Hired Husband

My dearly departed husband, Ben, and I started from nothing and created the successful Fortune Cosmetics empire.

But fame and wealth aren’t everything—family comes first. My children and grandchildren’s happiness is most important to me. And I’ll do anything—even a little meddling—to make sure they always land on their feet.

Nothing—and no one—will stand in the way of whatever I set out to do….

Dear Reader,

I am so proud and pleased to have been asked to write the launch title for FORTUNE’S CHILDREN. I think this is a fast, entertaining, sexy, exciting series—and I certainly had a lot of fun doing Hired Husband. I hope you enjoy it!

It’s been said many times that the rich are different. Yet when I sat down to write about Caroline Fortune, I didn’t find that to be true at all. She brought the same hopes and fears to her relationship with Nick Valkov that I think all of us do in our own lives.

It was Nick who surprised me. When I was told by Silhouette that my hero was a chemist, I had the same mental image Caroline thought Nick should conjure up: dull, boring, puttering away in some dusty old laboratory piled high with books and beakers. So much for stereotypes. I don’t think I’ll ever look at a chemist in quite the same way again!

Caroline and Nick’s marriage starts out as one of convenience and grows to be a love match because they have the chance to become friends. If FORTUNE’S CHILDREN has a message, I believe it’s that husbands aren’t just husbands, and family isn’t just family—they are, or should be, our friends, as well. I think that sometimes in the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives, we tend to forget that. Caroline and Nick remember. May you all be just as fortunate in your own lives!

For my stepfather, Verne.

With love.

New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Brandewyne began her first romance novel at just twenty-one years of age, while finishing her Master of Arts degree in communications. Rebecca has since gone on to write numerous bestsellers. Her versatility as an author has inspired effortless jumps between the genres of contemporary, historical and Gothic fiction, and her various works have appeared on bestseller lists for the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, the Los Angeles Times and Magazine & Bookseller, among many others.

Rebecca has come a long way from her roots as a self-professed country girl. She is now heralded as one of the world’s leading romance authors, equally adept at easing her stories into existing history, setting them squarely in the present or creating future worlds for her characters. With more than 8.5 million copies of her books in print worldwide, Rebecca’s novels have reached 60 countries around the globe.

Meet the Fortunes—three generations of a family with a legacy of wealth, influence and power. As they unite to face an unknown enemy, shocking family secrets are revealed…and passionate new romances are ignited.

KATE FORTUNE: Fearless matriarch of the Fortune clan—until her plane crashes and the family is left to make the most of her legacy. Her children and grandchildren inherit gifts that become touchstones for happiness…and romance.

CAROLINE FORTUNE: The dynamic marketing executive for Fortune Cosmetics, she has no time for romance. But she’ll do anything to save the family business, including marrying—in name only—a sexy scientist.

NICK VALKOV: Fortune’s top chemist needs a bride—and Caroline needs a protector. But what starts as a green card marriage turns into so much more….

KYLE FORTUNE: Playboy millionaire. When he inherits a Wyoming ranch from his grandmother, can this city slicker roll up his sleeves and turn into a genuine cowboy?

LIZ JONES — CELEBRITY GOSSIP

K ate Fortune, CEO of Fortune Cosmetics, was on her way to clinch what close friends have hinted is a major business coup when her private plane crashed. The family isn’t saying anything, but rumor has it that Kate’s missing…and could be dead!

The fabulously wealthy Fortune family has come face-to-face with plenty of turmoil in recent days…and some are saying that this crash was no accident. Just last week a top Fortune Cosmetics employee was faced with deportation. Then, a very mysterious fire exploded in the company lab.

Is someone out to ruin the Fortune family? And how will they survive the secrets and scandal that threaten their reputations? And with Kate’s crash, I hear some Fortune family members are worried about their lives.

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Washington, D.C.

“N ow, Duckie,” the low voice on the telephone purred throatily. “I know that with all your connections, you must have a friend or two at the INS. And really, what I’m asking is only a teeny, tiny favor, one that involves no risk at all to you or to anybody at the INS, either, for that matter. After all, who could possibly care whether one lone Russian male has his green card revoked? You can say you got a tip from an anonymous informer, which led you to believe that Dr. Nicolai Valkov is a former KGB agent or is hooked up with the Russian mob in this country or something. Whatever. Just as long as he’s viewed as an undesirable alien and deported. The INS won’t question your word, Duckie…the word of one of the most powerful senators on Capitol Hill. So I know you can do it…that you can get rid of Nick Valkov for me. And of course, it goes without saying that I’d be ever so…grateful to you. So grateful, in fact, that I’d have to make a special trip out to Washington just to see you, Duckie. We’ll have our own private celebration, just the two of us. I’ll bring champagne—and that little black boudoir ensemble of mine you like so much….”