THE FIANCÉE CAPER – Maureen Child
Harlequin Desire #2317
ISBN: 978-0-373-73330-9
August 2014
Series Romance

London, England and Tesoro Island in the Caribbean – Present Day

As a retired jewel thief, Gianni Coretti has no intention of getting back into the business, but when he comes home late one night he finds a beautiful woman under his bed. Former security expert Marie O'Hara is seeking Gianni's help in retrieving an expensive necklace from a jewel thief and is willing to blackmail Gianni in order to gain his assistance. Gianni will do whatever it takes to protect his father, and if the pictures Marie has are released to the police his father could end up behind bars. He agrees to her request but has one of his own: she'll have to pretend to be his fiancée when they go to Tesoro Island for a family gathering—and a place they think the next heist will occur.

Marie agrees, but fears the attractive Gianni will soon have his way with her, and she has to do whatever it takes to not fall for the charismatic bad boy. Yet he continues to charm her, and things are put to a test when they arrive in Tesoro and are assigned a room with one king sized bed. Can she resist him and keep her mind on the task at hand—recovering the stolen necklace so that she can restore her tattered reputation? Or will the sultry location provide a background for steamy nights between the sheets?

Marie left the police force to work for a wealthy family as a security guard but lost her job after she let a jewelry thief get too close to her. She's now on a mission to find the stolen goods—and the man who took them—with help from a member of one of the world's most notorious families of jewel thieves. Gianni is not happy with Marie's request, but after she threatens to turn over evidence of his father's dishonesty he has no choice. Gianni is attracted to her, yet doesn't trust her because she sees things in black and white while he goes with the flow. But opposites do attract, and their sexual chemistry is off the charts. At first, Gianni and Marie dance around their mutual attraction until finally it can no longer be denied—or resisted.

THE FIANCÉE CAPER is related to HER RETURN TO KING'S BED as the heroine of that story is Gianni's sister, and readers will catch up with her and her husband, Rico. But THE FIANCÉE CAPER could probably be read a standalone without too much being missed. Next up is no doubt Paulo's story, though the trio of tales is not labeled as being part of a series.

Gianni and Marie meet on opposing sides but need to work together in THE FIANCÉE CAPER, and she intrigues him right from the start. Getting off on the wrong foot isn't always the best way to begin a relationship, but Gianni and Marie's sizzling desire for each other ramps up the heat and makes for some stellar storytelling. Watch as they fall in love…as readers will do with them. Grab THE FIANCÉE CAPER and make it part of your next reading adventure.

Patti Fischer