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Charade of the Heart
Will she give her heart to the boss?
When Beth's twin sister has to take time off work to secretly have a baby, Beth agrees to impersonate her as a personal assistant to Marcos Adrino, the impossibly rich owner of a string of international hotels. Though she's been carefully tutored by her sister, Beth finds Marcos almost always one step ahead!
Nonetheless, Marcos is impressed by his PA's newfound dedication to her job, and invites Beth to join him on the next business trip to the Carribean island of St. Lucia. Marcos is supremely arrogant, but he's also exquisitely attractive. Can Beth allow herself to act on the undeniable chemistry pulsation between them and possibly blow her cover...?
When Beth's twin sister has to take time off work to secretly have a baby, Beth agrees to impersonate her as a personal assistant to Marcos Adrino, the impossibly rich owner of a string of international hotels. Though she's been carefully tutored by her sister, Beth finds Marcos almost always one step ahead!
Nonetheless, Marcos is impressed by his PA's newfound dedication to her job, and invites Beth to join him on the next business trip to the Carribean island of St. Lucia. Marcos is supremely arrogant, but he's also exquisitely attractive. Can Beth allow herself to act on the undeniable chemistry pulsation between them and possibly blow her cover...?
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 10, 1992
5 people are currently reading
78 people want to read
About the author
Cathy Williams
1,310 books200 followersCathy Williams, born in Trinidad and Tobago, is a British author who has written romance novels for Mills & Boon since 1990. She lives in Chiswick, London, with her three daughters and continues to craft engaging, heartfelt love stories.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 22, 2020
1992 version *
February 24, 2011
I was sooo prepared not to like this one, but I ended up laughing, yelling, throwing it against the wall and rolling my eyes. Not at the same time but often on the same page.
Typical, cliche, etc. etc. but it was still a cute, fun, a little painful at times goodread.
Laura, spoiled twin, needs Beth, responsible twin, to work for her 'cause she really likes her job. Of course, Beth ends up falling for, and losing her virginity to, the hunky boss. Again, cliche. There's also the obligatory plain Jane (her name is even Jane) who's out to get Laura/Beth because she wants the boss who doesn't want her and has determined Laura/Beth won't have him if she can't have him. Oh, and there's the obligatory drop-dead gorgeous ex-girlfriend for the boss who just doesn't want to let go.
See what I mean? Cliche to the nth degree...but it just worked for me.
Typical, cliche, etc. etc. but it was still a cute, fun, a little painful at times goodread.
Laura, spoiled twin, needs Beth, responsible twin, to work for her 'cause she really likes her job. Of course, Beth ends up falling for, and losing her virginity to, the hunky boss. Again, cliche. There's also the obligatory plain Jane (her name is even Jane) who's out to get Laura/Beth because she wants the boss who doesn't want her and has determined Laura/Beth won't have him if she can't have him. Oh, and there's the obligatory drop-dead gorgeous ex-girlfriend for the boss who just doesn't want to let go.
See what I mean? Cliche to the nth degree...but it just worked for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 13, 2021
I enjoyed this twin swap once I got over the ridiculous reason for the swap. (No worries, there is no sharing between the hero and the twins)Basically, the fun loving twin likes her job, wants to keep it, but doesn’t qualify for maternity leave(Even though it sounds like she has been there for awhile). Anyhoo, this “masterpiece” of a plan involves having her twin take her place, and then she will slide back in after the baby is born. I think all of a sudden having a baby might cause the work place people some wonder.
Good thing the “sensible” twin didn’t really have feelings about her job one way or another. So “sensible” twin who I can no longer call sensible agrees to this plan. According to pregnant twin, her boss is often conducting business elsewhere, so she will rarely see him.
So our heroine, Beth goes to work at her sisters place. She has been prepped on people’s names, and locations of things. She goes to her desk, where she is promptly summoned by…yep the boss! Now she already goes in there with preconceived notions of the boss and his reputation. Our hero, Marcos, starts in on the h right away. She has been late(her sister has had morning sickness), and the gossip(a wannabe never going to happen ow) is that she has had an affair with one of the executives who asked to be transferred elsewhere(that would be the twin’s baby daddy). She also has a reputation of being a flirt and he wont tolerate that. Our h gets offended and she shows a little bit of an attitude which our hero is not used to(but is intrigued by it) Plus, he likes her new haircut. Our h does a pretty good job in the office, but gets a little miffed when he wants her to handle amorous lady loves. One lady love, the actual ow, flounces in the office and our h doesn’t stop her. The h decides to go home and gets a visit from the H that night. He wants to know why she let the ow in the office. She tells him:
.
I've decided that my duties stop with my work,' she stated in a voice that was far more controlled than she actually felt.
Oh, you've decided, have you?' Marcos asked smoothly. 'And since when? Since that overhaul you had on your week off? That damn sister of yours has a lot to answer for.'
So sparks/sexual tension continue to ebb and flow between these two. All of a sudden the boss who was always gone is in the London office a lot. Then, totally out of character, he tells the h she will be going with him to St Lucia where one of the hotel properties is located. “Plain” Jane Morris the marketing manager will be going with them as well. She has the hots for the boss and has no problem feeding him gossip. Our h actually has a little compassion for her, despite her venomous tongue.
When they get to St. Lucia we are introduced to the OM Roger. He takes a liking to the h right away, causing the H some green moments. He basically tells the h she needs to keep her fraternizing to a minimum. The H, h, and third wheel Jane go to the beach one afternoon. The h is at the mercy of her sister’s clothing choices, which included only bikinis. She makes quite the “splash” at the beach in her revealing bikini.
She keeps her distance from the H and 3rd wheel, but when she decides to go swimming she develops a cramp and needs rescuing. I think 3rd wheel Jane was in her right to roll her eyes at that, even if it was true!
While Jane continues to splash in the surf, the H gives the h some tlc in the form of chest rub(her cramp was in her leg)
I don't think I've ever seen quite such a small bikini fore,' he murmured. 'I can't imagine why you don't spense with it altogether.'
Then he brings up her ex lover(her sisters) and breaks the mood while the h escapes back to the hotel. Our h is a virgin(for a few more paragraphs) and she really isn’t into tawdry affairs(yet)with anti marriage men. It’s the last night and there is a party in the hotel. The h shows up dressed to kill and hangs out with the om(who has become her wingman)all night, avoiding the H. When the soirée is done, the om kisses her goodbye and the H escorts her to her room under protest. She cashes in her v chip, and our H probably just assumes when she had a moment of discomfort that he must be more endowed than what she is used to. So life goes on. She continues to live at her sister’s flat while her sister lives in hers at Cambridge. She works under the boss by day, and lays under him at night. Of course she is trying to work up to telling him the truth. But loses that chance when he comes to her flat and she is having dinner with her(the sisters) previous lover. Our H is outraged. He leaves, she follows and tells him she will explain(her sister is on her way) So he decides to hear out the explanation and when he sees her twin it falls into place. He is pissed that he has been conned(he should) and although he is done with the h, she needs to finish working out her time.
This part I like to call the H gets a little bit of his own back, then the h gets a little bit back as well.
The H flaunts the ow in front of the h (even kissing her) and makes many innuendos. The h is beside herself with grief. Then Roger, the om from St Lucia shows up at the office. She tells him the whole sordid tale, and Roger is comforting her when the H walks in. Roger ramps up the comforting, because he is a good wingman and he knows that the H will be jealous. Our h perks up, and now its the hero’s turn to be bent out of shape.
There is a huge office party that she is expected to attend. Roger is her escort. She is dressed to kill, again. The hero shows up with his blonde bimbo. The h avoids him, until he asks her to dance. She decides she has had enough and wants to go home. Roger goes to take her home, and the H intervenes. He takes her back to her place and they reveal their true feelings. He is pretty honest about how he felt in all of this. However, he keeps using the word want and not love, and our h just can’t be that girl. So our H is like well that’s too bad, I guess you will have to marry me (as in tomorrow).
There is a nice epilogue a year later.
What I liked:
I like that the twins didn’t share the same guy, and the H wasn’t attracted to the sister at all
I like the sexual tension between them, the h really was trying not to get involved
I like that when the H found out about the deception that he was outraged, and he lashed out at her by parading the ow in front of her(poor ow she was being used and didn’t even get her physical needs met)
I like that the om helped the h out by schooling her on how to get a reaction from her man.
This was one of the better boss/secretary/twins story I have read.
Good thing the “sensible” twin didn’t really have feelings about her job one way or another. So “sensible” twin who I can no longer call sensible agrees to this plan. According to pregnant twin, her boss is often conducting business elsewhere, so she will rarely see him.
So our heroine, Beth goes to work at her sisters place. She has been prepped on people’s names, and locations of things. She goes to her desk, where she is promptly summoned by…yep the boss! Now she already goes in there with preconceived notions of the boss and his reputation. Our hero, Marcos, starts in on the h right away. She has been late(her sister has had morning sickness), and the gossip(a wannabe never going to happen ow) is that she has had an affair with one of the executives who asked to be transferred elsewhere(that would be the twin’s baby daddy). She also has a reputation of being a flirt and he wont tolerate that. Our h gets offended and she shows a little bit of an attitude which our hero is not used to(but is intrigued by it) Plus, he likes her new haircut. Our h does a pretty good job in the office, but gets a little miffed when he wants her to handle amorous lady loves. One lady love, the actual ow, flounces in the office and our h doesn’t stop her. The h decides to go home and gets a visit from the H that night. He wants to know why she let the ow in the office. She tells him:
.
I've decided that my duties stop with my work,' she stated in a voice that was far more controlled than she actually felt.
Oh, you've decided, have you?' Marcos asked smoothly. 'And since when? Since that overhaul you had on your week off? That damn sister of yours has a lot to answer for.'
So sparks/sexual tension continue to ebb and flow between these two. All of a sudden the boss who was always gone is in the London office a lot. Then, totally out of character, he tells the h she will be going with him to St Lucia where one of the hotel properties is located. “Plain” Jane Morris the marketing manager will be going with them as well. She has the hots for the boss and has no problem feeding him gossip. Our h actually has a little compassion for her, despite her venomous tongue.
When they get to St. Lucia we are introduced to the OM Roger. He takes a liking to the h right away, causing the H some green moments. He basically tells the h she needs to keep her fraternizing to a minimum. The H, h, and third wheel Jane go to the beach one afternoon. The h is at the mercy of her sister’s clothing choices, which included only bikinis. She makes quite the “splash” at the beach in her revealing bikini.
She keeps her distance from the H and 3rd wheel, but when she decides to go swimming she develops a cramp and needs rescuing. I think 3rd wheel Jane was in her right to roll her eyes at that, even if it was true!
While Jane continues to splash in the surf, the H gives the h some tlc in the form of chest rub(her cramp was in her leg)
I don't think I've ever seen quite such a small bikini fore,' he murmured. 'I can't imagine why you don't spense with it altogether.'
Then he brings up her ex lover(her sisters) and breaks the mood while the h escapes back to the hotel. Our h is a virgin(for a few more paragraphs) and she really isn’t into tawdry affairs(yet)with anti marriage men. It’s the last night and there is a party in the hotel. The h shows up dressed to kill and hangs out with the om(who has become her wingman)all night, avoiding the H. When the soirée is done, the om kisses her goodbye and the H escorts her to her room under protest. She cashes in her v chip, and our H probably just assumes when she had a moment of discomfort that he must be more endowed than what she is used to. So life goes on. She continues to live at her sister’s flat while her sister lives in hers at Cambridge. She works under the boss by day, and lays under him at night. Of course she is trying to work up to telling him the truth. But loses that chance when he comes to her flat and she is having dinner with her(the sisters) previous lover. Our H is outraged. He leaves, she follows and tells him she will explain(her sister is on her way) So he decides to hear out the explanation and when he sees her twin it falls into place. He is pissed that he has been conned(he should) and although he is done with the h, she needs to finish working out her time.
This part I like to call the H gets a little bit of his own back, then the h gets a little bit back as well.
The H flaunts the ow in front of the h (even kissing her) and makes many innuendos. The h is beside herself with grief. Then Roger, the om from St Lucia shows up at the office. She tells him the whole sordid tale, and Roger is comforting her when the H walks in. Roger ramps up the comforting, because he is a good wingman and he knows that the H will be jealous. Our h perks up, and now its the hero’s turn to be bent out of shape.
There is a huge office party that she is expected to attend. Roger is her escort. She is dressed to kill, again. The hero shows up with his blonde bimbo. The h avoids him, until he asks her to dance. She decides she has had enough and wants to go home. Roger goes to take her home, and the H intervenes. He takes her back to her place and they reveal their true feelings. He is pretty honest about how he felt in all of this. However, he keeps using the word want and not love, and our h just can’t be that girl. So our H is like well that’s too bad, I guess you will have to marry me (as in tomorrow).
There is a nice epilogue a year later.
What I liked:
I like that the twins didn’t share the same guy, and the H wasn’t attracted to the sister at all
I like the sexual tension between them, the h really was trying not to get involved
I like that when the H found out about the deception that he was outraged, and he lashed out at her by parading the ow in front of her(poor ow she was being used and didn’t even get her physical needs met)
I like that the om helped the h out by schooling her on how to get a reaction from her man.
This was one of the better boss/secretary/twins story I have read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 3, 2019
A Passionate Pretense…
"I can do without being known as someone who has a tramp for a secretary."
Now that wasn't fair! Marcos Adrino might have been taken in by Beth's impersonation of her identical twin sister, but neither she nor Laura deserved that label!
Beth knew she was playing with fire by agreeing to Laura's harebrained scheme—to stand in for her twin while Laura had her baby. But she'd bargained without the tormenting complication of Marcos! Either his arrogance or his irresistible attractiveness would push Beth too far—and then she and Laura would really know the meaning of trouble!
"I can do without being known as someone who has a tramp for a secretary."
Now that wasn't fair! Marcos Adrino might have been taken in by Beth's impersonation of her identical twin sister, but neither she nor Laura deserved that label!
Beth knew she was playing with fire by agreeing to Laura's harebrained scheme—to stand in for her twin while Laura had her baby. But she'd bargained without the tormenting complication of Marcos! Either his arrogance or his irresistible attractiveness would push Beth too far—and then she and Laura would really know the meaning of trouble!
priority-to-read
June 5, 2022Might pick up later
March 16, 2020
She wouldn't have dreamt of it neither the arrogant boss but they ended up, falling terribly in love.
November 11, 2012
Cathy Williams sevdiğim bir yazardır..Bu hikayede ikiz genö kızların çocuklukta sık sık birbirlerinin yerine geçip çevresindekileri kandırmaya benzemeyen bir olay içinde bulurlar kendilerini...Ama bu çok da tehlikeli bir oyuna dönüşecektir..Kurgu güzeldi ama bazı sahnelerinde çok gerildim...
Konusu:
Laura ve Beth fiziksel olarak tıpatıp benzeselerde karakter olarak tam zıt ikiz kardeştiler..Laura ne kadar dışa dönükse Beth bir o kadar içine kapanık bir genç kadındı..Laura onu terk eden sevgilisnden hamile kalmıştı.Ama hamileliğin getirdiği rahatsızlıklar yüzünde işini aksatıyordu..Aklına bir çözüm geldi..Beth onun yerine geçip o bebeğini doğurana kadar çalışabilirdi..Çolgınca bir plandı.Patronunun ruhunun bile duymayacağını tahmin etmişti.Ama Marcos Adrino Beth'in farkına varmıştı...
Konusu:
Laura ve Beth fiziksel olarak tıpatıp benzeselerde karakter olarak tam zıt ikiz kardeştiler..Laura ne kadar dışa dönükse Beth bir o kadar içine kapanık bir genç kadındı..Laura onu terk eden sevgilisnden hamile kalmıştı.Ama hamileliğin getirdiği rahatsızlıklar yüzünde işini aksatıyordu..Aklına bir çözüm geldi..Beth onun yerine geçip o bebeğini doğurana kadar çalışabilirdi..Çolgınca bir plandı.Patronunun ruhunun bile duymayacağını tahmin etmişti.Ama Marcos Adrino Beth'in farkına varmıştı...
June 8, 2013
'Charade of the Heart' is a very silly read. When one sister finds herself pregnant with her colleague's baby, she asks her twin to stand in for her, and hopes that noone will notice. The result being that Beth, who replaces her sister in the role of PA, suddenly finds sparks flying between her new boss and herself, and when they both need to suddenly pack up and head on a business trip to St Lucia, one thing leads to another in the tropical climate...
Not the greatest of M&B, and the supposed heartthrob of the story, Marcos Adrino, is shockingly unkind and very hard to like, the result being that I even wondered if he was the guy our female protagonist was supposed to fall in love with!
Not the greatest of M&B, and the supposed heartthrob of the story, Marcos Adrino, is shockingly unkind and very hard to like, the result being that I even wondered if he was the guy our female protagonist was supposed to fall in love with!
January 9, 2013
Yine peşinde atlı koşturuyormuş gibi ilerleyen bir hikaye gibi geldi bana konusunu falan beğendim aslında ama bütünüyle çok sevemedim maalesef :(
November 30, 2019
Interesting enough premise, but the execution left a lot to be desired.
December 15, 2017
Nice read! Not too boring and the affection between the characters was genuine
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews