Her Little Secret, His Hidden Heir

Billionaires and Babies #16

by Heidi Betts

Face-to-face with his ex-wife again, millionaire Marcus Keller received more than a jolt of deep attraction. He discovered he was a daddy. Vanessa had been pregnant when they divorced, bore him a son and kept it a secret. It was a betrayal he couldn't forgive.

There was no way he would walk away from his child…his heir. The businessman would do his best to be civil to the lovely bakery owner, who was one tough cookie in her own right. But would it only be business between them, or would Marcus indulge his own secret agenda to make this woman his again…once and for all?

Genres: Harlequin, Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Harlequin Desire, Adult, Harlequin Romance

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 2011

About the author

USA Today bestselling author Heidi Betts is the daughter of an Arabian sheik and a Las Vegas showgirl, as well as the heiress to the Chocolate is Better Than Sex Candy Company fortune. Because of this, she eats chocolate in all its many delicious forms for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and in-between snacks . . . without ever gaining an ounce on her perfect five-foot-nine, size zero figure.

Each and every one of her breathtaking, award-winning novels has been adapted to film and gone on to become a phenomenal box office smash, featuring such mega-stars as Hugh Jackman and Sandra Bullock, Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts, and Harrison Ford and Charlize Theron.

Heidi readily admits that she is only able to write such passionate love stories because of her real-life happily-ever-after romance with superstar actor Dwayne Johnson, who makes every day a fairy tale. When she’s not writing or making hot, toe-curling love with her “Rock” of a husband, Heidi can often be found riding naked on horseback (a la Lady Godiva) along the beaches of Malibu or hobnobbing with the rich and famous on Martha’s Vineyard.

If you’d like to experience your own perfect, idyllic life just like Heidi Betts, be sure to take the little purple pill. (Not the red one. Never the red one.)

Read more about Heidi's current and upcoming releases at her website: www.HeidiBetts.com

Chat with Heidi at her "WIPs and Chains" blog: www.HeidiBetts.com/WIPsandChains

And visit Heidi on Twitter (@HeidiBetts), Facebook (/FansofHeidiBetts), & Pinterest (/TheHeidiBetts)

Reviews

[Riz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is HPs, so I was expecting more angst when picking up any of them 😌. And this book didn't deliver what I wanted it to be.
The hero was a bit too reasonable for me 👀 and he also didn't fight for the heroine more. And I felt the lacked of chemistry between them. Anyway, I liked the heroine's backbone! And the marital problem here was the problems between wifes and husbands I often find in real life so... This book was still pretty enjoyable.

[Sometime · Rating 2 out of 5]

I mostly liked this story. But the h asked for a divorce without really talking to her husband about what was wrong. And the H just let her go without even bothering to find out. When she discovers she's pregnant, she calls the H's office and is told by the assistant that she has nothing to say that he wants to hear. She should've insisted she hear it from the H's mouth. So now we have a secret baby. There were a lot of problems with their marriage, communication being first on the list. And what's with these H's who want to move their new bride into the family home where the mother also lives? No way in hell would I move into a home with my M-I-L as a new bride.

The H was very pushy and controlling, even threatening to take the baby away for the week to meet his family, despite the fact the he's nursing. What kind of man thinks it's OK to take a baby away from his nursing mother for a week? That bit made absolutely NO sense to me and seemed to be a huge plot hole. Without bringing up the whole nursing part, the h agrees to go with him and the baby to the H's family home. Once there, things come out in the open, the H realizes that he's a complete idiot and that he blew it with his sweet wife.

It does have a nice resolution and an HEA. I listened to this on audio and the readers did a good job.

No OW/OM drama. Both were celibate during the separation. The H went on a few dates but wasn't interested in anyone.

[Melody Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good story. It centers around Marc who is a very wealthy businessman and CEO of his family's company. He fell in love with Vanessa and made her his wife. He insisted that after the honeymoon they live in the family mansion with his brother and sister-in-law and his mother. The place was huge...no problem right? Vanessa expressed to him that she wanted them to get their own apartment and not live in the mansion or on his family's property. She knew there would be trouble. Of course, he thought she was making a big deal out of nothing and it became a habit that he not really listened to what his wife had to say. Several years later and he still isn't listening and is working later and later all the time. She sits him down to talk but he constantly blows it off and thinks to himself that she is a drama queen and that there is no way his mother could be as bad as his wife claims.

It was very sad to see Marc ignore his wife's complaints and needs. He simply refused to take her seriously. What he did not know and paid no attention to was all the mental and emotional abuse Vanessa was suffering daily at the hands of his own mother. It was horrid and I would have been the first to cheer if the old bat kicked the bucket...no joke! LOL!

What was upsetting was it took to the end of the book for Marc to finally realize his wife had been telling him the truth the whole time. I really didn't care much for Marc. He was arrogant, cocky, so full of himself, and so sure he was never wrong. That went on much too long for my liking.

Unfortunately his poor listening abilities and poo pooing everything she tried to tell him cost him his wife. A year after the divorce he has business in a small town three hours from where they lived when married. Was he ever in for the shock of his life when he ran into Vanessa! He was a father to a three month-old-son. He was livid that she had kept the baby a secret...but she hadn't. She had tried calling him but her access had been permanently denied. She finally gave up. What was a gal to do?

Good story and a real sweet epilogue but also a hero who was difficult to like. I recommend this book.

[Zubee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Second chance, secret baby, millionaire, divorced couple reconnecting ... all good ingredients for a good book but now I wonder why I bothered?
The h suffers from regular treacherous body syndrome and is a doormat; she starts off strong but doesn't last long ...
H is a selfish man who refused to pay attention to his wife's problems while they were married and just because he keeps harping on as to why h never told him about her pregnancy, he gets a free pass and only has a one line apology.
h always sees him as a nice guy but conveniently forgets he was an absentee husband who ran away to his office to get away from problems
The only person I liked was the h's aunt, who seemed to have a steel backbone
The thing is that the story started off well but petered out into h being taken in by H's body and his sex appeal ... this one had all the right ingredients but could have done better with execution ...
At the end, we have H's mother about to be taken back into the family fold ... a villain who is getting a reward ...

[Jenny · Rating 1 out of 5]

Superficial book plus I never felt heroine's love for the hero. She was as cold as a cucumber throughout the whole book and all of a sudden she is like "oh I love u too." Come again?

[April Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
A cute secret baby story.

It was quite enjoyable to listen to on audiobook. The only reason I didn't give it 4 stars is because the set-up for why she kept the baby a secret was pretty weak.

At the beginning of the story, she finds out she's pregnant right after her divorce goes through so she calls her husband at work and his snooty assistant, Trevor, tells her that her ex-husband said that he's not interested in taking her calls anymore.

Ok, that would have stung but it's just silly that she didn't call his cell-phone (which is what she should have done to begin with) because, even if he did say that, her news kind of trumps his feelings.

In addition to being pregnant, she was effectively homeless and jobless at the time because they signed a prenup and she didn't get anything from the divorce. Keeping her pregnancy a secret was not also morally wrong, but also stupid in her circumstance.

But other than that, the story picked up and was quite sweet.

[Sachikomatsuda · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a short quick read. The theme is Wife does not gets along with mother-in-law. But Husband does not understand. Misunderstanding occurred. Husband finally sees what is happening. With some baby luck, Wife and Husband lives happily ever after.

[Christine (KizzieReads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars. There is one point where Marc threatens to use his son Danny to get what he wants from Vanessa and that is never ok. Nice little twist at the end, but I had to been waiting since the first page for some of it to come to light. Vanessa leaves Marc and divorces him, only to discover she is finally pregnant, but he refuses to listen so she moves on. A year later, she needs investors to help her business get to the next level, and her financial advisor finds someone. It must happens to be Marc, her ex husband. Things move on from there.

The writing was good, but you never get the sense that she loves him like she says she does, but that could be the way she had been treated in the past by him and his family.

[Romance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute 2nd chance story. Not too angst-y and the hero is a nice guy who still loves his ex wife and to be a dad to their little boy. Swoon.Both want to work out their problems. Is it a stereotypical MIL being mean to her DIL with the baby forcing the couple back together? Yes, of course. It’s Harlequn. But it’s a better than usual one.

[Calannie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read.

My favorite part was when the PA and the Evil MIL got their comeuppance. Heh.

Oddly enough the PA was male. And no he wasn't in love with he H. lol.. he was following the evil MIL instructions.

[Mary Shreffler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Venessa was a single mother thinking her ex didn't want to speak to her. Venessa went into business with her aunt and wanted to expand but needed capital. Unbeknownst to them both venessa and ex were thrown together and many things became clear. They were meant to be together

[Desi · Rating 3 out of 5]

leído el 11/05/2012

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't help but think that maybe they could have worked this out while they were still married.

[Ivonne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Son historias para pasar el rato, muchas veces disfrutas con las ocurrencias y todo se encierra en los secretos, mentiras pero al final en el amor

[Carolane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute babies #yourmomspaperback

[Stephany · Rating 1 out of 5]

.

[Yolanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dulce

Se podría describir como una historia dulce, romántica y de fácil lectura. Un encuentro lleno de esperanzas por un nuevo comienzo.

[Mel González · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've never rooted for a couple less

[Lori Perone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet and heart warming.

Book that puts hope in the possibilities to what could happen if true love, listening, and understanding in a relationship. Must read.

[Veronica · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 33%
La trama es insostenible

[Gabrielle Rosario · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re leitura #14

[Dancer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Face-to-face with his ex-wife again, millionaire Marcus Keller received more than a jolt of deep attraction. He discovered he was a daddy. Vanessa had been pregnant when they divorced, bore him a son and kept it a secret. It was a betrayal he couldn't forgive.
There was no way he would walk away from his child…his heir. The businessman would do his best to be civil to the lovely bakery owner, who was one tough cookie in her own right. But would it only be business between them, or would Marcus indulge his own secret agenda to make this woman his again…once and for all?

This is a book in the Billionaires and Babies series. I have read many of the titles in this Harlequin series, and Marcus is one of favorite characters in the series.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I re-read this as part of my goal to review all my old reads. This is a newer one for me, a second chance romance for a divorced couple. I like that Vanessa grew as a person after the divorce. Figuring out her own wants and learning to stand up for herself. I can't say that Marcus particularly changed much, more like he listened more to what she had to say.
I don't particularly like the Mum plot. The fact that Marcus didn't notice anything was wrong during their marriage didn't particularly endear him to me. He knows what type of person she is, how exactly was it a surprise? It just feels like a classic romance where a bit more communication was helped a lot earlier. It was a bit of a meh book.

[J.cuevas · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was bland. The book started out interesting but there aren't enough twists. I mean seriously, the plot is at a level of fanfiction drabbles. I've read unofficially published fanfiction with better plots. It was just a bit disappointing.

It was very cliche'd.
He sees her again, he 'manipulates her to go back with him, using their child as an excuse... the rich mother ordered the secretary to do something that caused them to split, they have sex, it's all happy go lucky

Funny how i never saw it as an erotic book until my friends pointed it out at school...

[Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.2 Stars. Public Library 3/15/15. This was exactly what I was looking for. A nice quick read about second chances and learning from your mistakes. The story moves along nicely and isn't bogged down by miscommunications or unreasonable behavior. Vanessa and Mason were newly divorced when she discovered she was pregnant. A year later when a twist of fate brings them face to face he discovers that he's a father. As Mason helps her build her business and gets to know his son they are reminded how good their marriage used to be. Will mixing business and pleasure work for this couple?

[Amy Denim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not normally a Billonaires and Babies reader, but I really liked this book. The author takes old chiches and makes them new, she's funny, her characters were real and I want to eat at the Sugar Shack everyday.
I did wish the reasons for the initial divorce (I swear I'm not ruining anything here, it's on page 1) were a bit stronger. Even having said that, the conflict still worked as did the HEA.
I'll add Hiedi Betts to my check-her-next-book out list.

[Whit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and sassy! Marcus Keller is a sexy billionaire whose sole focus is on his business acquisitions. Imagine his surprise when he discovers that his next business investment is owned by Vanessa, his ex-wife. Maybe if Marcus had focused a little more on his marriage he wouldn't be divorced. But Markus is about to uncover the biggest surprise of his life. Not only does he have a son, but guess who really broke up his marriage!

[Mattie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was ok, however I didn't feel that much of a connection between the hero and heroine. If there wasn't a baby I don't really think they would have got back together (they seemed just fine apart and not like they were missing each other that much). Was glad that hero was celibate during separation. P.

[Delfina Posse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dos veces en la misma noche me parece un montón. Volví a hacer lo mismo: leí un libro ya leído jsjsjsj. Encima chequeé las fechas y las dos veces fueron principios de diciembre, parece que tengo un imán. Le había puesto 5 estrellas la primera vez, pero ahora no me gustó tanto aparentemente. La verdad es frustrante que él tarde tanto en ver la verdad.
Dentro de todo estuvo bueno (de nuevo).

[May ّمي · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice

I loved the picture of the baby in the cover so adorable

At the beginning I was full force with Vanessa even about hiding
Then half through I began to feel for him and understand why is he mad about hiding it after all its his child too