Derek Rory never meant to propose to his best friend's little sister. But when her boss tells a family-oriented investor he's Stephanie's fiancé, Derek can either play along or let her get fired. He's hardly one to turn away from a damsel in distress. If only that damsel wasn't adorable and sexy with a laugh that could melt any cold business mogul’s heart.
When a business proposal becomes a marriage proposal, Stephanie Miller tries to keep it strictly boardroom. But when things get hot under the table, it's all they can do to stay apart. As the tangle of lies drags them deeper into the underhanded world of business politics, Stephanie finds herself in over her head—not just with her job, but with her "fiancé." His eyes are cold, but his kisses light her on fire. If she's not careful, she'll end up faking her way into a real romance.
(From Amazon)
My Thoughts:
First and foremost, you have to suspend disbelief that situations like this actually happen in order to truly enjoy this book. I know this is a popular trope, but it does seem to be a bit overdone. However, the author handles it in a competent manner so it isn't too annoying. That said, I still kept wondering throughout, why are these two allowing themselves to be manipulated like that? This is the part where I had to suspend disbelief to enjoy the story because I kept taking myself out of it by wondering that. Especially Derek. He is portrayed as such a strong, independent, fierce character, I couldn't believe he would allow Stephanie's boss to railroad him like he did. And the way Stephanie fought him every step of the way was kind of annoying, too. In several cases, Derek was just trying to do a nice thing for her and she was a little over the top in her stand against him.
As for their romance, it was kind of bland and unremarkable. No real sparks. It was kind of hard to believe these two fell for each other like they did, especially since it started in such a mercenary way. I never really bought into it, especially since there was little build up to it. First, it was just a business/doing a favor for her brother thing (which is how they met - him doing a favor for her brother), and then, at the very end, all of a sudden they were crazy about each other. There wasn't a good enough build to that where they questioned their feelings and such. I couldn't believe they fell so hard, so quickly, for one another.
Final Assessment: It was an enjoyable read, but didn't stand out from the pack of similar-themed stories.
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