This HaBO comes from Katy, who wants to find this contemporary romance:
It was a modern day romance.
The hero owns a farm or bed & breakfast and needs help, so he puts an ad out for a wife. The heroine responds, and the two get married pretty quickly. He soon realizes she can’t do any of the things he expected of his wife (he’s basically looking for a business partner), so he says they’ll get an annulment.
At some point they are lying in bed together and the heroine is reading a romance novel. The hero asks her to read it aloud to him so he can fall asleep. She gets embarrassed when a sexy scene comes up, but reads on. When they’re both sleepy, they end up having sex or nearly having sex. The guy blames her and her book for it happening because she doesn’t want the annulment so she “tricked” him into bed (christening the marriage and whatnot).
He then kicks her out and gives her the keys to his truck to get to the airport/bus terminal/etc, only for him to find out later via his dad/oldest employee that she can’t drive. He runs out and sees his truck and her foot tracks in the snow, so he chases after her and finds her freezing cold (he chastises her for not telling him she can’t drive).
Later on, the heroine wants to prove herself so she starts trying to handy-woman around the place, including changing a bulb in the hot tub/sauna. However, the bulb she changes gives her minor retina burns (welder’s arc?) and so she’s kind of blind for a bit, and dependent on the hero to help her out.
God this hero better grovel.
This sounds so bonkers, but I’m kind of curious.
I hate driving, so I was really hoping this was going to go in the direction of – their marriage of convenience of agreement is that he will drive her everywhere she needs to go and she, I don’t know, bakes him cookies.
That’s essentially what my husband and I have agreed upon 🙂 I mean, I do drive, but I will avoid it whenever I can.
Okay, I THINK I recognize this one but I can’t remember the title. (Sorry!) Also, I remember the beginning a little differently but honestly how many heroine’s burn their eyes changing the bulb in a hot tub? Here’s what I remember in hopes it’ll help someone else come up with the answer.
The h/h are married by proxy. I want to say it had something to do with his kids because he was gone (army? maybe?). The granddad arranged it. So when he shows up, the hero at first really doesn’t know what is going on. The two of them do sleep together and he kicks her out at first. Once granddad clears up some of the confusion, he runs after her. She does end up pregnant (of course). I remember she tries driving one of their trucks at some point and ends up hitting a tree so she’s at the doctor with a bum knee, burned eyes and pregnant and the hero feels really shitty about it.
Other random thing i remember. The hero tries to teach her how to drive but she just rams down on the gas so it’s hard for her to learn. So he wedges something somewhere to keep the car from going above a certain speed. (Sorry not a car person, haha.) It may not have been a car because I know they also had her driving a Polaris or something. I want to say his name starts with an A and her name starts with a S.
I hope this helps! It’s been several years since I read it but if the title comes to me later, I’ll let you know.
This has Diana Palmer written all over it.
And that guy needs to get in the bin post-haste.
@cayenne: I was just coming down here to say this. Don’t know the book but it totally has DP vibes.
I seem to have read something like this. It sounds like “Duncan’s Bride” by Linda Howard, but that book’s heroine knew how to drive. Maybe a Diana Palmer?
I have absolutely no idea what book this is, but from the OP’s description, one might be forgiven for thinking that the hero would have asked the heroine some questions before he married her. Considering he had expectations, one would think he would have verified that she could do the things he needs her to do.
But of course, there would be no story otherwise. Lack of communication drives me batty.
I don’t know who wrote this book, but I really want to read it!
I know this one! The Seduction Of His Wife by Janet Chapman.
Parts of it sound like an older Janet Evanovich, called Wife for Hire. These are pre-Plum novels.
Sounds like a Diana Palmer, but needs more gratuitous biscuits.
@Jackie That’s the one I was thinking of! I hope that is what the original poster was looking for.
“Gratuitous Biscuits” is the name of my secret blog. And my cover band. (Susanna, this comment made me laugh so hard.)
There’s no mention of chest hair in the request so I don’t think it can be a Diana Palmer tbh.