Four years ago, Sophie loved Nikos Kazandros with all her heart. What she didn't know was that Nikos would take her virginity and then move on…. Now, not knowing where to turn for money, Sophie has taken a job she wouldn't normally have considered. But on her very first night things go disastrously wrong when she bumps into…Nikos. He's outraged to see how she's earning a living and knows he needs to stop her immediately. But the only way to do that is to keep her close and pay for her time….
Almost destitute. When she inherits a fortune! The will that sees Aurelia Croome become wealthy forbids her from marrying the new Lord Tregowan. That wouldn't be a concern if the only man to catch Aurelia's eye during her first Season wasn't Maximillian Penrose - Lord Tregowan! Why is it that no one else has Max's honour, wit or tantalising good looks? The spectre of being poor again haunts her... but the thought of sacrificing passion for comfort is just as terrifying!
The Wealthy Greek's Contract Wife Ilios Manos wasn'tinterested in Elizabeth Wareham's sob story. So what if she was brokeand had nowhere to stay? He wanted his money back and his revenge, andhe would exact his price from her however it suited him…. But when Ilios looked closely, he sensed Lizzie's innocence andknew he couldn't take that from her lightly. So he chose the next bestthing—he was a man in need of a wife…. He would showher mercy…and she would take his name! Scandal: HisMajesty's Love-child Speculation surrounding exiled rebelPrince Tahir Al'Ramiz has reached fever pitch! After being spottedcausing mayhem in an exclusive Monte Carlo casino, Tahir decides tofly home for his brother's coronation. But when the remains of hishelicopter are discovered, the worst is assumed… Until he comesback from the dead, with no explanation as to how he survived! Nowa mysterious beauty has moved into the palace. Rumors of a pregnancyabound…. Could it be that this notorious playboy prince's lostdays in the desert camouflaged a secret affair? The ShyBride Thrust into the limelight, child star Cassandra timidlyenchanted audiences night after night…. But when her parentsdied, Cass retreated into her own world—too shy to leave herhome. Once a year she shares her musical passion by offering lessonsin a charity auction…. This year, money talks. The winning bid:$100,000! Enter Neo Stamos, arrogant Greek tycoon. He wants Casswith a burning desire, though he knows that, shy and sweet, she willneed a gentle awakening…. But Neo's the master of seduction! The Melendez Forgotten Marriage When fragile Emelia awokefrom her coma she had no recollection of the strikingly handsome manbefore her, whose eyes glittered like fine-cut gems—hard andimpenetrable. But he aroused something within her…. JavierMelendez had wed Emelia for convenience and bedded her for pleasure.The rules in place during their marriage had suited him perfectly, andhe'd ensured his trophy wife adhered to them…. But as Emelia'smemory slowly returned, she seemed to be laboring under amisapprehension…that their marriage was based on love! His Penniless Beauty Four years ago, Sophie loved NikosKazandros with all her heart. What she didn't know was that Nikoswould take her virginity and then move on…. Now, not knowingwhere to turn for money, Sophie has taken a job she wouldn't normallyhave considered. But on her very first night things go disastrouslywrong when she bumps into…Nikos. He's outraged to see how she'searning a living and knows he needs to stop her immediately. But theonly way to do that is to keep her close and pay for hertime…. The Virgin's Secret Leo Parnassus hasreturned to Athens to head the family empire. A New Yorker sincechildhood, he finds life is certainly different here with family feudsand expectations to marry and produce heirs! Amid all this tradition,the beautiful girl who catches Leo's eye is a welcome distraction. She may be a lowly waitress, but Angel Kassianides has her secrets….Leo will be pleased to discover she's a virgin, but not that she's thedaughter of his adversary! Or that, in nine months, there will be onemore secret revealed….
Pregnant with the Italian’s child Aristocratically arrogant Cesare di Mondave dazzled Carla Charteris when he swept into her life. It wasn’t long before the brooding Italian stole her innocence, and her heart. Realizing she’d never be more than a mistress was devastating, but Carla couldn’t deny herself one last night in Cesare’s arms… When Cesare discovers the shocking consequences, a thrill of possession runs through him. To claim his heir, it’s imperative Carla accepts his proposal—but she defiantly refuses! Now Cesare must use every sinfully seductive skill he has to convince Carla he wants her in the bedroom and at the altar!
The consequence he must claim! Eloise Dean was an innocent in every way, until she met Vito Viscari! The charismatic Italian tycoon swept her off her feet and into his bed, promising her unimaginable pleasure. But as she reveled in his seduction, Eloise had no idea he could never be hers… Duty to another forced Vito to end his and Eloise’s scorching nights together, but he cannot put her from his mind. Months later, desire drives him back into her arms. Only then does he discover the shocking truth: Eloise is carrying his heir. Vito sees just one way forward—to legitimize his love-child with a vow!
After being falsely accused of a crime, Sophia’s husband committed suicide, and then she lost her young son to pneumonia… Prior to that she’d lost her job and was now left with no money or home. So she was without prospects or any recourse when she was approached by a navy admiral with a damaged left hand. He introduced himself as Charles and his smile was so unexpectedly charming that Sophia inadvertently revealed her predicament. And so he offered her a job…as his wife!
From the award-winning historian and author of Revolutionary Mothers (“Incisive, thoughtful, spiced with vivid anecdotes. Don’t miss it.”—Thomas Fleming) and Civil War Wives (“Utterly fresh . . . Sensitive, poignant, thoroughly fascinating.”—Jay Winik), here is the remarkable life of Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte, renowned as the most beautiful woman of nineteenth-century Baltimore, whose marriage in 1803 to Jérôme Bonaparte, the youngest brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, became inextricably bound to the diplomatic and political histories of the United States, France, and England. In Wondrous Beauty, Carol Berkin tells the story of this audacious, outsized life. We see how the news of the union infuriated Napoleon and resulted in his banning the then pregnant Betsy Bonaparte from disembarking in any European port, offering his brother the threat of remaining married to that “American girl” and forfeiting all wealth and power—or renouncing her, marrying a woman of Napoleon’s choice, and reaping the benefits. Jérôme ended the marriage posthaste and was made king of Westphalia; Betsy fled to England, gave birth to her son and only child, Jérôme’s namesake, and was embraced by the English press, who boasted that their nation had opened its arms to the cruelly abandoned young wife. Berkin writes that this naïve, headstrong American girl returned to Baltimore a wiser, independent woman, refusing to seek social redemption or a return to obscurity through a quiet marriage to a member of Baltimore’s merchant class. Instead she was courted by many, indifferent to all, and initiated a dangerous game of politics—a battle for a pension from Napoleon—which she won: her pension from the French government arrived each month until Napoleon’s exile. Using Betsy Bonaparte’s extensive letters, the author makes clear that the “belle of Baltimore” disdained America’s obsession with moneymaking, its growing ethos of democracy, and its rigid gender roles that confined women to the parlor and the nursery; that she sought instead a European society where women created salons devoted to intellectual life—where she was embraced by many who took into their confidence, such as Madame de Staël, Madame Récamier, the aging Marquise de Villette (goddaughter of Voltaire), among others—and where aristocracy, based on birth and breeding rather than commerce, dominated society. Wondrous Beauty is a riveting portrait of a woman torn between two worlds, unable to find peace in either—one a provincial, convention-bound new America; the other a sophisticated, extravagant Old World Europe that embraced freedoms, a Europe ultimately swallowed up by decadence and idleness. A stunning revelation of an extraordinary age.
