pregnant with Eduardo's baby. Only Callie has not told Eduardo he is to be a father. Instead her lifelong friend Brandon has persuaded Callie to marry him. But other forces are at work and Eduardo has found out about the baby, and is demanding Callie marry him.
This is an emotional and passionate story by JL. With likeable characters. I enjoyed it immensely a very nice way to pass a few hours. For M&B fans this is a must read.
This is a good M&B though. I hadn't read one for a while as I felt they had gone down hill, but this author is a good find.