The Proposal: My Brother's Billionaire Friend

by Elaine Fran

I never thought I’d marry a man like Nicholas Blackwood—controlled, ruthless, untouchable. But when he shows up offering a marriage of convenience to save my struggling clinic and secure my daughter’s future, I say yes. He’s also the man who once almost kissed me… then vanished.

Now, I’m living in his world—opulent, cold, and full of secrets. But behind his steel mask, I see glimpses of something more. He’s protective. Fiercely loyal. And the way he watches Brie like she’s already his? It unravels me.

But someone’s watching us. An anonymous threat. Betrayals too close to home. And the deeper we fall, the more dangerous it becomes.

Then I whisper the one truth that changes I’m pregnant.

Our arrangement was never meant to feel like this. But love doesn’t follow contracts—it breaks them.

Now, Nicholas has to protect his empire… or fight for the family we never expected.

This wasn’t the life I planned. But it might just be the love I was always meant for.

126 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 2025

Reviews

[Korkoi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Right Time for Love -
The last thing Maddison expected Nicholas to ask as a favour from her, was to enter into a marriage of convenience, as they hadn’t been in contact for years, but after a bit of convincing she agreed. Unfortunately, not everyone was happy with Nicholas and Maddison’s marriage and this led to threats made against them. Unfortunately, Nicholas was shocked to find out the identities of the people who betrayal, which led to a a dangerous confrontation and a near fatal incident.

Luckily, Nicholas and Maddison worked together to overcome all the obstacles in their path, which gave him the confidence to confess his feelings and convince her to give them a real chance at a happily ever after. This is a fantastic page turner with some action-packed moments woven into the storyline, that had me hooked from the first page and kept me totally engrossed until I read the final word. I am really looking forward to reading more books from this author.

I received an advanced copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lenna Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was going good until the villein wanted Nick and Maddison to meet at a cabin. There were 2 different scenarios, one was an explosion that rocked the place, makes the villein spooked and Madison was shot at then the other was they were leaving 'unharmed' until they heard Madison's daughter in the cabin when the place was on fire, then we have 2 villeins and one we as readers didn't know was a part of this scenario. That whole section just throws the story off for me, but it did end in a HEA ending but cabin scenes will be etched with this story in my memory.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super quick - part Insta-love, part second chance with a mystery aspect.
I did enjoy having a male lead who was so confused about what he wanted- it was quite amusing *seeing him wrap his head around it…

An engaging read, and I devoured it in one sitting. As it’s a novella, there is a LOT packed into a tiny package, leading to a few jumps in time. They weren’t really made clear and made the book feel a little choppy in places.

Despite this, I still really enjoyed it and based on the teaser for the next book, looking forward to checking that one out too!

[Sarah Furlow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marriage of convenience/business deal but we all know how these turn out. Force proximity and then feelings from years ago spark. Deception from someone you trusted for years threatens your wife and baby and then backlash from your mother because your future wife is not from your inner circle. But in then and they come out together, engaged and EXPECTING. With Madison already having Brie Nicholas didn’t realize that a family was what he needed all along.

[Julie Juhl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Billionaire Proposal: My Brother's Friend by Elaine Fran is book 2 of Dark Shadows of Forbidden Love Series. I enjoyed reading Madison and Nicholas's story. I felt the book needed a little more content as I felt it jumped around a little too much. This is the first book I have read from the author and look forward to reading more of her work.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This romance book by Elaine has well-crafted storyline and characters. I loved the brother's best friend fake relationship troupe. These characters Nicholas and Madison have unique personalities that makes this romance book a page turner 5 star read.

[Nate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the proposal which was Nic and Madison’s story. I thought it was a suspenseful, slow burn read. I got a copy of the book and voluntarily leaving this review.