Secondhand Husband

Ready Made Family #1

by Dallas Schulze

She was going nowhere fast. Laura Halloran had spent the last year hustling drinks in an L.A. dive and, as far as she could tell, it was a life sentence. But one night, Connor Fox came into Rusty’s Bar and everything changed. He escorted her home after a barroom brawl and, by the time he left, her life had taken a new turn. The tall, lean rancher with crystal-green eyes offered her marriage and a new life far away from the city’s smog and endless traffic.

When Connor walked into the dingy L.A. bar, he wanted a glass of whiskey and a break from the city noise. The little waitress with the pretty blue eyes and sweet smile was a nice distraction from the loneliness of his life. And he couldn’t help but notice that her legs went on forever. He wasn’t looking for a loving wife. He wanted a mother for his child and Laura made him think maybe he could have a companion on cold, lonely nights. The one thing he didn’t want was to love again.

But sometimes fate has other plans.

This book originally appeared in print from Silhouette in 1993.

Genres: Marriage Of Convenience, Contemporary, Romance

Audible Audio

First published May 1, 1993

About the author

Born and raised in Colorado, Dallas Schulze now lives in California. She sold her first book in October 1983. It was published under her pseudonym Dallas Hamlin in the Candlelight Ecstasy Romance line. She loves happy ending and wrote category romances, contemporaries and historicals for Harlequin, Silhouette, Dell and Mira. Her latest title was published in 2004.

Reviews

[Saly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book by Dallas Schulze doesn't break the norm but it was a nice read. I think I have read several books of a similar theme before but it is the writing that matters. At the start of the book the hero's beloved wife dies during childbirth and then we see the book three years later where the hero is struggling to find help for "the child". He hasn't allowed himself to grow close to his daughter. When he makes his way to LA he runs into the heroine who is his waitress. The heroine is 22years old and alone in the world and struggling. When the hero rescues her from an amorous customer, one thing leads to another and the hero breaks his celibacy with her while she loses her V-card. The heroine doesn't put a lot of faith in men seeing her mother rely on them for everything. But the hero keeps coming back to see her as a friend over the next couple of weeks and seeing how sweet she is, their attraction and how she needs security he offers marriage. She agrees and then they start to adjust to married life. Heroine learns to love his daughter, the quieter life and slowly works on the hero too, making him open up.

[Chantal ❤️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took me a while to get into but when it started it was actually really good. I read Gun story unfortunately before this one so I know how it ended but I had no idea about the getting together. Poor guy I really felt sorry for him losing his everything in one brief moment. When his wife died I was so devastated that I thought it would stay a sad tale for me but it did not. Glad about that cause lately all the books I have been reading deal with grief and loss in a way that leaves me exhausted. I was afraid to keep reading at first because of this. The heroine is someone who can be loving open honest and strong-willed enough to take chances. While the hero was hurt and weary of being hurt again. They come together one explosive night that was not so great for the virgin heroine but the hero could not forget it. He saw in her the solution to all his problems. She loved him and his daughter. While he was scared to love anyone again. There are some problems but no evil other man or woman. I like this sweet little tale of love growing in the snow. Soooo sweet. Keeper.

[Jacqueline J · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet romance. It was well written and the plot flowed well. The hero cut himself off after his wife died in childbirth. Three years later, he marries a down on her luck young woman to care for his daughter whom he has refused to love. I really liked the plucky heroine. There was POV from both the hero and the heroine and some from the hero's best friend Gun. I really liked Gun also and would like to know if there's a book about him. I couldn't find one. :-(

Recommended.

[*CJ* · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Secondhand Husband" is the story of Connor and Laura.

Hero loses his wife in childbirth, and then becomes a terrible absent father to his toddler. As he is running out of resigning nannies, he is suggested to find a wife.
Enter the heroine, who he meets after a bar brawl and they end up having sex. After a few cold moments, he offers a marriage of convenience.. which the heroine soon realizes is a glorified nanny job.
The second half of the book is the heroine making the hero realize his feelings and teaching him how not to blame a child for his wife's death. Not as angsty as I wanted it to be but not bad at all. My only issue with this book was we did not get to see more moments between the hero and his daughter because I really think Mary the child deserved more love from this manbaby.

Safe
4/5

[Lea & Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second chance

Connor is existing in a vacuum since his wife passed leaving him with a baby he barely acknowledged. Three years on he meets Laura whose life is a different form of struggle. As they marry they must face the past before the future can be fully realized.

[Prac Agrl · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
I wanted the love declaration from the H sooner and in a better way, also the interaction between the H and the daughter should have been more.The h was really good.

[Isabel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do you love basically no communication between the two romantic leads?

Do you love angst, so much so that it replaces the plot for 60% of the book?

Do you love a character that's in an awkward situation and just accepts it willy nilly?

Do you love cowboys with children? (I know I do)

Do you love marriage of convenience that is almost too convenient, especially when it comes to resolving issues between the two leads?

Well, do I have a book for you!!

Ok, I enjoyed The Gun Fighter's Bride and this book is similar to it in a way. All of the potential flaws in The Gun Fighter's Bride are actual flaws here. The lack of communication, the weird pacing with a SUPER rushed ending (I closed the book and literally said - while I was on the train btw- "THAT'S IT?"), and the recycling of characters (a lot of the characters here can be found in the The Gun Fighter's Bride).

[shms · Rating 3 out of 5]

Been wanting to read this a while and was hoping the angst quotient would be high. It wasn't and overall the read was somewhere between liked it and ok.

The h seemed really young at times what with weaving all the fantasies in her head but overall very likeable. That more than anything underlined the age difference between the H and the h. Beyond that there isn't much to say about this somewhat forgettable romance, a pleasant read but nothing that will stick with you.

[Corlis Tindel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it could not put it down until I finished it.