THE HEIRESS BRIDES

A marriage of convenience

The dangerously beautiful Deirdre Cantor is determined to inherit her grandfather's vast fortune. All she needs is to marry a duke . . . and be the first granddaughter to walk down the aisle. So when brooding Calder Marbrook, the Marquis of Brookhaven and future Duke of of Brookmoor, is abandoned at the altar, Deirdre makes it her business to become his wife--in spite of the whispers about his past.

An inconvenient truth. . .

Soon Deirdre's visions of a lavish existence with the handsome Calder are shattered when she learns his shocking secret. Feeling betrayed, Deirdre seeks veangeance by playing a perilous and seductive game of cat and mouse with her husband that threatens to drive them both to the heights of passion. But at what cost? Calder is determined to keep his secret under lock and key--and to make his stunning wife his in every way that matters. Even if it means winning her heart all over again . . .

Quotes:

"What can Bradley come up with after The Liars Club and the Royal Four? The answer is a humorous romp of marriage mayhem that’s a love and laughter treat, tinged with heated sensuality and tenderness. This winning combination ensures Bradley’s Heiress Brides series will climb the bestseller charts."

—Romantic Times Bookreviews

“Bradley tells an involved, sexy story. If you haven’t yet read a Bradley novel, let yourself be seduced by the mistress of the genre!”

—Romantic Times BOOKreviews

Under the covers:

I love the Grimms' tale of "The Summer and Winter Garden," the story of Beauty and the Beast. A primary theme in this one is the conflict between marrying for love and marriage as a sort of bargain. In the fairytale, the father trades his daughter for his own life. In my version, the woman trades herself for the man of her dreams--but doesn't know how to get herself back when things don't turn out as planned! Deirdre does everything wrong because she's been raised to use her beauty like a weapon, instead of following her heart.

Calder is the Beast (and the father of the Beastie--his outrageously misbehaved daughter, Meggie) not because he is cruel, but because he is cold and unwilling to compromise. His past is full of pain and regret because of willful women and he isn't about to let Deirdre add to that. At the same time, Deirdre isn't about to let the man she's longed for since she was fifteen shelve her like an unwanted doll.

I love the battle between fire and ice. There is nothing more fun than breaking down the walls of a solitary, self-contained man when armed with lust, laughter and love!