THE TEMPORARY MRS. KING – Maureen Child
Kings of California, Book 10
Harlequin Desire #2125
ISBN: 978-0-373-73138-1
December 2011
Series Romance

Tesoro, an Island in the Caribbean – Present Day

In a last ditch effort to salvage a deal to build a hotel resort on Tesoro Island, Sean King is dispatched to pitch an offer to the island's owner, Walter Stanford. But before he even gets a chance to meet the man, Sean is approached by the man's granddaughter, Melinda. She immediately lays down an offer for Sean that may be too hard to resist: Marry her and the deal is his. It stokes Sean's curiosity to find out why a beautiful woman like Melinda would make such an outrageous deal and what is the catch?

Melinda isn't hard up in attracting men, but after losing her beloved fiancé in a car accident and a need to access her tied up trust fund so she can fund a business she has begun, marrying Sean seems like a way for both of them to profit. She does do a good job in convincing him to marry her, though she puts in a requirement that there be no sex. But the no sex clause soon causes problems when Melinda begins to feel the stirrings of desire for Sean. The man can certainly turn on the charm! Can she resist giving into to him and changing the terms of their deal?

Melinda was raised by her grandfather after the untimely deaths of her parents and grandmother when she was a child. She loves him, but he is too protective of her and doesn't think her jewelry making business is anything more than a hobby. She wants to expand on it, and Sean's arrival on the island is a perfect chance to accomplish her goals, which are to make her grandfather happy that she has married and to get her trust fund. Melinda intends to keep Sean at arm's length, but after a few romantic interludes with him, she's melting into his arms.

After one failed marriage years ago, Sean isn't exactly looking to get married anytime soon, but the carrot of a big deal is just too hard to resist. Of course, he finds Melinda attractive, even if she tells him in no uncertain terms that she doesn't want sex since it would feel like betraying the only man she ever loved. But Sean soon discovers two things. He's seriously attracted to Melinda and wants to make love to her and even possibly think about their staying together for longer than the two month ultimatum she proposed. Then he learns her fiancé wasn't the saint she thinks he was. Can he burst her bubble and possibly destroy any future together?

A beautiful tale set on an idyllic island, THE TEMPORARY MRS. KING is part of the Kings of California series by Maureen Child, but can easily be read as a standalone.  Secrets and emotions line Sean and Melinda's bumpy journey to a happily-ever-after, but thankfully nothing will stop their quest for happiness. Pick up THE TEMPORARY MRS. KING on your next book buying trip.

Patti Fischer