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Scandalous, by Jenna Petersen
AVON,
October 2005
ISBN-13: 978-0060798598
ISBN-10: 0060798599
Reviewed by Amanda, May 2005
Dominic Mallory has come to see his brother Cole about a business matter when he spies a beautiful woman outside in the cold. Cole is to be married in a few days time, and the woman appears to be taking a break from all the festivities and enjoying the snowy night air. She is beautiful, and Dominic is drawn to her, so he stops to flirt with her, hoping to take her home with him before the night is over. She laughs with him, and for a moment flirts back, before seeming to realize how it would appear for them to be seen together, alone in the dark. Minutes later, their conversation is interrupted, and Dominic discovers that this is Katherine, his brother’s fiancée.
Back inside, Katherine is about to receive some shocking news. It would seem that Cole’s first wife, who has long been presumed dead in an accident at sea, is alive after all and ready to reclaim her husband. Cole says they must end their engagement, but to save her and the family shame, he will find her someone to marry immediately. Katherine is shocked at the idea of being passed around from one man to another, and then Cole presents his brother, Dominic.
When Katherine retires for the evening to think things over, Dominic and Cole talk. They have never gotten along. Dominic and Cole do not share the same father, and while society does not know that, Cole has held it over Dominic’s head all his life. Dominic had come to Cole once again seeking a piece of property that might shed some light on who his father was, so Cole makes him a deal. Cole needs Katherine’s money, so if Dominic will marry her in his place and keep the money in the Mallory family, Dominic can have Lansing Square, the property he desires. Dominic accepts, albeit reluctantly. Katherine is left in the dark about the deal between the brothers, and they convince her to marry Dominic.
Dominic and Katherine are very attracted to each other, but neither of them is seeking a love relationship. Even Katherine’s marriage to Cole was to be based on friendship and mutual respect, nothing more. But being married to Dominic is quite different that what she had expected. At night she is drawn to him like a moth to a flame, but during the day she has to force herself to stay away from him. She wants to give him all of her except for her heart, because she is afraid she will never get his in return. She watched her mother get hurt by her father time and time again, and has sworn to never put her heart on the line for a man like that, ever. Dominic never expected to fall in love. He grew up in a family full of lies and hate, and has spent his entire life trying to find out who his real father is. Dominic isn’t even sure that real love actually exists. These two people have so much to lose if they let down their guards and open their hearts, but they will lose so much more if they don’t.
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