Aristides' Convenient Wife

by Jacqueline Baird

TO LOVE, HONOR ... AND POSSESS!

Leon Aristides believes in money, power and family. So when his sister dies, leaving a son, he acts quickly and ruthlessly. He finds the woman who has guardianship of his nephew and insists she marry him!

Helen knows that Leon believes her to be a money-hungry, experienced woman of the world --- until their wedding night reveals otherwise! But Helen wants more than an incredible lover ... she wants a loving husband!

Genres: Harlequin, Romance, Harlequin Presents, Marriage Of Convenience, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Harlequin Romance

184 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Jacqueline Baird was born on the 1st of April at home in a small village Northumbria, England, UK, where she raised. She went to the local village school, and later an all-girls' grammar school where she passed the University of Oxford General Certificate of Education in various subjects. On leaving school she joined the civil service in the then Post Office department.

She met her husband Jim, when she was only eighteen. Eight years later, after working as a hotel receptionist in a five-star hotel in Scotland and traveling abroad for a few years, she came home and married him. They still live in Northumbria and have two grown sons.

Her number one love is writing. She has always been an avid reader, and she had her first success as a writer at the age of eleven, when she won the first prize in the Nature Diary of the Year competition at school. But she always felt a little guilty because her diary was more fiction than fact. Apart from a spell as a hopeful painter in oils, when she actually did have a painting accepted for the Federation of Northern Artists' annual exhibition her real passion was for romance novels. When her sons went to school all day she thought she would try writing one. Jacqueline Baird's been writing for Mills & Boon since 1988, and she still gets a thrill every time a new book is published.

When Jacqueline is not busy writing she likes to spend her time traveling, reading and playing cards. She was a keen sailor until a knee injury ended her sailing days, but she still enjoys swimming in the sea. She visits a gym twice a week now and has made the surprising discovery that she gets some good ideas while doing the mind-numbingly boring exercises on the cycling and weight machines.

Reviews

[Jasbell76 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Before anybody wants to read this review, I am going to warn you it is going to be a LONG, LONG review!

I am a BIG fan of Jacqueline Baird. This was the first book I read by her in 2009. I make emphansis in the year because in that time I was 20 years old and the concept I had about CHEATING in that time was less STRICT than the concept I have right now 6 years later. I always knew there was something I didn't like it, I had that feeling that I had missed one thing about the story to give it 5 stars. So, after some years I decided to re-read it again and... EUREKA!
I know, maybe some/many of you could think, why does she give too much importance to a fictional story? Well... I have to say that I HATE cheating, in real and fictional life (my romance books). If my husband in real life tells me that he slept with his ex girlfriend, lover... etc 10 days before the wedding just because she was naked in bed and begged him to "make love" to her one last time! WTF! Even if it was a MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE, I will send him to the HELL, I am not be a FOOL.

Here are the excerpts:

Part 1: Hero's POV when he met the heroine
When she had answered the door earlier, and looked up at him with those huge violet eyes, he had had the same urge all over again. Remarkable, because she wasn’t his usual type at all; he preferred tall, slender brunettes, an image of his current lover, Louisa, a sophisticated French lady, forming in his mind. He had not seen her for two months, which probably accounted for his unexpected sexual reaction to Helen Heywood.

Part 2: When the heroine found out the truth about Leon's trip to New York. This scene was during the party of the public presentation of their marriage (Helen and Leon)

‘I hate to tell you, Mary, but your husband lied, and before you say anything else I should tell you I speak excellent French and I understood every word they said.’ Mary collapsed in the chair beside her.

‘You speak French. Oh, no. But wait a second, he only spoke for a moment, then the ambassador and Louisa chipped in,’ Mary exclaimed. ‘They’d only been speaking for a few minutes before we left. So what on earth was said that upset you so quickly?’

Helen folded her arms across her chest, her hands rubbing her upper arms. She was shivering and the cold went bone deep.

‘Enough, more than enough. Leon explained Nicholas was his sister’s child and then asked Distel if his wife was indisposed.’ Helen relayed the gist of the conversation in a harsh, colourless voice. ‘The Frenchman said yes, and rather sarcastically added he didn’t think Leon would mind him bringing Louisa because he knew they were such old close friends.’ She glanced back at Mary. ‘The French language lends itself beautifully to sarcasm—did you know that?’

‘I’m not interested in the language. Tell me what happened next.’

‘Louisa intervened, and said to Leon, and I quote,

“Really,mon cher, you have nothing to worry about. I would not dream of upsetting your little wife by telling her about us. I know you only married her for the child. I remember in every intimate detail the last night we spent together the week before your wedding. And ten days ago when you gave me the deeds to the apartment, such an extravagant gift…

Part 3: Heroine confronted the hero about what she heard during the party. I have to point out that this time the heroine HEARD VERY WELL, she spoke French, so the typical misunderstanding is not here XD

His reply was to reach for her and pull her against him. ‘You heard she was once my mistress and for that I am sorry.’ His lips curved in a hateful smile. ‘But you have no need to be jealous, Helen. I put an end to it before we married, and as long as I have you I don’t want any other woman, I swear.’

His truly astounding, unbelievable conceit was too much for Helen and she exploded with rage. ‘You must think I am crazy if you expect me to believe a word you say. You are the most devious, manipulative, arrogant swine it has ever been my misfortune to meet. My God, you have been having an affair with that woman for years. What kind of fool do you take me for? The week before you married me you were in her bed. You actually told me you had a pressing engagement in Paris. You didn’t mention pressing the flesh, but I should have known. Delia told me what a faithless lot the men in her family were, and, by heaven, she was right. You even had the cheek to tell me you were going to New York and then visited that woman straight from my bed ten days ago, a bed where you had the gall to call mema petite, a French term, when we first had sex.’ She would not call it love.

‘Now I know why—force of habit,’ she jeered. ‘Then to cap it all I discover you have given your lover an apartment and Lord knows what else. And you wonder why the jewels you gave me ended up on the floor.’ She shook her head in utter rejection of him.

‘Are you quite finished assassinating my character?’ Leon demanded harshly, placing a steel-like arm around her waist and hauling her hard against him

She looked up at him with blazing violet eyes. ‘God help Nicholas with you as his father; you haven’t a moral bone in your body. As for me, I never want you to touch me again.

Her last crack was too much for Leon. He was no saint, and he was guilty of having sex with Louisa the week before his wedding. Mainly because when he had made it very clear their affair was finally over she had stripped naked and begged him to make love to her one last time. He had certainly not slept with her, and had left before midnight. Ungallant maybe, but true. Her appearance tonight at the party had been none of his doing, but that his wife should think so badly of him, to believe that he had lied when he’d said he was going to New York, was an insult too far.

Part 4: After their confrontation they had sex (the heroine couln't resist him O.o ) This is what the arrogant man told her about his former lover "farewell"

‘Some women, once they get a taste for sex, can’t do without, and I have a feeling you fall into that category, Helen.’

‘In your dreams,’ she spat. Shamed at her own weakness and hating him all over again, she wanted to hit out at him, dent his massive ego.

‘I am here for Nicholas and nothing else, and, just to set the record straight, the scar on my belly is not from an appendectomy, but from an accident. So if you are nursing any illusion I might get pregnant one day, forget it. I can’t have children.’

In her distress and anger she revealed her deepest secret, but his reaction was not what she expected.

His dark gaze narrowed to rest on her face for a long moment and then his hand stroked gently down her body, one long finger tracing the scar, and when he lifted his head again the dark eyes that met hers held a strange light, and his mouth had an ironic twist to it for all that it was set in a straight line.

‘A biological child of my own really does not matter to me. We have Nicholas,’ he said coolly. ‘What happened tonight was unfortunate, and I don’t expect you to believe me unreservedly. But if you had listened a little longer you would have heard me reminding Louisa that our affair was definitely over, as she knew perfectly well, and she had been paid off quite handsomely for her friendship. You have nothing to worry about; forget it ever happened.’

His easy dismissal of her confession infuriated Helen still further. Her inability to have a child was and would be a lifelong regret to Helen, but Leon was so cool, so unfazed by her announcement, he obviously didn’t give a jot for her feelings. She could almost feel sorry for the French woman, but not quite.

Can you see? I think I was so enchanted when I read this book that I passed the cheating hero! Maybe it was because I was over of Sara Craven's and Sharon Kendrick's cold and cruel heros and this story was like a "fresh air"
However, in 2015 I can't stomach the cheating hero. No, no, no! :S

I still love JB's books and I've been waiting for a new release since 2013 :'(

Updated
February 24th/2022
I didn't reread it but wanted to update the score since the last time I posted my review, and it deserves the same rating 1🌟😠

[Kiki]

Reasons to avoid:
1. He cheats
AND
2. He treats her like whore
I have ran out of jail free cards so I don't think I'll be granted a bail if I land myself in jail after murdering someone due to this book.

[StMargarets · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sins of the hero:
Said mean things about his sister - even after her death.
Forced the heroine to marry him so he could keep his sister's inheritance in the family.
Let the heroine think he was a guardian to the child, when he was just a trustee of his estate.
Cheated after he was engaged to the heroine
Was a smug bastard in and out of bed

Sins of the heroine:
Kept the secrets of the sister
Jumped to conclusions

So - the ledger is not balanced. Aristides definitely got the better deal - all the $$$, the adoring child and the doormat wife. Still, it was an enjoyable story in the way that hating the hero is always enjoyable. And the heroine was thoroughly spellbound by the end - so HEA for all concerned.

[Fanniny Moreno Zavaleta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Martyr but not penniless h is taking care of her best friend's secret son. Aha, the BFF wasn't mother or sister of the year. Anyway, the BFF is dead and her megalomaniac brother knows about the secret baby and the inheritance that could be an annoyance to his being big boss at the bank.

So H proposed a MOC, kissed the h, a week or so later had sex with his mistress because the woman practically begged him to make love to her a last time, a week or so later married the h and as the h happened to be hot and conveniently there they had sex on their wedding night. Surprise surprise, she was a virgin gold digger.

Everything is working out perfectly for the H until the ex-mistress shows at a party and surprise surprise the virgin gold digger speaks French and now knows he was having fun with the French woman while she was planning their wedding.

And another surprise surprise, the magic p is not working with the angry h so he challenges her: he won't touch her until she begs him to. Obviously the magic p is THE MAGIC P so she was about to give up but he chose that moment to be annoying and he ended up losing the challenge.

A few days later the h has a H-moment, she listens to a person she barely knows but doesn't like and he obviously hates the H as he tells her how the H has been using her from the beginning. And she believes the dubious man. Not that those things weren't true but still.

The h tells H she was wrong and is not sterile after all but preggers. Surprise surprise his first reaction is asking if the baby is his, regrets it a second later but now the h is angrier. They discuss, he confesses his sins and an I love you later the HEA.

The h had her backbone moments but wasn't immune to the magic p, still I liked her.

An extra star for the plot moppet Nicholas first awake appearance:
"Then from just inside the kitchen door a high-pitched voice yelled, 'Let go of my Helen, you nasty man'
A ball of fury spun across the kitchen and kicked out at Leon's shin."
In my country there's a saying "kids and drunks always say the truth"

[Vintage · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oink.

JB fell down on the job with this one. The H isn't the worst Greek tycoon out there, but he is an unrelenting jackass up until the bitter end.

The heroine was best friends with the H's unloved and neglected little sister and has been keeping the little sister's son. The best friend dies. The H rams a MOC down the heroine's throat so he can get the nephew he never knew about back as well as control of some shares of the company.

The heroine is a virgin, of course, and is sexually overwhelmed by the hero, of course. He never cuts her a break with his dismissive, insulting behavior and suspicion. His first comment when she tells him she's pregnant is, "Is it mine?" She was V-I-R-G-I-N fathead.

Plus too short shift to what happened to the little sister and her emotional estrangement from the family that she had to hide her son as well the heroine's backstory.

[*CJ* · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Aristides' Convenient Wife" is the story of Helen and Leon.

This was so good!

The book has our H finding out months after his sister's untimely death that she has had a son, and given it to her best friend to raise! Thinking of her as an opportunist, he goes to claim his nephew, only to realize the deep bond the boy and the woman share. Unable to ignore his attraction to the woman, he proposes a marriage of convenience with the help of some small lies.
Soon insanely hot passion ignites, and they both learn to deal with newfound parenthood as well as blooming love for one another...

Super sexy novel with a spunky h, an obsessed H, a cute and protective child, some OW drama, loads of bang bang, a heartfelt confession and a wonderful HEA.

Thoroughly enjoyed it! Recommended!

SWE/Unsafe
4/5

[Jacqueline J · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid enjoyable read. The hero here marries the woman who has been caring for his dead sister's child in order to keep control of the boy and also the shares that the boy and the heroine inherited from the sister. But he kind of sneaks that by the heroine. This book is mostly about seduction. There's a lot of her saying no and him seducing her anyway. Here I felt though that it really was seduction rather than any real non consensual stuff. Very determined seduction but still... You could tell he was falling for her and was pretty much all in to make their marriage work. He didn't have a lot to apologize for at the end but he did a nice job with the apologies anyway.

[Fre06 Begum · Rating 1 out of 5]

Remorseless cheater I despised him and the female lead for being such a floormat!

[JillyB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on reviews, I really wasn’t sure what to expect. Therefore, I went into this with very low expectations and came out actually enjoying it. First of all the Hero is as arrogant as they come, but he owns it! He stays true to form for most of the book, however, we see the magic of the h working on him along the way. People are put off by his cheating pre wedding.

Here is my 2 cents on the cheating debacle: Hero gets engaged to heroine. It is not a love match. She doesn’t even think they will engage in sex once married(silly 😝 Heroine). So 10 days before the wedding he goes to break things off with his Parisienne mistress, who he has been faithful to, because this guy is all about monogamy while in a relationship. I guess the OW greets him naked and pouty at the door and wants another ride on the Hero tilt a whirl. He obliges and leaves once the ride is over. This is all told in flashback, several weeks after the h and H are married

I know most of us do not want the H to succumb to another after he has set eyes on the h, but since he was as emotional as a rock, it really didn’t affect me like other semi-cheating stories. The h was not invested in the H yet so this didn’t hurt her until she found out later, and she thought the cheating was still going on.

Ok back to overview: The h and H first met when she was 17 and he was 30. She was invited to stay at their house with the private beach by his 15 year old sister. He of course swam nude, because he has nothing to be ashamed of. He thinks she is ogling him, but actually she couldn’t see him, because she was suffering from diminished eyesight. Although there is some chemistry here, he is married and thinks she is 15. So, he chastises her for being so blatant about her ogling.

9 years later he meets the h again after his sister and dad die in an accident. His sister had a secret child, who is now 3, and the h is named the legal guardian and due to inherit from the sister’s death.
The hero believes her to be a gold-digging whore(of course!!!all these petite English roses are!)
Ok so he wants to marry the h to get the shares of the bank that has been left to the h and his nephew. His sister was a hands off mother, who came by with expensive gifts. She was waiting to inherit at 25 which was a few months away, and then she would announce her son to the world. But we find out that she may have been suffering from bipolar disorder and was self medicating with recreational drugs. Her mom was bipolar and never gave love to the son. She died shortly after the sister was born, and the sister thought the father and brother hated her for it. She also made others believe that her brother and father were quite the lotharios, yet both believe In monogamy when with a person

He decides to marry the h to give the nephew his greek roots and to keep all that lovely money in the family. He also realizes that the nephew cares for the h like a mom, because that is what she has been. The h agrees to marry him because she thinks he is named legal guardian as well, and she doesn’t want the nephew taken away from her. She has second thoughts, but the H refuses to let her back out and uses the nephew as emotional blackmail. So where did his first wife go? The first wife died in a car accident with her lover, and was very pregnant with his child. The hero thought it was his child until he saw the child. The child did not survive accident.
She died in a car accident heavily pregnant.

They get married. He is stunned by her beauty.(Nephew picked out the fairy like dress) They end up consummating the marriage to the heroine’s dismay, then shock, then oh so much pleasure! H was shocked that heroine was a virgin. She attempts to leave the master bedroom while he is showering only to succumb again. Then she tries to set up a studio/bedroom in another part of the house refusing to have sex with him, then succumbs yet again. He tells her he will build her a proper studio, but she is staying in the master bedroom. Things start strumming along, we find that they have a lot in common, and enjoy each other outside the bedroom as well. No declarations of ILY yet. He goes on a business trip, and comes back early and we as a reader knows he cant stay away from the h. The h realizes she loves him. She begins to think that this could be a real marriage. The nephew calls them mom and dad and they have adopted him (or in process of). NO we still have too many pages to go. They have a belated reception/party to introduce the h. In front of everyone, the H kisses and hugs the h telling everyone in attendance that he is a very lucky man(this is a huge step for the non-demonstrative H) Uh, OH one of the guests brings the H’s old mistress to the gathering. The h hears them speaking in French and finds out a few things that makes her give the H the cold shoulder. They have another one of their arguments, and she tells him he is not going to touch her again, and he being sick of this tells her no he’s not until she asks for it, and she will ask for it. She becomes sad when the H no longer wakes her with morning kisses etc. They go away for a little vacation, and on the vacation the H can no longer hold out(again this is huge because he strives to be the winner) Things are back on track? Maybe? Nope, there ends up being some more drama, and the h goes off on the H again because she is in love, even mentioning that maybe they need to divorce and he can keep any gains from the sister’s will. AND: h is pregnant which she thought couldn’t happen due to her accident years earlier However, we find out that the H put something in place a few weeks earlier that will wipe out her fears of him marrying solely for monetary gains. There is a nice ending, or an unofficial epilogue! (Sorry my ending of the review feels like a vintage HP where they rush and just stop with the wrap up happening in 1 page or less.)

Like: I like that the h was talented as an illustrator and that she had her own inheritance. She wasn’t penniless, even though the H thought so in the beginning. He admired her talents as well.

I kind of liked the hero.🤫😬 His lack of affection was shaped by his mom, yet when you read the story he shows affection throughout. You could tell it was more than just sex. He loves his nephew like a son, and he really didn’t care if he had his own biological child.(just the h ❤️) He loves his job in the financial world. I think he is happy that the h can accept him as he is as long as she knows that she is his forever woman. She does. He also knows that he will never need to worry about her loyalties either, so this is freeing to him. More than 1 person in the story remarked that he seems happy for the first time in his life.

[Aou · Rating 3 out of 5]

If he did not cheat her a week before the wedding, even if he didn't love her yet, I would have given 5 stars. 🙄

[Leona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, entertaining read, but for me, not one of her bests. Plot was excellent. Secret baby with a twist. The child, Nicholas is the son of her best friend who dies suddenly in a car accident. It is only on her death that the family learns of the child's existence. Big brother Leon swoops in to take her and the child back to Greece coercing her into marrying him since she has now inherited quite a bit of the company with the tragic death of his sister. I thought Leon was an extremely well developed character. The author gave us glimpses of someone who had little love in his life having lived with a mother that suffered from depression and a wife who continually betrayed him with multiple lovers. Yet he had the capacity to instantly love and nurture his nephew, make a loving home for him and care for our heroine. I noticed that JB's signature trait is that you get glimpses and hints of the hero's true feelings and though they are alpha to the core, they show great character and depth.

What I didn't like was the heroine. She was so childish and I really dislike those I hate you, but can't help falling into bed with you scenes. I just kept rolling my eyes saying "oh please, honey grow up"! I could understand a reluctance their first time together. Having decided on a marriage of convenience, finding him standing in the bedroom waiting for conjugal rights, would cause anyone to be anxious. The repeat theme went beyond annoying, especially considering how much she did enjoy their sexual intimacy. I felt that really took away from a great story and which is why I only gave it 3.5 stars.....

[Grrrrace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad but kind of boring. Both MCs annoyed me--he was smug, conniving, but not entirely unlikable (once they were married, he was clearly besotted--and showed it way more than she did). He did have one last "pity sex" bout with his mistress a week after he and heroine agreed to an MoC, so ewww hero. Keep it in your pants.

She was irritating--insecure, always jumping to worst conclusions, no self control with her terrible TBS affliction. And will we ever stop with the "miracle hero sperm that can impregnate the impregnable" trope? Probably not.

Another winning couple in the "probably deserve one another" stakes, so we'll leave it there. ;-)

I haven't read much by JB--I keep hearing how she's the queen of vengeance tropes but I've yet to be wowed. This one didn't fall under that trope (except that the hero misjudges the heroine at the beginning a bit). If you've got a good one to recommend that might make me appreciate her more, send 'em my way! I do love a good revenge tale. ;-)

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an emotional and very passionate romance. I liked both characters. I hated how towards the end Helen misjudged Leon so badly and how she believed a virtual stranger over her husband but what's a HP without drama? Leon was a true alpha-male but was also able to admit his shortcomings and his love for Helen was super intense!

Glad there was a miracle pregnancy. Like Blanche DuBois said "I don't want realism. I want magic!"

Epilogue was sweet and tender and just perfect.

[Chantal ❤️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not going to sugar coat it... He cheated on her when he was engaged to her. This to me was why it lost one star and it would have lost another when he repeatedly treated her like a whore but somehow when he declares in front of all his friends how lucky he was to have a wonderful wife like her I just melted. So sweet

[Nikki ღ Navareus · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't a horrible story but it definitely felt quite dated. Leon was indeed a jerk, but IMO he had good reason to think so little of Helen, considering the shady way she raised his sister's kid in secret and kept the family from the knowledge that the kid ever existed. The relationship between these two was very disconnected and unrelatable. I didn't really care if they ever truly fell in love or not. This probably would have been a 2 star story for me, but the OW drama bumped this one up a notch. I'd rate this story about 2 1/2 stars.

[Jasbell76 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Antes de que quieran leer este review debo advertirles que va a ser MUY, MUY LARGO.
Soy una fan de Jacqueline Baird. Este fue mi primer libro que leí de ella en 2009. Hago énfasis en el año porque en ese entonces tenia 20 años y tal vez el concepto que tenía de la infidelidad era "menos" ESTRICTO del que tengo ahora con 26. Siempre supe que había algo que no me convencía de darle 5 estrellas a esta novela y después de algunos años decidí re-leerla y EUREKA!

Se que algunos pensarán, por qué le da tanta importancia a una historia ficticia? Bueno, es que mis padres se han empeñado en enseñarme valores y principios y la verdad es que RECHAZO/ODIO la mentira, el engaño, la infidelidad en la vida real y en mis libros, sean románticos o no.
Si mi esposo "en la vida real" me dijera que se acostó con su amante 10 días antes de nuestra boda solo porque se la encontró desnuda y esta le rogó que se acostaran una ultima vez más. WTF! Aunque fuera un MATRIMONIO DE CONVENIENCIA, no se lo perdonaría. Lo mandaría al diablo!No voy a pasar por tonta!
Aquí están los extractos:

Parte 1: Hero's POV cuando se encuentra con la heroína.

Cuando Helen abrió la puerta, y lo miró con esos enormes ojos violeta, él había vuelto a sentir aquel mismo deseo. Y era curioso, pensó, porque no era para nada su tipo de mujer. Prefería las morenas altas y esbeltas, como su amante actual, Louisa, una sofisticada francesa. No la había visto desde hacía dos meses, lo que probablemente explicaba su inesperada reacción sexual hacia Helen Heywood. Esta era todo lo contrario de Louisa; una rubia clara de piel pálida que no debía de medir mucho más de un metro cincuenta.

Parte 2: Cuando la heroína se entera del motivo real del viaje del heroe a Nueva York. Esta escena ocurre durante la fiesta de presentación oficial de su matrimonio

—Helen se sentó en la silla más cercana. Ella sabía que Leon no la amaba, pero no podía creer que fuera tan insensible como para dejar que su amante lo besara delante de ella—. Odio decírtelo, Mary, pero tu marido mintió, y antes de que añadas nada más, has de saber que domino el francés a la perfección y que lo entendí todo.

Mary se desplomó en otra silla.
—Hablas francés. Ay, no. Pero espera un segundo, Leon sólo habló durante un momento, luego el embajador y Louisa lo interrumpieron. No han conversado más que unos minutos antes de irnos. Así que ¿qué diablos dijeron que te alterara tanto?

—Más que suficiente. Leon explicó que Nicholas era el hijo de su hermana y luego preguntó a Distel si su esposa se encontraba indispuesta. El embajador contestó que sí, y en un tono más bien sarcástico añadió que pensaba que a Leon no le importaría que Louisa lo acompañase ya que habían sido viejos amigos. A continuación intervino Louisa dirigiéndose a Leon y estas fueron sus palabras:

«En realidad, mon cher, no tienes nada de qué preocuparte. No se me ocurriría molestar a tu pequeña esposa contándole lo nuestro. Me consta que te casaste con ella sólo por el niño. Recuerdo todos y cada uno de los detalles de la última noche que pasamos juntos la semana anterior a tu boda. Y hace diez días, cuando me diste las escrituras del apartamento…» —Helen se detuvo e intentó contener las lagrimas. Luego continuó estoicamente—. «Sabía que era para apaciguar tu mala conciencia. Después de casi cuatro años te entiendo perfectamente, cher, y cuando vuelvas puedo prometerte…». En ese punto ella comenzó a reírse y tú me diste una excusa para ir al baño, por lo cual te estaré eternamente agradecida —concluyó Helen.

Parte 3: cuando la heroína confronta al heroe acerca de lo que escucho durante la fiesta. Quiero indicar que esta vez la heroína SI ESCUCHO BIEN, ella sabia hablar francés así que el típico "malentendido" no esta aquí XD

—¿Y qué sabes tú de mi forma de actuar? Piensas que me conoces muy bien sólo porque compartimos cama y fluidos corporales, pero no me conoces en absoluto. Si me conocieras, te habrías enterado de que viví en Suiza hasta los catorce años. De los cuatro idiomas que se hablan allí, domino dos: el italiano y el francés. ¿Es necesario que siga? —ella vio cómo él se ruborizaba. Hacía muy bien en sentirse culpable.

—Ah, oíste lo que dijo Louisa. Fue una imprudencia por mi parte, pero hablé en francés para evitarte un mal trago.

—Qué atento eres —dijo ella con sarcasmo.

—Escuchaste que fue mi amante, y lo lamento, pero no tienes ningún motivo para sentirte celosa, Helen. Aquello terminó antes de casarnos, y mientras esté contigo no necesito a ninguna otra mujer, lo juro.

Helen no podía dar crédito. Aquello era demasiado.
—Debes de pensar que me chupo el dedo si esperas que me crea una sola palabra de lo que dices. Eres el canalla más mentiroso, manipulador y arrogante que he tenido la desgracia de conocer. Has estado liado a esa mujer durante años. ¿Me tomas por tonta? La semana anterior a nuestra boda estabas en su cama. Delia me dijo lo infieles que eran los hombres de vuestra familia, y por Dios que tenía razón. Tuviste incluso la desfachatez de decirme hace diez días que ibas a Nueva York cuando en realidad fuiste a ver a esa mujer recién salido de mi cama; una cama donde, por cierto me llamaste ma petite, una expresión francesa, cuando tuvimos relaciones sexuales por primera vez. Ahora ya sé por qué: por la fuerza de la costumbre. Luego, para rematarlo todo, descubro que has regalado a tu amante un apartamento y Dios sabe qué más. Y te preguntas por qué han terminado las joyas que me regalaste en el suelo —la mirada de Helen expresaba todo el rechazo que sentía hacia él.

—¿Has terminado ya de crucificarme? —preguntó Leon con aspereza mientras la sujetaba por la cintura.

—Dios ayude a Nicholas con un padre como tú. En cuanto a mí, no quiero que me vuelvas a tocar en tu vida.

Aquel último golpe era más de lo que Leon podía soportar. No era ningún santo, y era cierto que se había acostado con Louisa la semana previa a la boda, pero sobre todo porque ella se lo suplicó. Después de decirle que habían terminado, sintió lástima y accedió, pero no se quedó a dormir y se marchó antes de medianoche. La aparición de Louisa en la fiesta le pilló desprevenido, pero le parecía intolerable que su esposa hubiera pensado tan mal de él, que creyera que había mentido cuando había dicho que iba a Nueva York.

Parte 4: Después de que la heroína lo encara tienen sexo (ella no pudo resistirse a él ¬_¬) Esto fue lo que el héroe le dijo de la "despedida" de su amante.

—Así que no querías que te volviera a tocar en la vida —se burló sin acritud—. Al igual que me sucede a mí, Helen, ya no puedes resistirte al deseo que existe entre, nosotros.

—Esa es tu jactanciosa opinión —le espetó ella.

—No es una opinión, sino un hecho, y para demostrártelo no te tocaré de nuevo, no hasta que tú me lo pidas. Y dudo que tengamos que esperar mucho. Algunas mujeres, una vez que han probado el sexo, ya no pueden pasar sin él, y me da la impresión de que perteneces a esa clase de mujeres.

—Ni lo sueñes —bufó ella. Sentía vergüenza de su propia debilidad y lo odiaba con todas sus fuerzas. Quería pegarlo, destrozar su colosal orgullo—. Solo estoy aquí por Nicholas, y para dejar las cosas claras déjame decirte que la cicatriz de mi tripa no es de una apendicitis, sino de un accidente. Así que si albergas la esperanza de que algún día me pueda quedar embarazada, olvídalo. No puedo tener hijos.
En su explosión de rabia, había confesado su mayor secreto, pero la reacción de Leon no fue la que ella esperaba. Él la miró y le acarició la cicatriz con la mano

—No me importa no tener un hijo biológico. Tenemos a Nicholas —dijo sin alterarse—. Lamento lo que ha ocurrido esta noche, y no espero que me creas ciegamente. Pero si hubieras escuchado un poco más habrías oído cómo le recordaba a Louisa que la relación había terminado para siempre, y que había sido compensada generosamente por su amistad. No tienes nada de qué preocuparte; bórralo de tu mente.

La facilidad con que él pasó por alto su confidencia la enojó aún más. Para Helen era un tema muy delicado, pero León se mostraba tan imperturbable ante la noticia que obviamente no parecía importarle lo más mínimo lo que ella pudiera sentir.

Lo ven? Creo que estaba tan encantada y feliz de esta historia que pasé por alto al heroé "infiel"! Tal vez estaba tan cansada de los heroes frios y crueles de Sara Craven y Sharon Kendrick que fue como un "aire fresco".
Sin embargo en 2015, no tolero el héroe infiel! :S

Aun estoy esperando algún nuevo libro de esta autora, no ha vuelto a publicar nada nuevo desde 2013 :'(

[رومولا الن emmajain-book · Rating 2 out of 5]

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[Leyns · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reasonable read if you don't mind a conceited, arrogant hero with a massive ego who keeps talking down to the heroine. Even at the end he says 'my wife, like most women, has trouble thinking. I told you to leave the thinking to me'. Really. And she can't resist him in bed. Even when she thinks he cheated on her TEN DAYS EARLIER, she can't resist him. Sickening.

[Anne Griffin · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of my pet peeves a heroine the hero believed is nasty until he discovers she still has a hymen....ugh hated this heroine

[Calysta · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF, the man is evil.

[Debby · Rating 3 out of 5]

He had sex with his ex a week before he married the h…

He tells the h that he did have sex with that woman but he did not sleep with her. Well, that makes it alright then. 🙄

[Cherise · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reread. This one got a few triggers for me, hence the low rating. I really hate both protagonists due to their interaction, and except for the epilogue, which gets it the star, this is more or less a torture read for me.

In my book, no means no. In here, no from the h means the H virtually manhandling and coercing her to have sex, time and time again. This is not even solely the H's fault, as the h's no actually means heck yes based on her wanton responses towards the H. Normally forceful H has its attraction, being OTT and oftentime pushing for a kiss or two is de rigeure for harlequins due to the h being totally innocents and having no idea what they really want. But in here, H is so smugly handsy and afterwards also so smugly derisive that sexy times is just so not sexy to me. It is disgusting when a guy kept manhandling and fondling a girl as her mind clearly states this isn't what she wants just so to force her body to have a reaction. Unfortunately in this case, we are awarded his pov too (oh joy...) and all we hear from him is sex sex sex most times, while other more gentle thought are not as well articulated to show his falling for her. Hence he really just came across as a lecher to me. Oh and this dude is so oversex he had pity sex with the ow when he was engaged to the h, whom he admitted to being strongly attracted to. As if he isn't enough of a dirtbag...meh

Given the H's behavior, the h naturally appears a total wimp without any mind of her own, but just a tstl woman drunk on sex to me. Time and again the whole book is a rinse and cycle of her yes-no then his making her eat her words. Even when she found something that totally wrecked her world, this happens. Then she will excuse herself by thinking this is all ok as she needs to stick to the kid anyways. I seriously cannot respect someone this spineless, to be honest.

The whole book has a lot of coerce sexy times, even before they even knew each other well. This again just makes it a very nasty business to me. I do not see any redeemable quality thus far in the H, being a huge bully then, so I do not get where and how the h will think she is in love with him and that is why she kept having sex with him. Her suddenly going not ok about a matter she heard from another person, one the H already mentioned was not a nice guy, was also puzzling. I just do not see the big deal in this if she thought the main goal is to stick together for the child's sake. That goal is still the same no matter what she thought she found out, so no idea why suddenly this isn't ok when in fact what she thought all along was never ok to me to begin with anyways.

To be fair, there are times spend out of bed later on to strengthen the relationship out of bed, though I find it odd the h just acts as if everything is normal after being molested by the H and even laughing with him.

I do not feel any softening in the H much throughout the book, to be honest, what he did as deemed to be out of character and hence a man in love, is just such puny gestures I seriously think I would have missed it totally had it not been pointed out, and I just pity the h for being dealt such a crappy hand. He probably is more attentive and sweeter as the book progresses, but it wasn't highlighted much or covered well for me to really feel his emotions.

The ending is the one redeeming part of this book, though I was so detached by then and couldn't even feel the love between these two that I felt it was just a little too late for me. I forgot to check the publishing date, it probably wouldn't have been so bad if it was written in the 70's, but in this day and age, the H's caveman act borders on disturbing.

On a sidenote, this really got me thinking. Do men in real life really have mistresses, especially when they are unattached? Wow, I felt this type of arrangement happens to married men or in the 1800s. How many woman nowadays really would think they are a mistress versus a regular girlfriend or a casual hookup? Just such an odd concept...

[Roub · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was perfect, the best i read since a long time:p it did not involve dat high level of emotions, very intense which i usually rate 5 star. this was a simple, direct read n cliched infact: MOC, H believes h is a gold-digging slut, wanted her since the 1st time he saw her 9 years ago but he was married n well, he cud spare himself dat slut lol! u see, he knew he cud have had her!! when actually she was not seeing well at dat time, was blind 4 almost a year n dats y she was staring at him, he thought she was in instant lust wid his nakedness. big lol ! n those famous parting words : ‘Flattered though I am, and available as you so obviously are, I am a married man. You
should try asking before ogling.’ rofl xd
dat worked 4 me, too well !! hats off 2 the author 4 hilarious n amazing dialogue!! leon was such a conniving bastard as outrageous as they come, conceited, arrogant n ruthless. yet he cud not help himself, ‘Exquisite. Helen of Troy could not have been more beautiful.’ well, aren't dat words of a besotted man !? here, u have character development. u see how he changed bcoz he actually loved nicholas n he cud not help falling 4 helen. helen made the best of things, did not let the past damage her, she did not suffer from a complex bcoz she was sterile. this is definitely jacqueline baird at her best, it all happened gradually n so naturally. hats off 2 u mrs baird ! another fantastic n awesome read from u ! i like ur heroes, leon so hard n cynical at 1st...n then he turned marshmallows lol:D

[Tia · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the hero sought out the heroine to marry her after his sister died, he only did it to get control. Or that was what he told himself, for it was a lie and he had fallen in love with the heroine. After a while being married secrets came out and he was exposed to his wife the heroine, who was terribly hurt. But there has been a misunderstanding and now with her being pregnant with his miracle baby, he wasn't going to give her up.

As you can tell, my fancy is the pregnancy harlequins and I quite enjoyed this one despite the controversy over the reviews which left me feeling both negative and positive before I read it. I really enjoyed this book and though it was all so romantic and sweet despite the deceit. I'm glad it all got cleared up!

[Nikki · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too much going on in this small book. Hero wasn't very heroic and his past wasn't enough of a reason for how he behaved. Hero tricked the heroine alot. The heroine had already a rough time and the hero made it alot worse. I think she could have been better off without him. Every time the heroine stood up for herself the hero made her feel stupid about it. Better books out there.

[Valerie Noble · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay read. I didn't really care for the male character.

[Hina Tabassum Khatri · Rating 3 out of 5]

A banker by profession, Leon Aristides is a ruthless man, taking what he wants with little regard for other. The same's true for how his marriage to Helen Haywood begins. A bid to safeguard family name and control over family business.

Soon love finds a place in his life but he is oblivious to it, having never been the recipient of the said emotion.

For Helen, on the other hand, little Nicholas, is her life. Nicolas is Delia's son who was Helen's best friend and Leon's younger sister. Being named guardian to the little boy, she is unaware that Leon does not share the same privilege and agrees to marry him to stay with her baby. Her baby, as she is the one who had looked after the baby from the time he was born.

Living in a mansion in Athens, bound by marriage they find themselves to be each other's soul mates with a lot of trust issues being the main hindrances.

And of course, even though she has known that she could not not have a baby since after her accident when she was 14, she conceives one with her husband in a couple of months, a miracle indeed ;)

An overall 3.5

[Asteria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This could have been one of my favorite M&B books if not for the incident of one week before their marriage. I cannot call it cheating when both the leads were not emotionally invested in the marriage of convenience yet it sits wrong to be so callous that he couldn't hold himself for a week and it left a bad taste in the mouth. This was compounded by the fact that he was arrogant in the face of these accusations and the FL didn't attempt to make him grovel or hold out on him longer, she was a puppet to her body's needs. I would have given it 2 stars if not for the ending where some of the scenes did soften my heart a bit...What a shame

[More Books Than Time · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread. How did I miss H cheating on fiancée h 10 days before wedding? The incredible never ending bossiness is par for course with JB’ Hs but this guy!!! “Let me do the thinking.” And he implies she’s borderline nympho and lies over and over and went into marriage despising h, marry only for money and control.

She is far too trusting and she even feels guilty for not trusting and being a complete doormat.

Still good story with intense emotion.

Original: Excellent story with complex characters that shine through the pedestrian plot and simple conflicts.

[Melanie♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars