Heir of the Hamptons
by Erika Rhys
Publication date: November 7th 2017
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
by Erika Rhys
Publication date: November 7th 2017
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
BLURB
A playboy heir. A near-bankrupt
floral designer. A fake marriage gone awry.
RONAN
I was born into money, but I can’t touch my trust fund until I turn 35. Unless I get married. But I’m not a one-woman man, and marriage isn’t a trade-off worth even considering.
I was born into money, but I can’t touch my trust fund until I turn 35. Unless I get married. But I’m not a one-woman man, and marriage isn’t a trade-off worth even considering.
Until now. With my business on
the line, I need to tap my trust. And to do that, I need a wife.
Ava’s beautiful, classy, and
smart. She’s also a hell of an actress, and more than capable of fitting into
Hamptons society.
In every way, she’s the perfect
fake wife for me. Except that I want to tap her, too.
AVA
I never imagined I would consider a fake marriage. All I wanted was to get my floral design business off the ground, and someday—eventually—to meet Mr. Right.
I never imagined I would consider a fake marriage. All I wanted was to get my floral design business off the ground, and someday—eventually—to meet Mr. Right.
But with my dreams about to end
in bankruptcy, Ronan’s offer is my only way out. Unfortunately, there’s a
catch. When he looks at me, my knees turn to rubber, and when he touches me, my
body lights up like a g*ddamned disco ball.
He’s anything but Mr. Right. He’s
domineering, stubborn, and hot-tempered, and while he also knows how to turn on
the charm, I can’t let myself fall for it—or for him.
He’s my financial salvation. But
if I don’t protect myself, he could also break my heart.
Heir of the Hamptons is a steamy,
standalone romance with an HEA. If you like sizzling romance, razor-sharp wit,
and characters who you’ll laugh and cry with, then you’ll love Ronan and Ava’s
story!
Buy Link: Amazon
EXCERPT:
Chapter
One
RONAN
RONAN
New York
City
“Why
don’t you just get married?” my sister Cara said.
“You
can’t be serious,” I picked up my water glass and downed half of it, hoping
that its icy contents would stimulate my brain into sparking a fresh idea. In
the aftermath of my latest loan rejection from Bank of America, I needed a new
plan to save my company, Kingsley Technologies, and I needed it fast. Either
that, or I’d be forced to lay off most of my employees, which was a betrayal I
wasn’t ready to contemplate.
Not
that I expected Cara to solve my problems over lunch at Bar Six, a mellow West
Village bistro that I hit up regularly for its savory Croque Monsieur
sandwiches. I adored my outspoken younger sister, but her art degree and career
as an aspiring painter hadn’t given her a lick of business sense. Still, she
was the only one in my family who was always on my side, which was why I had
just told her about my financial dilemma. Cara’s unwavering support gave me
strength, which was exactly what I needed right now.
Cara
flicked a strand of her long, straight blonde hair away from her face and fixed
me with her bright blue gaze. “Your share of Grandfather’s trust is around
fifty million,” she said. “Isn’t that enough to solve your problems?”
“It’s
more than enough,” I said. “But there’s no way to tap that money until I’m
thirty-five.”
“Think
creatively,” she said. “Under the terms of the trust, we get unrestricted
access to our money when we turn thirty-five, when our father dies, or when we
marry—whichever happens first.”
“I’m
two years away from thirty-five, our father is in perfect health, and marriage
is out of the question,” I said. “When it comes to monogamy, I’m my father’s
son. You know that about me.”
“You’re
nothing like our father,” she said, dipping her fork into her
arugula-and-parmesan salad. “He’s a chronic liar and cheater—you’re neither.”
“I
know who I am,” I said. “Like our father, I’m not a one-woman man. Unlike him,
I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”
“You
wouldn’t have to,” Cara said. “Not if your marriage was purely a business
arrangement.”
I
stared at her. “What?”
She
rolled her eyes. “Come on, Ronan. I can’t believe you haven’t thought of this
yourself. You’ve only dated half the women in New York—there must be one of
them who would be willing to take a big fat check to marry you.”
“It
would never work,” I said.
“Why
not?”
“Lots
of reasons.”
“Such
as?”
“There’s
no point in even discussing it,” I said.
“Then
consider this a theoretical discussion,” Cara said. “I’m curious. Why are you
so sure my idea couldn’t work?”
“Two
words,” I said. “Job qualifications. No woman in her right mind would sign on
to be my fake wife. Any woman crazy enough to take it on would lack the brains
to carry off the amount of acting involved.”
“I
get that your fake wife couldn’t be just anyone,” Cara said. “She’d have to
look convincing to Dad and Veronica. She’d have to be trustworthy and
intelligent.”
“Convincing
our father and stepmother would only be scene one of the farce you’re
proposing,” I said. “This imaginary fake wife would have to live with me for
two years, pose as my wife in public, and not fall in love with me.”
Cara
screwed up her face at me. “Ewww. I can’t believe you just said that.”
I
shrugged. “Women like me—they always have.”
It
was no less than the truth. The genetic lottery had gifted me a handsome face
and a muscular six-foot-two body, which I kept toned with regular workouts. And
while no woman had ever tempted me to consider a long-term relationship, I had
the short-term thing down. Be a nice guy, make the woman I was with feel
beautiful, and attend to her pleasure as much as my own. I didn’t do
commitments, I didn’t make promises, and three nights was my self-imposed
limit—although in practice, I rarely took it beyond one. Manhattan was filled
with gorgeous, single women, which made it the perfect playground for a guy
like me.
Cara
sighed. “I love you, Ronan—but you’re a pig.”
I
flashed her a grin. “Maybe I am—but at least I know who I am. Not every man is
cut out for marriage, and those of us who aren’t should be honest about it.
That’s my philosophy.”
“Philosophy
won’t save your business.”
“Neither
will a fake wife. Veronica’s a bitch, but she’s not stupid. She’d spot a fake
in a minute, and when she did, she’d convince Dad to block my access to the
trust.”
“Can
he still control your trust?” Cara said. “Even if you get married?”
I
leaned back in my chair, looked at my sister, and a wave of affection for her
swept through me. While her fake marriage idea was crazy, her desire to help
meant everything to me. Life hadn’t been easy for Cara, but she had the biggest
heart of anyone I knew.
At
twenty-seven, my little sister had grown into a beautiful woman with a strong
resemblance to our mother, who had died when Cara was born. At least I’d had
our mother for the first six years of my life. All Cara got was her
name—Caroline—and a photo album.
“Dad’s
the primary trustee,” I said. “If he filed a lawsuit claiming that I’d faked a
marriage to gain access to the trust, the money would be frozen until the
lawsuit was resolved. And if I’d already put some of the trust money into
Kingsley Tech, my company could be dragged into court as well.”
“To
recoup the money?” Cara asked.
“Exactly.”
“I
guess that makes sense,” she said. “And lawsuits can go on forever.”
“Now
you’re seeing the big picture,” I said. “Until we turn thirty-five, our father
controls the trust. Neither of us can touch it or borrow against it without his
approval, which thanks to Veronica, we’ll never get. Remember when I wanted to
borrow against my share of the trust to start Kingsley Tech?”
“How
could I forget?” Cara said. “Veronica shut that down in a heartbeat.”
“She’s
got Dad under her thumb—in every area but one.”
“Don’t
remind me,” Cara said with a shudder. “I’m almost certain he’s screwing his new
secretary, who’s totally younger than I am. If Veronica wasn’t such a bitch, I
might actually feel bad for her.”
“Don’t,”
I said. “She married our father for his money and lifestyle. The estate in the
Hamptons. The house in Aspen. The townhouse on Sutton Place.”
Cara
leveled me with a look. “True—but enough about Veronica. Aside from getting
married, do you have any other ideas that could save you from laying off your
employees?”
“Not
yet,” I said. “But I’ll think of something. I always do.”
Buy Link: Amazon
Author Info
Erika Rhys is the international
best-selling author of Heir of the Hamptons and the Gentlemen’s Club, Over the
Edge, and On the Brink series. A romantic at heart--and a lifelong fan of
reading romance novels--she decided to start writing them herself in 2013. Nine
books later, she hasn’t looked back.
Due to spending much of her life
in Boston and NYC, she’ll always be a city girl at heart, but she now lives in
coastal Maine, where she enjoys fresh ocean air, poop-free sidewalks, and the
novelty of cooking in a real, human-sized kitchen--something that eluded her
for years when she lived in the city.
If she’s not working on her
latest book, you can find her reading, watching nature programs on Netflix, or
indulging in a double espresso at a nearby café. She can also usually be found
at www.facebook.com/ErikaRhys.Author, and you can learn more about her upcoming
projects at www.erikarhys.com.
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