Roberta Leigh

The Man: Steven Ryker, strong-willed, determined...dangerous to love! The Myth: That this tough guy didn't give a thought to any woman. The Legend: He was a man no female could resist, with a heart no woman could claim. The Awful Truth: Meg Shannon was in town--and Steven was in trouble! Once Steven had given sweet Meg his love, but she'd thrown it all away for a life that excluded him. Well, he didn't care that she was back in town; he'd learned his lesson the hard way. This bachelor wasn't going to get burned again, no matter what Meg said about circumstances beyond our control." His control was doing just fine, and she could forget all about rekindling their flame.

A three-week cruise on a millionaire's yacht! To Laurel it was more than tempting. And when her fellow worker said she couldn't go herself unless Laurel accompanied her as chaperone, Laurel allowed herself to be persuaded. What a mistake! For, once aboard the yacht, Laurel discovered she had really been brought along as "company" for Nicolas Ponti. The fact that Nicolas was young, handsome and wealthy did nothing to console her. Laurel could see a battle ahead ... and she had no intention of losing!

Philippa had an absorbing job on the "heart page" of a big newspaper. Then she advised a young girl to elope with her boyfriend. Unfortunately, the girl turned out to be the niece of Philippa's boss, the formidable newspaper tycoon, Marius Lyon, who soon gave Philippa the sack. But even after she was fired, she continued to meet and cross swords with him, and, inevitably, it ended with her falling in love. But it was a hopeless love, for even had Marius looked at her as a prospective wife, the glamorous Celia had every reason--and all the means--to prevent such a marriage.

Could she make a go of child rearing? Lorraine Ellis didn't know-her modeling career certainly hadn't prepared her for it--but she was determined to try. The loss of her brother had made her painfully aware of how alone she was. Yet she couldn't let her niece and nephew be shunted off to the custody of the grandparents who'd ignored their existence until now. So she was grateful when her neighbor, Jason Fletcher, offered his help. Attractive and charming, Jason was the answer to any woman's prayer--and Lorraine just hoped she could trust him.

"YOU GIVE YOURSELF THE AIRS OF AN ARISTOCRAT. BUT YOU'VE GOT THE MANNERS OF A SAVAGE!" When beautiful Vanessa Wayne arrived in Peru to buy native clothing for the fashionable London boutique where she worked, none of the Indian women would sell to her. One man was behind this conspiracy - the handsome Ramon de la Rivas, who kept Vanessa prisoner in his fabulous villa and in a remote mountain hut, forcing her to face the harsh reality of life in the tiny Andes villages. Vanessa was enraged. Until she discovered that this savage aristocrat could also be a gentle conqueror....

Love is hardly the way to get even. In Leslie's mind, divorce lawyer Dane Jordan caused the death of her stepfather. The huge settlement Dane extracted ruined the dear man, and Leslie ached for revenge. So, discovering that the charismatic counselor's weak spot was her, Leslie planned to charm the Bel Air bachelor right down the matrimonial aisle. Then she'd give him a taste of his own medicine--a divorce! All she had to do, Leslie assured herself, was stay out of Dane's persuasive arms until he proposed--and keep her heart out of the whole affair.

Melisande Godfrey had had a grudge against Andre Lubeck since her childhood, and she had longed to be revenged on him for years. Now her chance had come. Her method was to force him to marry her -- and the terms were such that he had no alternative but to agree. But Melisande had never paused to think what her life would be once she had married Andre: certainly she had never expected to fall in love with him. Just how deeply she had fallen in love she had never realized until his old love, Nina Spacy, turned up. And why shouldn't Andre encourage Nina, when he felt nothing for his own wife but contempt ??

MR. NOVEMBER Who: MacCasky Ford, former U.S. Marshal. Type: Tough, rugged, fiercely independent. Latest Mission: To find the mother of the little girl who'd appeared on his doorstep. Unforeseen Complication: Enigmatic Banner Keaton. She was not the woman she seemed.... All Mac Ford had wanted to do was hand in his badge and retire to the country. Then an unexpected twist of fate left his young niece in his care. Determined to reunite the child with her remaining parent, he traced elusive Banner Keaton to a deserted island ...only to make a stunning discovery! Mac was not a marrying man, but soon, this pretty, passionate woman had him wondering if he was headed for wedded bliss, after all...

Emily Lamb thought Luke Adams was attractive and powerful enough to arrange his own marriage--but when her friend Gina Harrick asked her to marry him for business reasons, Emily had her own reasons for agreeing. It was, of course, to be a temporary marriage of convenience; only Emily hadn't counted on falling in love with Luke. Nor had she suspected that the secret behind the business reasons was the fact that Luke was in love with Gina, his boss's wife . . .

From back of book: He'd never ask a second time Sandra had known Randall Pearson forever. Her father's totally dependable deputy, he never stepped out of character. Until the night when he'd surprised her by asking her to marry him. Sandra had rejected him, of course. A gray, faceless character with a mild manner who hid his thoughts behind horn-rimmed glasses, Randall was hardly the sort of man women dreamed about. Or was he? Four years after Randall's proposal, Sandra wasn't so sure. And now she was the one doing the pr

My Heart's a Dancer Melanie's marriage had ended before it had begun - but happily it was not long before she found herslef in love once again. Yet even now happiness looked like eluding her, when her career as a ballet dancer began to come between her and the man she loved.

Blaize caught Miranda by the shoulders and shook her as if she were a rag doll. 'You're crazy,' she gasped. 'I don't know what's the matter with you.' He seemed to be furious with jealousy. 'I'm tired of pretending to be your fiancee. You deserve to marry Rosemary. You're a blind fool and I won't be your guide dog any longer.' It was true--she was tired of pretending. Miranda wanted the engagement to be as real as her love for Blaize

'You - under my management - can be a valuable property. One I don't wish to lose.' But the last thing Andrea wanted was close contact with impresario Luke Kane, however good he might be for her career. Years ago she had cherished a teenage crush for him, but he had chosen to kill her feelings cruelly and she had learnt to hate him instead. Yet he was still the most attractive man she had ever met, his raw sexuality difficult for her to resist. But resist him she must, or go down in history as another of Luke Kane's disposable women

Nigel Farnham was attractive, rich and successful, but Julie Trafford had not married him for any of these reasons. She had a dark and more complicated motive -- one that was going to rebound on her tragically.

Critics call her "a veritable treasure, a matchless storyteller" (Romantic Times). Readers have fallen in love with Mary Balogh's sparkling blend of wit and romance. Now this dazzling writer sweeps us back to Regency England, into a world of dangerous secrets and glittering intrigue, as a dashing lord meets his match in a fiery beauty who vows to be ... No Man's Mistress.The dark, devastating stranger rode into the village fair and wagered twenty pounds at the throwing booth -- for a chance to win the daisies in Viola Thornhill's hair. The Gypsy fortune teller had warned: "Beware of a tall, dark, handsome stranger. He can destroy you -- if you do not first snare his heart."Recklessly Viola flirted, then danced with him around the Maypole. And then came his delicate, delicious kiss. Viola did not regret that she had let down her guard -- until the next morning, when he appeared at her door to claim her beloved Pinewood Manor. Lord Ferdinand Dudley won her home in a game of cards! Viola hated him for trying to take everything, including her soul. She was mistress of Pinewood Manor. Yet Dudley refused to leave, even as his conscience rebelled at compromising this beautiful innocent whose only proof of ownership was a dead earl's promise. Dudley held the deed, but at what cost? Each day under the same roof brought its share of temptation, intimacy, and guilt. But Viola knew it was a battle she could not afford to lose. Marriage was out of the question, and she would be no man's mistress. Even as Dudley's unnerving presence, his knowing smile, threatened to melt her resolve. Against his better judgment, Lord Ferdinand Dudley was beguiled. This maddening beauty had stirred him as no woman had before. And he was bound and determined to make her his own. At once sensuous, whimsical, and wonderfully romantic, Mary Balogh's new novel holds us in thrall, bringing to life a love story that sizzles with passion and originality. From the Hardcover edition.