The C.E.O. & the Secret Heiress (Harlequin American Romance, No. 895)

Rating:
Summary: A charming tale -- Highly recommended
Review: Three weeks before her planned New Year's Eve wedding, heiress Brittany Lewis cancels when she suddenly realizes she's not in love. She knows the repercussions of her decision will explode all around her. It is, after all, the third engagement she's ended in four years. She doesn't, however, expect her father's ultimatum. She must join her father's company for six months, showing up at nine and going home at six. She's going to face the challenge of business and give her life a worthwhile direction.

Brittany faces an unexpected challenge when she arrives for her first meeting of the boss. A fortuitous open door and happenstance leads to an opportunity to use her skills to redecorate the JUST For Kids day-care center instead of inhabiting some stuffy office. A little quick thinking and Brittany Lewis becomes B.J. Smythe the artist. Now she can prove her skills and her values on her own terms, before revealing her true identity and blowing stuffy C.E. O. Matt Terrell's opinions of Brittany Lewis out of the water.

B.J.'s exhilaration quickly gives way to apprehension, however, as she grows emotionally involved with Matt. He's not going to tolerate the dishonesty of her charade. But with the unveiling of the child care center slated for Christmas Eve, B.J. believes she can maintain the illusion of her identity long enough to really make a difference for the company and for herself. As her presence begins to fill the spaces in Matt's world that he hadn't known existed, Matt finds himself drawn into the magic B.J. creates. But issues of trust reach into a painful past for Matt, and B.J.'s apprehension is well founded.

The premise of THE C.E.O. & THE HEIRESS, while not unusual in genre fiction, is carried off with great flair. Author Mary Anne Wilson offers a surprisingly convincing plot that provides this spoiled heiress direction and growth. As Brittany puts her creative skills to use, she also finds she's proving her value not only to Matt and her father, but most importantly to herself. As Matt's misconceptions and prejudices are challenges, the reader can't resist being drawn into the story and rooting not only for the successful romance between Brittany and Matt, but also successful end for a spunky youngster that keeps the story from becoming too predictable. Highly recommended.