Title: The Billionaire's Deception (Published By The Wild Rose Press)
Author: Shawna Delacorte
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Book Blurb:
High-powered billionaire Beverly Hills attorney Trent Nichols takes a three month sabbatical to shake his feeling of career burnout and ends up in the San Juan Islands off Washington State. Right away, he encounters a beautiful, down-to-earth owner of a diner/bar and feels an immediate attraction to her. But when she expresses a hostile opinion of attorneys, he decides to keep his profession to himself, a little deception he believes won’t matter. He’s not there to stay.
As a transplanted Chicago banker with a contentious divorce from a lying, cheating attorney, Cassie Brockton loves her new life on the island where she inherited a diner/bar from her great aunt. A stranger in town grabs her full attention, and though he’s not telling her everything, she senses she can trust him and lets down her guard.
But when the island draws him in—just the change his life needs—and his affection for Cassie grows, Trent’s deception has him caught in its web that threatens both their futures.
Excerpt:
He seemed to be well-groomed in spite of his shaggy hair. His faded and worn jeans had a couple of holes in the knees, and his T-shirt looked old, but the garments were clean. “I’ve never seen you before. Are you new on the island?”
“Yes, I just arrived.”
She glanced out the window and saw the Washington State Ferry pulling away from the dock. “So I see.”
Trent Nichols found her statement confusing until he turned and followed her line of sight to the ferryboat. He started to correct her but caught himself and allowed her incorrect assumption to stand rather than admit he arrived on his yacht. Discretion became the word of the day until he had time to accurately assess the situation. The less said to the locals, the better. “This is the first restaurant I saw, so here I am.”
Cassie jumped up and hurried behind the counter. She grabbed a menu and handed it to him. “You can look over the selections. We start our switch over to the lunch menu in about ten minutes if you’d like to wait, but breakfast items are still available.”
He took the menu from her. “I was just next door at the motel—”
“I’m sorry, but Bob Hampton has misled you.” Her clipped words had a sharp edge to them. Anger darted across her face as her green eyes darkened and narrowed. The sudden change in her demeanor caught him completely off guard. “This restaurant is a separate business from the motel. There are no provisions for his guests to charge meals to their room and pay for them at the motel when they check out. I hope this doesn’t inconvenience you.”
“Whoa!” He threw his hands up in a defensive posture as he registered surprise at Cassie’s sudden and unexpected verbal attack. “I was going to say I had just been next door and was surprised to find the motel closed. Even if it’s only a seasonal business, it seems that it should be open by now.”
The crimson flush of embarrassment spread across her cheeks as she glanced at the floor. “I’m sorry. It’s just that…well, uh…I obviously made a wrong assumption. Please accept my apology.” She offered a shy smile.
“No harm done.” He extended a smile that said he had dismissed the matter from his mind, a reality far from the truth.
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Powerful billionaire Beverly Hills attorney Trent Nichols is feeling the stress of career burnout. He wants to simplify his high-powered life. While cruising up the West Coast in his yacht, headed for Canada, he stops in the San Juan Islands off the Washington state coast. The feel of the islands, the people—the honesty and openness without pretenses—is very appealing. He instantly felt the stress falling away. He's particularly attracted to the owner of a combination diner/bar. But when casual conversation reveals that she went through a bitter divorce from an attorney which had negatively impacted her opinion of all attorneys. At that point, Trent made the decision to keep his career choice a secret from her. After all, it was only a harmless little deception. It couldn't hurt anything. It's not like he planned to be there for a long time. It was only a temporary pause in his trip. But he soon discovers what he thought of as a harmless little deception has become a major obstacle and he doesn't know how to make it right.
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Author Biography:
USA TODAY Best Selling Author Shawna Delacorte lived most of her life in Los Angeles and worked in television production. She combined her avocation of photography and interest in writing to do magazine articles featuring her photographs. Her friends said she should utilize her television contacts and write scripts. She enrolled in a screen writing class at UCLA. By the close of class, she knew screen writing was not for her but she did want to try writing a novel. Her first sale was to Harlequin followed by 20 more Harlequin novels for their Desire and Intrigue lines. Harlequin has re-issued 18 of her print backlist in e-book.
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