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ΑΓΟΡΑΣΜΕΝΗ ΝΥΦΗ ΝΟΡΑ 83
"Wasn't it reckless of you to come here?"
Lee had been trying not to let Max Van Breedan's questioning irritate her, but she had not succeeded.
"Oh," she sputtered, "I can see you're one of those cold-blooded people who make fun of love! Love doesn't wait to be invited. Adrian knew I'd come to Curacao once I was free of my singing engagement."
"Whether he needed you or not." His words were spoken quietly, but they slashed through her. Supposing Adrian had let her down--or gone away as Max had said? What would she do?
Lee had been trying not to let Max Van Breedan's questioning irritate her, but she had not succeeded.
"Oh," she sputtered, "I can see you're one of those cold-blooded people who make fun of love! Love doesn't wait to be invited. Adrian knew I'd come to Curacao once I was free of my singing engagement."
"Whether he needed you or not." His words were spoken quietly, but they slashed through her. Supposing Adrian had let her down--or gone away as Max had said? What would she do?
- GenresMarriage Of Convenience
Unknown Binding
First published December 1, 1976
2 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
About the author
Flora Kidd
136 books34 followersFlora Mildred Cartwright was born on 1926 in Liverpool, England, UK. The youngest of four children, Flora and her family lived in the same house until she was a teen. In 1949, she graduated from Liverpool University, where she met Robert Kidd, her husband. They moved to her beloved Scotland, where she began teaching, writing, and raised their four children: Richard, Patricia, Peter and David.
Flora Kidd published her first novel, Visit To Rowanbank, in 1966 at Mills & Boon. In 1977, the family moved to Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, where she continued her romance career with Mills & Boon until 1989, when she retired. In 1994, she published the first of the The Marco Polo Project novels, to support a project to build a replica of the 19th century ship Marco Polo.
Flora Kidd passed away on March 19, 2008 at Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.
Flora Kidd published her first novel, Visit To Rowanbank, in 1966 at Mills & Boon. In 1977, the family moved to Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, where she continued her romance career with Mills & Boon until 1989, when she retired. In 1994, she published the first of the The Marco Polo Project novels, to support a project to build a replica of the 19th century ship Marco Polo.
Flora Kidd passed away on March 19, 2008 at Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 24, 2020
Heroine impulsively flies on a one-way ticket to the island of Curacao in the Lesser Antilles to marry her “fiancé.” She discovers he’s been fired from his job at a Dutch trading company by the hero and has run off with another woman after embezzling money from her family.
She faints and hero is there to pick her up and propose a marriage of convenience so that his father can die happy knowing the family name is going to live on.
This is the same scenario as Kay Thorpe’s The Iron Man, without the cruel hero and sense of menace. (Therefore I didn’t like it as well. LOL)
Most readers will probably like this story better. The heroine is young, impulsive and transparent in her confusion and then love for the hero. Hero is obviously smitten from the start, but he hides his feelings behind his father’s will and then later, a widowed OW who tries to come between them.
Even the forced seduction isn’t so forced.
Heroine: you hit me!
Hero: you bit me!
Together: let’s have sex.
Readers will also like that the hero runs after her (hero in Iron Man was willing to let her go) for an HEA. OM is safely dispatched to grift in the US. OW now has to find new blood elsewhere.
The travelogue is fascinating. I knew nothing about this island and its ties with Holland.
Just a solid vintage read.
She faints and hero is there to pick her up and propose a marriage of convenience so that his father can die happy knowing the family name is going to live on.
This is the same scenario as Kay Thorpe’s The Iron Man, without the cruel hero and sense of menace. (Therefore I didn’t like it as well. LOL)
Most readers will probably like this story better. The heroine is young, impulsive and transparent in her confusion and then love for the hero. Hero is obviously smitten from the start, but he hides his feelings behind his father’s will and then later, a widowed OW who tries to come between them.
Even the forced seduction isn’t so forced.
Heroine: you hit me!
Hero: you bit me!
Together: let’s have sex.
Readers will also like that the hero runs after her (hero in Iron Man was willing to let her go) for an HEA. OM is safely dispatched to grift in the US. OW now has to find new blood elsewhere.
The travelogue is fascinating. I knew nothing about this island and its ties with Holland.
Just a solid vintage read.
December 14, 2021
One of Gordon Rayner's covers for Hqn—beautiful color and aesthetically traditional compared to the glorious horrors he was capable of at his most inspired:
.
Anyway, covers where the MCs both look annoyed are my favorites; The Bargain Bride couple seem impatient with each other but not really mad which fits the angst level of the story.
But what was M&B thinking choosing
by Canadian artist Tom McNeely? Taken on it's own merits it's an intriguing scenario: shirtless hero with ragged jeans and crutches. I love romances where the hero has a disability; had M&Bs been available to me back in the day I'd have definitely purchased it looking for a few scenes of H's physical vulnerabilities. And I would have felt cheated because this H remains hale and uninjured throughout.
As for the story I can't really relate to yet another h so impulsive she lands in a foreign country without proper funds or plan, faints from hunger, then cries all over the silk shirt of a man she's just met. Nor am I impressed by a hero who offers her a MOC to ensure he inherits lots of money. Can I at least appreciate how hard Hqn works to manipulate me into thinking women are helpless ninnies while men are totally competent and marvelous, even while being self-serving? Apparently so as once I got past the initial silliness The Bargain Bride was fun and the hero was somewhat unusual for a vintage H. Instead of getting mad all the time he found the h amusing and would initiate actual conversations to clear things up; at least until he was forced back into silent mode to create just enough non-communication to lead to the black moment and HEA.
. Anyway, covers where the MCs both look annoyed are my favorites; The Bargain Bride couple seem impatient with each other but not really mad which fits the angst level of the story.
But what was M&B thinking choosing
by Canadian artist Tom McNeely? Taken on it's own merits it's an intriguing scenario: shirtless hero with ragged jeans and crutches. I love romances where the hero has a disability; had M&Bs been available to me back in the day I'd have definitely purchased it looking for a few scenes of H's physical vulnerabilities. And I would have felt cheated because this H remains hale and uninjured throughout.As for the story I can't really relate to yet another h so impulsive she lands in a foreign country without proper funds or plan, faints from hunger, then cries all over the silk shirt of a man she's just met. Nor am I impressed by a hero who offers her a MOC to ensure he inherits lots of money. Can I at least appreciate how hard Hqn works to manipulate me into thinking women are helpless ninnies while men are totally competent and marvelous, even while being self-serving? Apparently so as once I got past the initial silliness The Bargain Bride was fun and the hero was somewhat unusual for a vintage H. Instead of getting mad all the time he found the h amusing and would initiate actual conversations to clear things up; at least until he was forced back into silent mode to create just enough non-communication to lead to the black moment and HEA.
September 25, 2018
Flora Kidd likes writing about young, impulsive heroines. Here is another one. The heroine Lee, packs up her life in Europe, leaves her friends and her job to fly across the world to the Caribbean on the flimsy promise of marriage from a boyfriend whom she hasn’t seen in a year.
She arrives to find that he is not at company he said he was working for. He was fired by his boss, the Hero. She still tries to look for him at his lodgings only to find out that he has left with another girl. She collapses and the landlords call the Boss (H).
The Hero comforts her a bit then takes her to lunch. He finds out she has no money to return home and has burnt all her bridges. He tells her she cannot work since she doesn’t have a permit, nor are there any jobs available for her, she is a musician. He offers her a MOC to satisfy the terms of his father’s will. Father is ill and wants to see his son married before he hands over the shares of he company. They agree that they only need to be together until the father dies.
The heroine finally agrees and they get married in 2 days and go off to visit the father. He is quite pleased with the heroine because she is young, innocent and pretty. And for bonus points, she plays the guitar like his late wife, the Hero’s mother.
The first two weeks of marriage seem fine. It’s platonic, but the Hero is nice to her and teaches her how to sail. She gets along with father-in-law and the aunt, she even teaches her new niece to play guitar. She hears a bit of family gossip that the Hero and his father don’t get along, which explains the Hero’s hard and determined attitude. She also hears about a potential OW who is supposedly the Hero’s true love, though she could have taken this with a grain of salt since it came from the very rude mother of the OW.
They go to another more sophisticated island supposedly to honeymoon. The Hero equips her with a whole new designer wardrobe courtesy of the sister’s boutique. Later when he presents her with some emeralds, as befits the wife of a millionaire, she refuses, they have a tussle, then they end up having consensual sex. Flora Kidd is quite revolutionary as her heroines always get to have some sex (albeit off screen) in a time when it was rare, or it had to be forced.
They are having a good time dining, dancing and playing at the casino when, of course they get to bump into the OW. The OW is all friendly but somehow she mentions that she ran into the Hero’s ex-employee, the heroine’s old boyfriend. The Hero seems miffed when the heroine admits that she is still looking for the exBF. After that he pays much more attention to the OW.
The OW continues to be friendly-like and even asks permission Fr the heroine for 30 minutes with her husband to talk business. Though the heroine agrees, when she sees them together at the beach, she feels bothered. She goes off to visit some caves with another man and when the Hero and OW catch up with them he is upset since he doesn’t want her going off with other men. They have a fight but soon after he receives word of his father’s death. So they fly back to their home island.
A few weeks after the funeral, while the husband is out of town, the OW visits the heroine and offers to take her to see her ex BF. She goes off with her and when she confronts her old BF, he barely even remember her. He even asks her for money so he can go off to Canada. She agrees to give him the money the next day at the airport. The OW convinces heroine that she should do the “noble” thing and release her husband into the arms of his true love. The TSTL heroine listens to the OW and books a flight to Amsterdam. Anyway she will be meeting ex-BF at the airport to hand him the money.
When she gets to the airport, she doesn’t see ex BF and instead she runs into her angry husband who thinks she is about to leave with the ex. He paid the ex to get on the plane to Canada but he waited to stop her. She explains that she was going to Amsterdam not Canada.
They leave the airport for their house so they can have a heart to heart. The Hero fell in love with her at first sight but he used the father’s illness to convince her to marry him. The OW was an old GF but he was done with her years ago. They declare their love for each other and get a HEA.
For most part the Hero in this one was gentle and indulgent towards the heroine. The heroine was a bit of an idiot. Aside Fr burning her bridges at the start of the story. She constantly reveals the terms of her MOC to all and sundry, including the OW!
She arrives to find that he is not at company he said he was working for. He was fired by his boss, the Hero. She still tries to look for him at his lodgings only to find out that he has left with another girl. She collapses and the landlords call the Boss (H).
The Hero comforts her a bit then takes her to lunch. He finds out she has no money to return home and has burnt all her bridges. He tells her she cannot work since she doesn’t have a permit, nor are there any jobs available for her, she is a musician. He offers her a MOC to satisfy the terms of his father’s will. Father is ill and wants to see his son married before he hands over the shares of he company. They agree that they only need to be together until the father dies.
The heroine finally agrees and they get married in 2 days and go off to visit the father. He is quite pleased with the heroine because she is young, innocent and pretty. And for bonus points, she plays the guitar like his late wife, the Hero’s mother.
The first two weeks of marriage seem fine. It’s platonic, but the Hero is nice to her and teaches her how to sail. She gets along with father-in-law and the aunt, she even teaches her new niece to play guitar. She hears a bit of family gossip that the Hero and his father don’t get along, which explains the Hero’s hard and determined attitude. She also hears about a potential OW who is supposedly the Hero’s true love, though she could have taken this with a grain of salt since it came from the very rude mother of the OW.
They go to another more sophisticated island supposedly to honeymoon. The Hero equips her with a whole new designer wardrobe courtesy of the sister’s boutique. Later when he presents her with some emeralds, as befits the wife of a millionaire, she refuses, they have a tussle, then they end up having consensual sex. Flora Kidd is quite revolutionary as her heroines always get to have some sex (albeit off screen) in a time when it was rare, or it had to be forced.
They are having a good time dining, dancing and playing at the casino when, of course they get to bump into the OW. The OW is all friendly but somehow she mentions that she ran into the Hero’s ex-employee, the heroine’s old boyfriend. The Hero seems miffed when the heroine admits that she is still looking for the exBF. After that he pays much more attention to the OW.
The OW continues to be friendly-like and even asks permission Fr the heroine for 30 minutes with her husband to talk business. Though the heroine agrees, when she sees them together at the beach, she feels bothered. She goes off to visit some caves with another man and when the Hero and OW catch up with them he is upset since he doesn’t want her going off with other men. They have a fight but soon after he receives word of his father’s death. So they fly back to their home island.
A few weeks after the funeral, while the husband is out of town, the OW visits the heroine and offers to take her to see her ex BF. She goes off with her and when she confronts her old BF, he barely even remember her. He even asks her for money so he can go off to Canada. She agrees to give him the money the next day at the airport. The OW convinces heroine that she should do the “noble” thing and release her husband into the arms of his true love. The TSTL heroine listens to the OW and books a flight to Amsterdam. Anyway she will be meeting ex-BF at the airport to hand him the money.
When she gets to the airport, she doesn’t see ex BF and instead she runs into her angry husband who thinks she is about to leave with the ex. He paid the ex to get on the plane to Canada but he waited to stop her. She explains that she was going to Amsterdam not Canada.
They leave the airport for their house so they can have a heart to heart. The Hero fell in love with her at first sight but he used the father’s illness to convince her to marry him. The OW was an old GF but he was done with her years ago. They declare their love for each other and get a HEA.
For most part the Hero in this one was gentle and indulgent towards the heroine. The heroine was a bit of an idiot. Aside Fr burning her bridges at the start of the story. She constantly reveals the terms of her MOC to all and sundry, including the OW!
March 4, 2017
A nice easy simple read. Usually when I see "harlequin novel" I think of cheap tawdry bodice ripper but whether it was because this book was authored in the 70s or whether it is because the author is a little bit more conservative, I was very pleased with the storyline and writing style. There wasn't a lot of heated love scenes which I appreciated but at the same time there was also romance and a little bit of intrigue. Granted it was not the great American novel that made you think deeply but it was a great book for a simple uncomplicated weekend read.
October 13, 2018
Really loved it and is number 1 in my top 10 of Flora Kidd books. I liked the storyline and the characters very much.
June 3, 2020
One of Flora Kidd's best.
July 20, 2025
This one was a pretty decent old harlequin. :)
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews