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Overbearing Billionaires #1
Mack The Wife
Mackenzie O'Brien believes the only way her overprotective brothers will stay out of her life and find loves of their own is if she is married and settled. When an old love returns to town, Mackenzie is anxious to see if she and Grady Sullivan can pick up where they left off.
Grady tries to fight his attraction to Mackenzie. He wants nothing to do with the spoiled little rich girl who broke his heart years ago or her ridiculous marriage scheme. He's a cop, living on a cop's salary and she is way out of his league. And besides, her brothers hate him.
But Mackenzie won't take no for an answer--until Grady suspects one or more of her brothers may be guilty of murder. Then she has no choice but to reconsider her plans. Because when it comes to family, the O'Briens stick together, even if it means giving up on love.
Grady tries to fight his attraction to Mackenzie. He wants nothing to do with the spoiled little rich girl who broke his heart years ago or her ridiculous marriage scheme. He's a cop, living on a cop's salary and she is way out of his league. And besides, her brothers hate him.
But Mackenzie won't take no for an answer--until Grady suspects one or more of her brothers may be guilty of murder. Then she has no choice but to reconsider her plans. Because when it comes to family, the O'Briens stick together, even if it means giving up on love.
279 pages, ebook
First published October 7, 2014
About the author
Debby Conrad
40 books67 followersSexy reads with a dash of humor and a slice of suspense!
DEBBY CONRAD has been spinning tales since junior high school when she would force her younger sister and a few close friends to listen to her fantasies and dreams. Back then she had no idea her silly tales would end up in print, or that her later dream of becoming a novelist would come true.
Debby lives with her husband in NW Pennsylvania, has two grown daughters, five grandchildren and a miniature Dachshund who does not like being ignored while she writes.
As an award-winning author, with 30 published romance novels to her credit, it is always a surprise to what she will work on next. Even she doesn’t know sometimes; not until the fingers hit the keyboard. She recently completed a series titled MULBERRY LAKE. Other series include the Love, Lies and More Lies series, the Chance at Love series, the Orchard Falls series and the Crystal Lake series. Her next book, WHISPER LANE, will be a standalone psychological suspense novel available in 2025. Get ready!
Please visit her website: www.DebbyConrad.com While there you can sign up to get notified of new releases.
Please like her on Facebook: www.facebook/DebbyConradAuthor
Debby is an independent author and relies on readers to spread the word. If you enjoyed reading one of her books please consider writing a review at your favorite online retailer. A review from a satisfied reader is the best gift an author can receive.
DEBBY CONRAD has been spinning tales since junior high school when she would force her younger sister and a few close friends to listen to her fantasies and dreams. Back then she had no idea her silly tales would end up in print, or that her later dream of becoming a novelist would come true.
Debby lives with her husband in NW Pennsylvania, has two grown daughters, five grandchildren and a miniature Dachshund who does not like being ignored while she writes.
As an award-winning author, with 30 published romance novels to her credit, it is always a surprise to what she will work on next. Even she doesn’t know sometimes; not until the fingers hit the keyboard. She recently completed a series titled MULBERRY LAKE. Other series include the Love, Lies and More Lies series, the Chance at Love series, the Orchard Falls series and the Crystal Lake series. Her next book, WHISPER LANE, will be a standalone psychological suspense novel available in 2025. Get ready!
Please visit her website: www.DebbyConrad.com While there you can sign up to get notified of new releases.
Please like her on Facebook: www.facebook/DebbyConradAuthor
Debby is an independent author and relies on readers to spread the word. If you enjoyed reading one of her books please consider writing a review at your favorite online retailer. A review from a satisfied reader is the best gift an author can receive.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
March 27, 2016
Great story!
Loved this book. It sucked me in right away! While I didn't like the things Grady said to Mack at times, I understood the fear in his words. My favorite brother was Owen and can't wait to read his book.
The mystery was great and I was totally surprised by the killer. I always like when it comes as a surprise.
Definitely recommend this book as an excellent read.
Loved this book. It sucked me in right away! While I didn't like the things Grady said to Mack at times, I understood the fear in his words. My favorite brother was Owen and can't wait to read his book.
The mystery was great and I was totally surprised by the killer. I always like when it comes as a surprise.
Definitely recommend this book as an excellent read.
July 28, 2015
3.25 stars.
Here they are in high school. She is sad on the anniversary of her parents death, at a party, knows her brothers are watching her.... she does not handle this situation well.....
“Mackenzie, you can talk to me,” he said.
“I don’t want to talk.” She stared up at him then. “Kiss me,” she said.
Again, Grady peered over his shoulder before looking back at her. “That’s probably not a good idea. You’re drunk.”
“I’m not drunk,” she said although she was on her way. “Consider it a going away present since you’re going off to fight soon.”
He took a step toward her, touched her face, wiped a tear and ran a finger along her neck. “A going away present?”
She tried to force back the tears, refused to look him in the eye. “Yes. Is it not enough? Do you want to have sex too?”
“Do I want to have sex?” he asked, not bothering to hide his surprise.
“Yes. I don’t have all night.”
“And here I thought you were a virgin,” he said, licking his lips.
She waved a hand. “A virgin?” She let out an amused laugh. “I’ve done it a dozen times or more with a dozen different guys.” Why wouldn’t he kiss her, hold her, make her pain go away?
“Mackenzie,” he whispered. “I don’t think . . .”
And then she grabbed his face and pulled him down for a kiss. That was all it took. They were soon a tangle of arms and legs.....She gasped at the onslaught of shock and pain. “What the hell, Mackenzie! You said . . .” Embarrassed by her lie, she kissed him again as she began moving on top of him. Soon they created a beautiful rhythm together. The pressure was building. She needed and wanted more and she knew something was about to happen inside her when someone shouted, “Get your f'ing hands off my sister!”
“Don’t you ever f'ing touch her again,” Aidan yelled. Mackenzie stumbled as she reached for her brother’s arm. “Aidan, please don’t.”
He reeled on her. “You’re drunk!” And then he glared down at Grady. Grady with his bare a$s exposed. “You took advantage of my sister when she was drunk? You’re not good enough for her to wipe with. You lowlife scumbag piece of sh!t!” Several kids from the party were heading toward them, pointing. Her face flushed with embarrassment and shame. “Go get in the car,” Aidan said to her.
Mackenzie glanced once more at Grady and then she ran up the bank away from the man to whom she had just lost her virginity. The man who had tried to make her feel special and forget her pain. The man she hadn’t bothered to defend to her brother.
Like 8 years go by and the first time they see each other again... She pukes on him. Yeah - not a great track record here. She wants to talk it out. Him - not so much.
“I just thought maybe we could talk about it.”
“Talk about it?” Was she f'ing serious? “You want to talk about the night I f-ed you after you’d told me you weren’t a virgin? And of course I found out too late you were a virgin and then your brother shoved a fist up my nose and reminded me I wasn’t good enough for you to wipe your pretty little a$$ on.” He sighed as he watched the horrified look on her face. “Is that what you want to talk about?”
“Aidan was . . . I was . . . I shouldn’t have lied to you, Grady. I should have told you the truth.”
“You think so?”
Then they have discussions like this & she proposes to him...
“Why the hell did you come here this morning?”
She raised her eyes to meet his. “I . . . it’s sort of silly, really, and I know you will probably think I’m crazy but . . .” She moistened her lips with her tongue, and it was more than he could stand. He knew why she’d come here. To finish what they had started eight years ago. He could see it in her eyes. She just didn’t have the nerve to say it. He grabbed her, pulled her toward him and ravaged her mouth.
“Did you come here so you could go slumming one last time?”
“What? No,” she whispered, sounding confused.
“If your brother hadn’t stopped us that night I would have made you come. Is that why you’re here, Mackenzie? Because you want me to make you come?”
“Yes. No.” She pushed at his chest.
“Which is it? Yes or no?”
“No. No,” she said breathlessly, pushing harder at his chest.
He stared down at her flushed face. “Then why are you here? What is it you want?” She caught her breath then blurted, “Like I said, you’re going to think I’m crazy but . . .”
Narrowing his eyes, he said, “Would you just tell me?”
“I was wondering if . . . Do you want to get married?”
“Go ahead and poke fun, Grady. Maybe I would be willing to give up every penny just so I could have a normal life. Marriage and kids. That’s what I really want. That’s what is important to me. But I’ll never have that.”
“You’re being a drama queen. And when people say that money isn’t important to them it is usually because they have too damned much.”
Grady seems to have a bit of chip on his shoulder and can be pretty mean when trying to push Mack away. (in fairness, the 1st quote below is after one of her friends called him a lowlife).
“You know I didn’t expect you to like all my friends or even have a lot of fun tonight,” she said, “but I did expect you to behave like a gentleman.”
“Yeah, well,” he said, spreading his hands wide, “then you shouldn’t have asked a lowlife like me to be your date.” He tugged at his bowtie, yanking it free and tossed it to the ground.
“Grady?”
He gave her an exasperated look. “I don’t belong here, Mackenzie. Any more than you belong in my apartment above the hardware store. We gave it a whirl. We had some fun. But it wasn’t meant to be.”
“It wasn’t meant to be?” she asked, crossing her arms over her middle. “That’s it?” He didn’t answer. Her eyes welled up with tears. “I was going to tell you something important tonight.” She glanced around at the people on the terrace. He stared at her, waited for her to speak again. “I was going to tell you that I love you.”
Blinking, he said, “Well, now you won’t have to. Save it for someone who cares. Goodbye, Mackenzie.”
“Mackenzie, I’ve told you from day one this would never work between us. But you kept coming around. And now you’re telling your brother you’re in love with me. That you plan to marry me.” He gave a humorless laugh. “What the hell is wrong with you?” He shook his head. “Do I look like marriage material to you? I’m just a lowlife f'ing cop who wanted to get inside the rich girl’s panties.”
She breathed in quick shallow gasps, holding back the raw painful emotion that gripped at her throat and tore at her heart. Aidan stepped in. “That’s enough, Sullivan.”
But Grady ignored her brother. “I have to say, Mackenzie, there was never anything special between us. So get over it. F'ing a rich girl is no different than f'ing a poor one.”
“You son of a bi+%!” Aidan pounced on Grady, punched him in the face, knocked him to the floor. Her other brothers joined in the brawl, each taking a jab at him when they could before three police officers jumped in to break it up. Grady never fought back. Hadn’t even tried to fight back. It was as if he’d wanted her brothers to beat him. He sat up, using the wall behind him for support and stared up at her. He didn’t bother to wipe away the blood from his nose and lip. He seemed totally unmoved by her wrenching sobs. Then he tore his gaze from hers and stared at Aidan. “I told you I’d set her straight. Now get her out of here and keep her the hell away from me.”
OUCH!
Life or death situation brings about clarity. And she does finally show some backbone by not going right back to him and apologizing to him, even though he was the one in the wrong.
Here they are in high school. She is sad on the anniversary of her parents death, at a party, knows her brothers are watching her.... she does not handle this situation well.....
“Mackenzie, you can talk to me,” he said.
“I don’t want to talk.” She stared up at him then. “Kiss me,” she said.
Again, Grady peered over his shoulder before looking back at her. “That’s probably not a good idea. You’re drunk.”
“I’m not drunk,” she said although she was on her way. “Consider it a going away present since you’re going off to fight soon.”
He took a step toward her, touched her face, wiped a tear and ran a finger along her neck. “A going away present?”
She tried to force back the tears, refused to look him in the eye. “Yes. Is it not enough? Do you want to have sex too?”
“Do I want to have sex?” he asked, not bothering to hide his surprise.
“Yes. I don’t have all night.”
“And here I thought you were a virgin,” he said, licking his lips.
She waved a hand. “A virgin?” She let out an amused laugh. “I’ve done it a dozen times or more with a dozen different guys.” Why wouldn’t he kiss her, hold her, make her pain go away?
“Mackenzie,” he whispered. “I don’t think . . .”
And then she grabbed his face and pulled him down for a kiss. That was all it took. They were soon a tangle of arms and legs.....She gasped at the onslaught of shock and pain. “What the hell, Mackenzie! You said . . .” Embarrassed by her lie, she kissed him again as she began moving on top of him. Soon they created a beautiful rhythm together. The pressure was building. She needed and wanted more and she knew something was about to happen inside her when someone shouted, “Get your f'ing hands off my sister!”
“Don’t you ever f'ing touch her again,” Aidan yelled. Mackenzie stumbled as she reached for her brother’s arm. “Aidan, please don’t.”
He reeled on her. “You’re drunk!” And then he glared down at Grady. Grady with his bare a$s exposed. “You took advantage of my sister when she was drunk? You’re not good enough for her to wipe with. You lowlife scumbag piece of sh!t!” Several kids from the party were heading toward them, pointing. Her face flushed with embarrassment and shame. “Go get in the car,” Aidan said to her.
Mackenzie glanced once more at Grady and then she ran up the bank away from the man to whom she had just lost her virginity. The man who had tried to make her feel special and forget her pain. The man she hadn’t bothered to defend to her brother.
Like 8 years go by and the first time they see each other again... She pukes on him. Yeah - not a great track record here. She wants to talk it out. Him - not so much.
“I just thought maybe we could talk about it.”
“Talk about it?” Was she f'ing serious? “You want to talk about the night I f-ed you after you’d told me you weren’t a virgin? And of course I found out too late you were a virgin and then your brother shoved a fist up my nose and reminded me I wasn’t good enough for you to wipe your pretty little a$$ on.” He sighed as he watched the horrified look on her face. “Is that what you want to talk about?”
“Aidan was . . . I was . . . I shouldn’t have lied to you, Grady. I should have told you the truth.”
“You think so?”
Then they have discussions like this & she proposes to him...
“Why the hell did you come here this morning?”
She raised her eyes to meet his. “I . . . it’s sort of silly, really, and I know you will probably think I’m crazy but . . .” She moistened her lips with her tongue, and it was more than he could stand. He knew why she’d come here. To finish what they had started eight years ago. He could see it in her eyes. She just didn’t have the nerve to say it. He grabbed her, pulled her toward him and ravaged her mouth.
“Did you come here so you could go slumming one last time?”
“What? No,” she whispered, sounding confused.
“If your brother hadn’t stopped us that night I would have made you come. Is that why you’re here, Mackenzie? Because you want me to make you come?”
“Yes. No.” She pushed at his chest.
“Which is it? Yes or no?”
“No. No,” she said breathlessly, pushing harder at his chest.
He stared down at her flushed face. “Then why are you here? What is it you want?” She caught her breath then blurted, “Like I said, you’re going to think I’m crazy but . . .”
Narrowing his eyes, he said, “Would you just tell me?”
“I was wondering if . . . Do you want to get married?”
“Go ahead and poke fun, Grady. Maybe I would be willing to give up every penny just so I could have a normal life. Marriage and kids. That’s what I really want. That’s what is important to me. But I’ll never have that.”
“You’re being a drama queen. And when people say that money isn’t important to them it is usually because they have too damned much.”
Grady seems to have a bit of chip on his shoulder and can be pretty mean when trying to push Mack away. (in fairness, the 1st quote below is after one of her friends called him a lowlife).
“You know I didn’t expect you to like all my friends or even have a lot of fun tonight,” she said, “but I did expect you to behave like a gentleman.”
“Yeah, well,” he said, spreading his hands wide, “then you shouldn’t have asked a lowlife like me to be your date.” He tugged at his bowtie, yanking it free and tossed it to the ground.
“Grady?”
He gave her an exasperated look. “I don’t belong here, Mackenzie. Any more than you belong in my apartment above the hardware store. We gave it a whirl. We had some fun. But it wasn’t meant to be.”
“It wasn’t meant to be?” she asked, crossing her arms over her middle. “That’s it?” He didn’t answer. Her eyes welled up with tears. “I was going to tell you something important tonight.” She glanced around at the people on the terrace. He stared at her, waited for her to speak again. “I was going to tell you that I love you.”
Blinking, he said, “Well, now you won’t have to. Save it for someone who cares. Goodbye, Mackenzie.”
“Mackenzie, I’ve told you from day one this would never work between us. But you kept coming around. And now you’re telling your brother you’re in love with me. That you plan to marry me.” He gave a humorless laugh. “What the hell is wrong with you?” He shook his head. “Do I look like marriage material to you? I’m just a lowlife f'ing cop who wanted to get inside the rich girl’s panties.”
She breathed in quick shallow gasps, holding back the raw painful emotion that gripped at her throat and tore at her heart. Aidan stepped in. “That’s enough, Sullivan.”
But Grady ignored her brother. “I have to say, Mackenzie, there was never anything special between us. So get over it. F'ing a rich girl is no different than f'ing a poor one.”
“You son of a bi+%!” Aidan pounced on Grady, punched him in the face, knocked him to the floor. Her other brothers joined in the brawl, each taking a jab at him when they could before three police officers jumped in to break it up. Grady never fought back. Hadn’t even tried to fight back. It was as if he’d wanted her brothers to beat him. He sat up, using the wall behind him for support and stared up at her. He didn’t bother to wipe away the blood from his nose and lip. He seemed totally unmoved by her wrenching sobs. Then he tore his gaze from hers and stared at Aidan. “I told you I’d set her straight. Now get her out of here and keep her the hell away from me.”
OUCH!
Life or death situation brings about clarity. And she does finally show some backbone by not going right back to him and apologizing to him, even though he was the one in the wrong.
September 30, 2017
Mack the Wife(Overbearing Billionaires Book 1) by Debby Conrad
I loved Mack the Wife! I can't wait to read Aidan's Way, and the next book, and the next. Great writing by Debby Conrad! I recommend her books to everyone! Thank you, Debby Conrad. You are now on my list of favorite Authors!
I loved Mack the Wife! I can't wait to read Aidan's Way, and the next book, and the next. Great writing by Debby Conrad! I recommend her books to everyone! Thank you, Debby Conrad. You are now on my list of favorite Authors!
September 13, 2019
Mack The Wife
I sort of liked the first Debby Conrad book I read, but hated the drama, and the romantic partners were two absolute dummies. I, however, had a ball reading this romance!!! It was fun, very hot and I liked Mack and her man so much!! I'm back in the fold and looking forward to the next book in this series!!
I sort of liked the first Debby Conrad book I read, but hated the drama, and the romantic partners were two absolute dummies. I, however, had a ball reading this romance!!! It was fun, very hot and I liked Mack and her man so much!! I'm back in the fold and looking forward to the next book in this series!!
May 27, 2017
Kind of unbelievable. Back and forth between the two, was just not what real people do. At least not normal people. The bad guys were so bad that it was hard to switch between attraction and darkness. Too many small stories in one novel.
October 19, 2018
Enjoyable read
Refreshing love story mixed with mystery, murder, and sex. Paced for a really good read. I highly recommend this biik.
Refreshing love story mixed with mystery, murder, and sex. Paced for a really good read. I highly recommend this biik.
September 1, 2019
It could have been better
July 11, 2024
Mack’s brothers are weird. Loved the mystery.
August 11, 2015
Mackenzie O'Brien is rich, like SUPER rich with four incredibly overbearing brothers. She can't so much as sneeze without them popping up with a kleenex and antibiotics and she's sick of it. So she comes up with a scheme: find a guy to marry her so they'll back off and focus on their own lives. The problem is the one man she thinks can stand up to her brothers is still upset over the way she used and humiliated him years ago.
Grady Sullivan is not rich but he's had some type of feelings for Mackenzie since high school. But with one or more of her brothers as a suspect in a recent murder, he's not too sure anything could come of them.
I have to say Mack the Wife was an unexpectedly good read. At times Grady was cruel to Mack, but I think many times she deserved it. She kept saying she wanted to be treated as an adult but then she jumped to childish conclusions and sided with her friends or brothers at every turn. At times I don't think she deserved him but she needed to learn how to be an adult since her brothers were literally always there to take care of anything she needed.
The brothers (other than Owen) were insufferable. There is overprotective and then there's overbearing and Aidan especially fell in the latter category. The murder mystery was a fun side story. I guessed pretty early who the killer was but the way Debby Conrad wrote had me constantly questioning my own innate cynicism.
Mack The Wife was a good read and I'm definitely going to look for the next book in the series.
Grady Sullivan is not rich but he's had some type of feelings for Mackenzie since high school. But with one or more of her brothers as a suspect in a recent murder, he's not too sure anything could come of them.
I have to say Mack the Wife was an unexpectedly good read. At times Grady was cruel to Mack, but I think many times she deserved it. She kept saying she wanted to be treated as an adult but then she jumped to childish conclusions and sided with her friends or brothers at every turn. At times I don't think she deserved him but she needed to learn how to be an adult since her brothers were literally always there to take care of anything she needed.
The brothers (other than Owen) were insufferable. There is overprotective and then there's overbearing and Aidan especially fell in the latter category. The murder mystery was a fun side story. I guessed pretty early who the killer was but the way Debby Conrad wrote had me constantly questioning my own innate cynicism.
Mack The Wife was a good read and I'm definitely going to look for the next book in the series.
January 13, 2016
Pretty enjoyable read!!
I liked this book quite a bit, and it will be one I reread. The real killer was interesting, and I particularly liked the climax of this novel. That said, while I really enjoyed the book, Mack drove me nuts in some ways. She was really hard to get to like. Grady was the character I rooted for the most, since he was more relatable.
Still, it was fun and I liked it, and I grew to like Mack at the end. She often felt shallow but not so much I was turned off the book.
I just wish more of the characters had escaped their stereotypes throughout the novel. That said, still a fun read!
I liked this book quite a bit, and it will be one I reread. The real killer was interesting, and I particularly liked the climax of this novel. That said, while I really enjoyed the book, Mack drove me nuts in some ways. She was really hard to get to like. Grady was the character I rooted for the most, since he was more relatable.
Still, it was fun and I liked it, and I grew to like Mack at the end. She often felt shallow but not so much I was turned off the book.
I just wish more of the characters had escaped their stereotypes throughout the novel. That said, still a fun read!
October 1, 2015
Mack The Wife(Overbearing Billionaires Book #1)
Great story with love that returned and takes several unusual twist and turned.. Man without money versus girl with four brothers and lots of money and her the baby only girl.
Great story with love that returned and takes several unusual twist and turned.. Man without money versus girl with four brothers and lots of money and her the baby only girl.
July 25, 2015
Good
the murder that happened and the investigation that followed.the lives that were brought to getter.the evil person who almost caused another death.
the murder that happened and the investigation that followed.the lives that were brought to getter.the evil person who almost caused another death.
August 25, 2015
Good
Mackenzie lived with her brothers. She still had it bad for Grady. He is now a cop. She is rich and so are her brothers. Grady is not. See how this one turns out.
Mackenzie lived with her brothers. She still had it bad for Grady. He is now a cop. She is rich and so are her brothers. Grady is not. See how this one turns out.
August 12, 2015
I really wanted to slap Mack most of the time. Really are we this immature? But I fell in love with her brothers who were just as silly. I am conflicted.
August 13, 2015
Awesome
highly recommended.can't wait to read the other siblings story.a must read.smiling at the moment and looking forward to the next book.
highly recommended.can't wait to read the other siblings story.a must read.smiling at the moment and looking forward to the next book.
August 18, 2015
This book was so good mackenzie is a wonderful character. Grady is a mans man with all their pride. But love prevails and its a great love story.
June 6, 2021
Quik read when you just want to have some easy fun !
September 25, 2015
Is a great book to read
March 31, 2017
Murder
Mack was the only girl in the family of 5. Her brothers were over protective of her. Grady was the guy she liked in high school. She got drunk at a graduation party and had sex with and was caught by her older brother. That was 8 years ago. He is back in town now as a cop after being in the marines. She's the rich girl, he's the poor boy. He needs to solve a murder. It's a great beginning.
Mack was the only girl in the family of 5. Her brothers were over protective of her. Grady was the guy she liked in high school. She got drunk at a graduation party and had sex with and was caught by her older brother. That was 8 years ago. He is back in town now as a cop after being in the marines. She's the rich girl, he's the poor boy. He needs to solve a murder. It's a great beginning.
April 4, 2017
Over bearing and immature
I had a hard time liking Mack. She was strong in some ways, yet very immature. Everyone jumped to conclusions, very often over social standing. She didn't stand by her man very well.
The mystery is pretty good, more than one suspect.
Good set up for rest of series.
I had a hard time liking Mack. She was strong in some ways, yet very immature. Everyone jumped to conclusions, very often over social standing. She didn't stand by her man very well.
The mystery is pretty good, more than one suspect.
Good set up for rest of series.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews