— 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...

    He had been a reassuring figure in her childhood. But now she was grown up and making her own decisions. And the last thing she wanted was Ryan interfering in her life. How dared he question her choice of husband! How could he whisk her off to California to work for him without giving her time to even think about whether she really wanted to? And what exactly did Ryan want from her? The hard, arrogant businessman he had become was very different from the Ryan she remembered. But somehow he was even more exciting...

    After all, the old man had ignored Eden for years.True, Jason, his emissary, was breathtakingly handsome and a media magnate, as well. But that didn't give him power over Eden.Yet she did go. The shock of her grandfather's death marred her arrival and removed him from her life. It also bound her irrevocably to the devastating Jason.

    He'd even nicknamed her "Cinders."Well, handsome prince or no, she hadn't invited him to interfere. And although silently grateful for the added household discipline, Beatrice drew the line where Elliott seemed most intent on crossing--her personal life!

    While his business proposition was strictly aboveboard, his unspoken caress intoxicated her senses with the warmth of half-forgotten sensations. Was this a calculated act of revenge? And if it wasn't, what was keeping Claudia from telling Morgan the truth?

    The most primitive duel of all.When Laura left her glittering life in Boston to learn more about her father's past in Australia, she didn't realize she'd be confronting her own destiny in the arrogant, yet attractive, form of Jared Eastern.The sizzling awareness that flowed between them could not be denied, yet Jared was highly suspicious of Laura's motives. "Right at this moment," he declared, "I'm not sure whether to hate you ... or kiss you senseless!"

    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."

    She hoped that her life in the small town of Louisville would be quieter and more friendly.And so it was -- until she found herself involved with the overwhelming Bernard King.

    It didn't seem right to cold-bloodedly plot another person's falling in love. Gemma liked it even less after they had done the computer analysis of Paul Verignac, and the results showed that she was the best suited to be the bait. But her moral reservations disappeared after she'd met him. Good looks, arrogance and conceit were a rankling combination. He deserved to have the tables turned on him!

    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.

    And, in the British courts, the prosecutor, ruthless James Wolfe, showed her no mercy.Then, incredibly, the case was dropped. And--out of the blue--impoverished Lark was offered an ideal job by a rich widow. She gladly accepted--unaware that disconcerting James Wolfe was her employer's enigmatic son.With James's reappearance in her life, Lark feared the powerful currents pulsing between them. She couldn't bear to risk her trust. Not to the man who'd once treated her so callously.

    So, to help her sister, soft-hearted Reggie went to Uruguay to the despicable Severo.Once there, however, Reggie learned that Severo meant to carry the charade to its bitter conclusion--meaning marriage! How on earth would she get out of this mess?

    . But then the unthinkable happened: Valentine became desperately ill and Zoe knew that she would do anything to save him - even if that meant seducing her own husband!

    Why then had he asked Heron to marry him? More to the point, why had she accepted? True, he had much to offer her -- money and his fascinating house, the house that had meant so much to Heron all her life, the Glass Castle -- but Heron was not the type to marry for mercenary reasons. Yet her feeling for him was of fear and curiosity more than any other emotion. Could she ever understand such a strange, arrogant man? Or still less, make him a successful wife?

    Aside from reading that he was one of San Francisco's most eligible bachelors, she really didn't know too much about his background. While he ran a respectable security business, there were all those nasty rumors about his past life on the other side of the law ....But the Von Emmerling emeralds were Ferris's responsibility and needed protection during the Puffin Ball. She had to choose a security agency that would be reliable, and Patrick Blackheart had a certain irresistible charm ....