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Terms Of Engagement
An engagement of convenience
Frazer McClarran had barely blinked when, in order to avoid reconciliation with her ex-husband, Emma had nonchalantly introduced him as her fiance. But he had his own terms: that news of their "engagement" was otherwise kept secret and that they kept their distance as much as possible. But, almost immediately, emotions and passions intervened, as time and again they were forced to play the loving couple. Eventually the game culminated in each other's arms.
Emma secretly wanted to stay there, but she could not get involved with Frazer McClarran -- ever -- because eventually he would discover that she could never give him what he really wanted....
Frazer McClarran had barely blinked when, in order to avoid reconciliation with her ex-husband, Emma had nonchalantly introduced him as her fiance. But he had his own terms: that news of their "engagement" was otherwise kept secret and that they kept their distance as much as possible. But, almost immediately, emotions and passions intervened, as time and again they were forced to play the loving couple. Eventually the game culminated in each other's arms.
Emma secretly wanted to stay there, but she could not get involved with Frazer McClarran -- ever -- because eventually he would discover that she could never give him what he really wanted....
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
About the author
Kathryn Ross
171 books46 followers Kathryn Ross is a professional beauty therapist, but writing is her first love. At thirteen she was editor of her school magazine and wrote a play for a competition, and won. Ten years later she was accepted by Mills & Boon, who were the only publishers she ever approached with her work. Kathryn lives in Lancashire, is married and has inherited two delightful stepsons. She has written over twenty novels now and is still as much in love with writing as ever and never plans to stop.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 21, 2019
Re Terms of Engagement - Kathryn Ross takes us to Scotland for a sweet little romance via a fake engagement.
The h is divorced from her movie director husband when this starts out. Her four year marriage fell apart when she discovered she was infertile. Her ex moved on with another lady and soon had a little girl.
The h was able to completely change her life when she inherited a Scottish farm from her uncle after her cousin, his daughter, passed away. The h is struggling a bit to make ends meet. But she has a very nice neighbor who owns the local estate and he is always popping over to help her out.
The H raises dogs on his estate and we get lots of cute puppy and doggie antics. But the main event is that the h knows her ex-husband is looking for a film location and she needs the money that renting out her place to the film crew will bring in.
So the h calls her ex up and says 'Let's make a deal'. The ex takes her up on the offer and coincidentally decides that h should be his wife again. Apparently his second marriage is over and the h would be a powerful incentive for the ex to gain shared custody.
The h isn't too delighted with this AT ALL - she has never recovered from being deemed inadequate on the baby delivery stakes - so she tells the ex that she and the H are a thing. The next thing she knows, the ex has spread it all over town that she and the H are getting married and the h is a bit peeved.
The H isn't too happy either, but since the h is renting him some land that has long been disputed between their respective families and because he can see the h needs some support against the wiles of her ex-husband, he agrees to go along with things.
But the seekrit engagement bit spirals out of control when the H's aunt comes rushing back to busybody the supposedly happy couple. Throw in a former flame of the H's returning to town for a local wedding and the shenanigans of the h's ex-husband and the pot is just about ready to boil over.
The H and h are hugely attracted to each other and at the local wedding, their passion spills over into a big purple passion moment. The H wants to make the engagement and the relationship real, he knows he is in love with the h, so he gives her a cute puppy named Blaze and proposes.
But the h is still hiding her infertility and she knows she has to fess up to the truth of the situation when the H doesn't want to take 'NO' for an answer and accuses her of still being stuck on her ex-husband.
The h explains her lack of baby production skills to the H and he tells her it doesn't matter, they can adopt or just be happy with each other.
After the H's ex-girlfriend tries to tell the h that the H is only marrying her for her land and the ex-husband tries to tell the h that the H's ex is gaining ground on wooing the H, the h and H have a spat in the middle of the local market.
The h publicly announces the engagement is off, but the H still has Blaze in reserve. He brings Blaze over to the h's home and once again avows he everlasting love for the h.
He also throws in that children don't have to be biological to be theirs - he knows this because his own mother left them at an early age and his busybody aunt stepped right up to the plate to raise him and his sister.
His aunt never cared who gave birth, she loved the H and his sister like they were her own. This convinces the h that she is being a dumb bunny, cause she loves the H and he loves her and they are truly incandescent together when they kiss.
(The H also explains that he dumped the ex-flame when she started making plans for kids and the rest of his life, he started dating the woman after the h's female cousin died from leukemia.
The H had been good friends with the cousin and her death threw him for a loop, but it took the ex flame trying to maneuver his life to make him realize that he really did not love her and wouldn't be happy with her, tho he claims she is a nice person.)
The h's last fear is put to rest with that explanation and Blaze is all about keeping the H around, so the h agrees to marry him and we leave happy and in love, making Christmas wedding plans for a very fluffy and pink sparkly HEA.
This is a sweet little story, it isn't too dramatic on any level and even the OW/OM antics are fairly low key. The H and h are both nice people and this is a cozy little read when you just want an easy going HPlandia outing.
The h is divorced from her movie director husband when this starts out. Her four year marriage fell apart when she discovered she was infertile. Her ex moved on with another lady and soon had a little girl.
The h was able to completely change her life when she inherited a Scottish farm from her uncle after her cousin, his daughter, passed away. The h is struggling a bit to make ends meet. But she has a very nice neighbor who owns the local estate and he is always popping over to help her out.
The H raises dogs on his estate and we get lots of cute puppy and doggie antics. But the main event is that the h knows her ex-husband is looking for a film location and she needs the money that renting out her place to the film crew will bring in.
So the h calls her ex up and says 'Let's make a deal'. The ex takes her up on the offer and coincidentally decides that h should be his wife again. Apparently his second marriage is over and the h would be a powerful incentive for the ex to gain shared custody.
The h isn't too delighted with this AT ALL - she has never recovered from being deemed inadequate on the baby delivery stakes - so she tells the ex that she and the H are a thing. The next thing she knows, the ex has spread it all over town that she and the H are getting married and the h is a bit peeved.
The H isn't too happy either, but since the h is renting him some land that has long been disputed between their respective families and because he can see the h needs some support against the wiles of her ex-husband, he agrees to go along with things.
But the seekrit engagement bit spirals out of control when the H's aunt comes rushing back to busybody the supposedly happy couple. Throw in a former flame of the H's returning to town for a local wedding and the shenanigans of the h's ex-husband and the pot is just about ready to boil over.
The H and h are hugely attracted to each other and at the local wedding, their passion spills over into a big purple passion moment. The H wants to make the engagement and the relationship real, he knows he is in love with the h, so he gives her a cute puppy named Blaze and proposes.
But the h is still hiding her infertility and she knows she has to fess up to the truth of the situation when the H doesn't want to take 'NO' for an answer and accuses her of still being stuck on her ex-husband.
The h explains her lack of baby production skills to the H and he tells her it doesn't matter, they can adopt or just be happy with each other.
After the H's ex-girlfriend tries to tell the h that the H is only marrying her for her land and the ex-husband tries to tell the h that the H's ex is gaining ground on wooing the H, the h and H have a spat in the middle of the local market.
The h publicly announces the engagement is off, but the H still has Blaze in reserve. He brings Blaze over to the h's home and once again avows he everlasting love for the h.
He also throws in that children don't have to be biological to be theirs - he knows this because his own mother left them at an early age and his busybody aunt stepped right up to the plate to raise him and his sister.
His aunt never cared who gave birth, she loved the H and his sister like they were her own. This convinces the h that she is being a dumb bunny, cause she loves the H and he loves her and they are truly incandescent together when they kiss.
(The H also explains that he dumped the ex-flame when she started making plans for kids and the rest of his life, he started dating the woman after the h's female cousin died from leukemia.
The H had been good friends with the cousin and her death threw him for a loop, but it took the ex flame trying to maneuver his life to make him realize that he really did not love her and wouldn't be happy with her, tho he claims she is a nice person.)
The h's last fear is put to rest with that explanation and Blaze is all about keeping the H around, so the h agrees to marry him and we leave happy and in love, making Christmas wedding plans for a very fluffy and pink sparkly HEA.
This is a sweet little story, it isn't too dramatic on any level and even the OW/OM antics are fairly low key. The H and h are both nice people and this is a cozy little read when you just want an easy going HPlandia outing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 26, 2020
Sweet story about a divorced heroine finding love with a neighbor. A little boring but it was worth the read. Her husband had divorced her because she couldn't have babies and married another woman and had a baby. But now he is divorced. He wants to use the heroines Scottish farm for a location for a movie. She lied to him and told him the neighbor was her fiance and he eventually played along. There are OW and wannabe OW and exes all over the place but he does end up in love with the heroine and she with him but she can't have children and she backs off. Parts made me cry. It is a safe read. No cheating and very sweet. But a little bit, okay a lot of bit, boring.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 16, 2014
3 1/2 Stars ~ Emma's marriage to film maker Jon Sinclair ended two years ago, leaving Emma feeling empty and determined to build a life for herself on her own terms, and men and marriage were out. She'd loved Jon, but love had not been enough when she failed to get pregnant. And after a grueling year with LA's best in fertility, they had to face facts. Jon wanted children, his own children, adoption was not an option for him, so they ended their marriage. When Emma's uncle dies and leaves her his farm in Scotland, she's thrilled for a chance to make her life over again.
Frazer finds his new neighbour disturbing in ways he's not willing to admit to. She's sexy and stubborn and doomed to failure trying to run her farm on her own, but he admires her just the same. When Emma learns that Jon is looking for a location in Scotland for his new film, she reluctantly calls him. The cash from a film is desperately needed to help her get on her feet. But when Jon arrives and announces that his new marriage is over and he wants Emma back, she lies and tells him she's involved with someone. When prompted for more information, Emma says the first name that comes to mind, Frazer and that they're unofficially engaged.
Frazer's not too thrilled at this farce but he sees that Emma really needs to set up some barriers with her ex so he goes along with it. But things get out of hand when the whole town hears of the engagement, and everyone is happily congratulating them.
I really enjoyed this story. Ms. Ross manages to balance an emotional story line with some light and sexy banter. From the start you can feel the chemistry between Frazer and Emma, and know it's only a matter of time before these two give in to temptation. Their's is a whirlwind romance that has a lovely HEA.
Frazer finds his new neighbour disturbing in ways he's not willing to admit to. She's sexy and stubborn and doomed to failure trying to run her farm on her own, but he admires her just the same. When Emma learns that Jon is looking for a location in Scotland for his new film, she reluctantly calls him. The cash from a film is desperately needed to help her get on her feet. But when Jon arrives and announces that his new marriage is over and he wants Emma back, she lies and tells him she's involved with someone. When prompted for more information, Emma says the first name that comes to mind, Frazer and that they're unofficially engaged.
Frazer's not too thrilled at this farce but he sees that Emma really needs to set up some barriers with her ex so he goes along with it. But things get out of hand when the whole town hears of the engagement, and everyone is happily congratulating them.
I really enjoyed this story. Ms. Ross manages to balance an emotional story line with some light and sexy banter. From the start you can feel the chemistry between Frazer and Emma, and know it's only a matter of time before these two give in to temptation. Their's is a whirlwind romance that has a lovely HEA.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 18, 2020
Some good plot reviews already so I’ll only add...
The H Frazer seems like a really decent guy, and worth snagging. They seemed to belong together and I’d think they would have a nice HEA... I wish these older books had Epilogues!
There were just SO MANY characters! So much extra stuff going on. Would have traded some of it for more focused romance time.
A nice read!
The H Frazer seems like a really decent guy, and worth snagging. They seemed to belong together and I’d think they would have a nice HEA... I wish these older books had Epilogues!
There were just SO MANY characters! So much extra stuff going on. Would have traded some of it for more focused romance time.
A nice read!
September 12, 2011
I feel profound relief whenever a Presents hero is not a hateful douchebag. This is one of those occasions.
August 5, 2016
This old-school type HP was a refreshing change from the current billionaire, wild-sex releases. Set in Scotland, the hero was a farmer/horse breeder, heroine inherits Scottish property and leaves London and her high-powered job. Setting: a lovely Scottish town with quirky, charming characters. I really enjoyed this one!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews