A woman marries for the sake of her inheritance and falls for her convenient husband in this heartwarming romance from a USA Today–bestselling author. Every man has his price—right? Her father’s will was positively medieval! Blue Blood Courtney Tamberlaine had to select a blue-collar spouse—pronto—or lose her huge inheritance. Luckily, right on the Tamberlaine estate was a raw, earthy carpenter sweating to support his motherless little girl. Surely with Courtney’s expert coaching, fiercely paternal John Gabriel would make a most convenient—temporary—husband. Too bad Courtney didn’t count on the toe-curling hunger her muscle-bound groom aroused in her. Or the achingly maternal urges his four-year-old pixie evoked. Had the Tamberlaine millions bought Courtney a husband and child—or sold her into heartache?
“Marry into the working class before the age of thirty, or your inheritance be donated to charity.” Courtney, born into a wealthy family, is struggling with her father’s will. She has just one month before she turns thirty, and so—under pressure and with few options—she approaches a carpenter named John, who has come to fix her guest house. She offers him two hundred thousand dollars if he’ll marry her for two years. Although offended, John accepts in order to pay for his daughter’s surgery. Thus begins their sham marriage, but neither of them is prepared for what will happen next!
While observing exotic animal trainers for her acclaimed book Kicked, Bitten, and Scratched, journalist Amy Sutherland had an epiphany: What if she used these training techniques with the human animals in her own life–namely her dear husband, Scott? In this lively and perceptive book, Sutherland tells how she took the trainers’ lessons home. The next time her forgetful husband stomped through the house in search of his mislaid car keys, she asked herself, “What would a dolphin trainer do?” The answer was: nothing. Trainers reward the behavior they want and, just as important, ignore the behavior they don’t. Rather than appease her mate’s rising temper by joining in the search, or fuel his temper by nagging him to keep better track of his things in the first place, Sutherland kept her mouth shut and her eyes on the dishes she was washing. In short order, Scott found his keys and regained his cool. “I felt like I should throw him a mackerel,” she writes. In time, as she put more training principles into action, she noticed that she became more optimistic and less judgmental, and their twelve-year marriage was better than ever. What started as a goofy experiment had such good results that Sutherland began using the training techniques with all the people in her life, including her mother, her friends, her students, even the clerk at the post office. In the end, the biggest lesson she learned is that the only animal you can truly change is yourself. Full of fun facts, fascinating insights, hilarious anecdotes, and practical tips, What Shamu Taught Me About Life, Love, and Marriage describes Sutherland’s Alice-in-Wonderland experience of stumbling into a world where cheetahs walk nicely on leashes and elephants paint with watercolors, and of leaving a new, improved Homo sapiens.
Wives everywhere will love the "secret tips" and anecdotes divulged from a man (husband) for helping wives grapple with their daily marital challenges.
Mrs. Louise Mallard, afflicted with a heart condition, reflects on the death of her husband from the safety of her locked room. Originally published in Vogue magazine, “The Story of an Hour” was retitled as “The Dream of an Hour,” when it was published amid much controversy under its new title a year later in St. Louis Life. “The Story of an Hour” was adapted to film in The Joy That Kills by director Tina Rathbone, which was part of a PBS anthology called American Playhouse. HarperPerennial Classics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperPerennial Classics collection to build your digital library.
From the USA TODAY bestselling author of Sweet Thing and Nowhere But Here comes a love story about a Craigslist “missed connection” post that gives two people a second chance at love fifteen years after they were separated in New York City. To the Green-eyed Lovebird: We met fifteen years ago, almost to the day, when I moved my stuff into the NYU dorm room next to yours at Senior House. You called us fast friends. I like to think it was more. We lived on nothing but the excitement of finding ourselves through music (you were obsessed with Jeff Buckley), photography (I couldn’t stop taking pictures of you), hanging out in Washington Square Park, and all the weird things we did to make money. I learned more about myself that year than any other. Yet, somehow, it all fell apart. We lost touch the summer after graduation when I went to South America to work for National Geographic. When I came back, you were gone. A part of me still wonders if I pushed you too hard after the wedding… I didn’t see you again until a month ago. It was a Wednesday. You were rocking back on your heels, balancing on that thick yellow line that runs along the subway platform, waiting for the F train. I didn’t know it was you until it was too late, and then you were gone. Again. You said my name; I saw it on your lips. I tried to will the train to stop, just so I could say hello. After seeing you, all of the youthful feelings and memories came flooding back to me, and now I’ve spent the better part of a month wondering what your life is like. I might be totally out of my mind, but would you like to get a drink with me and catch up on the last decade and a half? M
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Another thrilling domestic suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Not a Happy Family “The twists come as fast [as] you can turn the pages.” —People “I read this novel at one sitting, absolutely riveted by the storyline. The suspense was beautifully rendered and unrelenting!” —Sue Grafton It all started at a dinner party. . . A domestic suspense debut about a young couple and their apparently friendly neighbors—a twisty, rollercoaster ride of lies, betrayal, and the secrets between husbands and wives. . . Anne and Marco Conti seem to have it all—a loving relationship, a wonderful home, and their beautiful baby, Cora. But one night, when they are at a dinner party next door, a terrible crime is committed. Suspicion immediately lands on the parents. But the truth is a much more complicated story. Inside the curtained house, an unsettling account of what actually happened unfolds. Detective Rasbach knows that the panicked couple is hiding something. Both Anne and Marco soon discover that the other is keeping secrets, secrets they've kept for years. What follows is the nerve-racking unraveling of a family—a chilling tale of deception, duplicity, and unfaithfulness that will keep you breathless until the final shocking twist.
THE CATERER "No." It was the only word Fiona Reilly seemed capable of saying to the sexy stranger who had walked into her well-ordered life and turned it upside down with his endless invitations and heart-flipping, sultry smiles. And all because she'd done him a simple favor. AND THE COWBOY "Yes." It was the one word Hank Cutler desperately wished Fiona Reilly would let slip out of her mouth. Because the cowboy-turned-executive wasn't one to let a good deed—or a pretty woman—go unnoticed. And, as far as he was concerned, Fiona Reilly was guilty—very guilty—on both counts. The Cutlers of the Shady Lady Ranch: These five siblings find love in the most unexpected places!
My sister asked me if I could stand the sight my own reflection, if I'd caused enough damage yet, but I didn't see myself when I looked into the mirror. I saw Kieran standing behind me, pressing a kiss to my shoulder while he undid my belt. I saw everything I wanted that I couldn't have. Not unless I was prepared to hurt everyone around me. Kieran was in a similar situation. Were we monsters or men? Were they one and the same? Did we give a flying f-hell. We did care. Just not enough to stop, not enough to walk away, and I knew we constantly asked ourselves the same question because of it. If we could go back to when we met on the train...if we could erase the deceit, erase our first hello...would we?
FROM BUD TO BLOSSOM DESPERATELY SEEKING SIR GALAHAD Attorney Edward White's reputation was rock solid: he was as reliable…and romantic…as granite. Until desperate, penniless heiress Laurel Heffington Miller sought protection for her secret son—and made mincemeat of Edward's orderly existence! In a twinkling, the wide-eyed waitress and her adorable baby boy had rangy, rumpled Edward dressing for success. Leaping through legal loopholes. And stealing kisses hot enough to melt Mount Rushmore! But could this improbable white knight save this utterly irresistible damsel in distress? FROM BUD TO BLOSSOM. Through the eyes of love, an ordinary guy can become an extraordinary man…an average Edward a dashing prince. Don't miss these stories about the transforming power of true love!
