After all, Merissa's modeling work barely provided for an ailing mother and a father's debts, and the fee Julian offered was exorbitant.She could do it, Merissa determined. She'd survive the necessary close contact with this unpredictable man--and hopefully the whole ridiculous affair--with her heart and her mind still her own!

    But she didn't believe in love at first sight.Neither did she believe that a powerful, experienced man like Morgan would be permanently affected in the same way. So she refused to have anything to do with him and hurried home to New Zealand.Morgan proved her wrong. His pursuit was relentless, unavoidable, seductive--though she kept on fighting him. It took a long time for Clary to realize it was herself she was fighting-and that their love was real.

    Nor had she forgiven him for callously crushing all the tender feelings she'd nurtured for him.Now the knowledge that he wanted to be her lover only angered her ...until his rich, socially acceptable fiancee turned up.

    Now, marriage to the unscrupulous Viktor Beck is the only way to save what's left of her reputation!The contract: Maddie has always featured in Viktor's plans to take over her father's company and expand his empire. The intense attraction between them only sweetens the deal he's offeredThe secret: Though love doesn't beat in Viktor's heart, he'll show Maddie just how hot their chemistry can be. But even this corporate shark is in for a shock;his wild socialite is still a virgin!

    He was a financial genius who wasn't afraid to work with an equally talented woman like Judith. Judith couldn't help falling in love with him any more than she could change the circumstances that denied her a chance at love.Luke wasn't free. He was going to marry Baba. Judith forced herself to remember those two things every time Luke came near her.

    Now she had to swallow pride and misgivings alike to help finance Mark's business so that they could be married. It was time to collect on the promise her stepcousin, Angelo, had given her along with the Marchese glass unicorn. And being a man of his word, Angelo pledged, "You shall have whatever you desire--that is, if you know what you want."

    At last, unable to bear seeing the two of them together, Tessa had gone away.Now, two years later, she was home again, expecting to hear that they were married -- only to learn that they had never in fact married, that after a terrible accident in which Paul had been blinded, Lucinda had walked out on him and he was now living the life of a recluse in Cyprus. So Tessa took her courage in both hands, went out to Cyprus pretending to be Lucinda, begged Paul's forgiveness -- and married him.Would her love be strong enough to stand the strain of living such a lie? And what if Paul ever found out?

    James demanded cool efficiency and exclusive loyalty from a secretary so Ria donned spectacles and learned to blend in with the sleek office furniture. But she couldn't escape her boss's notice. As James became increasingly fascinated by his elusive secretary, Ria found herself responding to him with a long-dormant passion. As their attraction grew, she wondered what James, a confirmed bachelor, would think when he discovered she was a warmhearted, tempestuous woman, the widowed mother of twins--and very much in love.

    She wore her heart on her sleeve!Valentine's night spent in the arms of Marcus Ballantyne! It happened to Joy--but not without the leading actor in the TV series "Pilgrim's Game" thinking that she was a married woman with a string of lovers!In reality, Joy was a provincial librarian who hadn't had a date since her boyfriend jilted her--how on earth had she landed herself in this mess? And how could she convince Marcus that she wasn't just another good-time girl hoping to be a notch on his bedpost...but that he was the one and only man she'd ever love?

    She wanted nothing more than to leave the bitterness of the past behind her, but evidently Blair Davenport wasn't going to let her. Blair blamed her for his friend's death and thought of her as a rich man's spoiled daughter. He was wrong--but even if she could get him to listen to her explanations, he wouldn't believe her. It was an impossible situation, made worse by Sian's determination not to succumb to the sparks of attraction between them ..

    Her father's totally dependable deputy, he never stepped out of character. Until the night when he'd surprised her by asking her to marry him.Sandra had rejected him, of course. A gray, faceless character with a mild manner who hid his thoughts behind horn-rimmed glasses, Randall was hardly the sort of man women dreamed about. Or was he?Four years after Randall's proposal, Sandra wasn't so sure. And now she was the one doing the proposing.

    Clare Anderson: a woman with a past.. . Fen Marchand: an Oxford University professor, and father to ten-year-old Miles, who was badly in need of a housekeeper--so badly in need that he agreed to take on Clare .... She had a good idea of how Fen saw her--his opinion was totally colored by her previous record and, though he was prepared to give her a job, that didn't mean that she was good enough for the likes of him! But still, an intense physical attraction developed between them. However Clare was going to keep her distance; Fen would never understand why she'd taken that risk--because he'd never know it had been for the sake of her little son...

    Financier Kynan Roth had all the superficial advantages. Briar was looking for other qualities in a husband--compassion, understanding and, above all, trust. But how was she going to convince the cynical Kynan of that, when, to rescue her father, she had just committed the cardinal sin of marrying him for his money....

    Gray knew Stephanie, knew she didn't even like being touched. Yet he insisted she return to play the part of the femme fatale.Gray had never pried into the bitter marriage Stephanie had endured to his cousin. He'd offered only comfort in the ten years since its tragic ending. So Stephanie agreed to his demand, only to find her long buried feelings--and her body's dormant desires--fully awakened...

    — Sylvie's sister, Margot, was determined to become an actress. She refused to live in Greece with her husband, Leon Petronides, and their small son. So Sylvie found herself going to Greece to look after the boy. — The Petronides family was not thrilled with the substitution -- but Sylvie soon won them over, especially Leon. Andreas Petronides, his brother, was a different story. He resented Sylvie's attentions to Leon. In fact, he seemed to suspect Sylvie's motives. The only explanation for his attitude never even occurred to Sylvie...