My Darling Bride

This saucy rom-com from Madden-Mills (the Game Changers series) throws together bookstore clerk Emmaline “Emmy” Darling and star football player Graham Harlan at a Las Vegas hotel, where Emmy ropes Graham into momentarily posing as her boyfriend to shake her abusive ex. When her ex can’t take the hint, desperate Emmy “borrows” Graham’s Lamborghini, promising in a letter to leave the car for him at the Tucson airport with the keys under a tire. She doesn’t think it will be a big deal—but when someone then steals the car from the airport and totals it, Graham expects compensation. Instead of filing an insurance claim, however, he proposes that she make it up to him by marrying him so he can claim a $20 million inheritance and share it with his brother, who, because he married a man, was written out of their homophobic grandmother’s will. Emmy and her siblings are struggling to pay bills, so Graham’s offer, which includes a million dollars of her own, is too good to pass up. An unexpected bond develops through emotional heart to hearts and mind-blowing sex—but will how well they complement each other be enough to break through commitment-phobic Graham’s walls? This lighthearted story delivers emotional depth without getting too angsty. Add in snappy dialogue and laugh out loud moments, and romance fans will be well pleased. (Dec.)