The marriage had provided him cover.
Slipping on his black leather jacket while opening the front door, he nodded to his chauffeur. “Let’s go.”
He spent the ride into Manhattan fielding several calls from his PA. Scrolling through a dozen text messages and emails from his bond traders in London and Singapore, he jotted down a couple of notes on new acquisitions. Not until he was mere minutes from his meeting with the old man did he have a chance to open his laptop and review his final proposal. The review truly wasn’t needed. The proposal had played in his head for years.
He knew what he had to do. He always did.
The limo door opened and Aetos stepped out into a biting November wind. Looking at the imposing stone building he was about to acquire, he smiled one more time. Who would have dreamed a young kid from Athens would ever accomplish so much and come so far? Who could have imagined that one Aetos Zenos—a nobody, a nothing—with not a penny to his name when he landed on America’s shores, would soon own one of the best properties in New York City? Who would have predicted the rejected heir of one of Greece’s most prominent families would now be the proud owner of more businesses, land, and power than the Zenos clan had accumulated over hundreds of years?
Certainly not his father. Certainly none of the aristocratic Zenos family.
They’d been wrong. All wrong.
He’d dreamed of this at the tender age of nine when he’d been discarded. He’d imagined this when he’d left his father’s home at the age of fifteen. This need for success had been branded into him with every sneer and every putdown.
Now, here he was. Making it all come true.
Nodding to the doorman, he walked through the open door into his future.
The future his wife had helped him obtain.
His perfect, pretend wife.
To keep readying click here to buy!
Also by Caro LaFever
The Italians
Mistress By Blackmail
Wife By Force
Baby By Accident
The Greeks
A Perfect Man
A Perfect Wife
The Scots
Lion of Caledonia coming March 2016!
Lord of the Isles coming April 2016!
Laird of the Highlands coming May 2016!
Nonfiction
The Complete Guide to Heroes and Heroines
About the Author
Double finalist and winner of the Golden Heart, one of Romance Writers of America's highest awards, Caro LaFever writes timeless romantic tales as well as nonfiction advice for writers. Her book, Heroes & Heroines: Sixteen Master Archetypes, has been a go-to resource for writers for more than a decade. Her romantic novels have won or been a finalist in such prestigious contests as the Golden Pen, the Orange Rose, and the Emily. She lives in the Rocky Mtns.
@caro_lafever
CaroLaFever
www.carolafever.com
caro@carolafever.com
Acknowledgments
I appreciate every bit of advice and commentary that I've received from numerous critique group buddies, workshops, classes, and beta readers. After years of honing my craft, I still find new and important nuggets of wisdom every time I put my writing out there for review.
Thanks to my developmental editor, Allie Burton, who is truly my conscience and calls me on my idiot imaginings. Thanks to Sue Viders, who always catches when a character has moved across the room, but I haven't mentioned it. And thanks to Tanya Saari, my proofreader, who diligently goes with me into the correct way to spell numerous foreign foods and phrases.
Finally, thanks to my family, who taught me to love books and appreciate a story well-told.
Copyright © 2015 by Caro LaFever
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Book cover: Kim Killion
ISBN: 978-1-945007-03-3
Contents
A bitter and betrayed beau. A furious and forced fiancee. A recipe for rebellion and…rapture.
Epigraph
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Epilogue
Thank you!
Excerpt from A Perfect Wife
Also by Caro LaFever
About the Author
Acknowledgments
Copyright