Spotlight & Giveaway: Billionaire’s Wife on Paper by Melanie Milburne

Posted January 1st, 2020 by in Blog, Spotlight / 42 comments

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Melanie Milburne to HJ!
Spotlight&Giveaway

 

Hi Melanie and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Billionaire’s Wife on Paper!

 
Hello! Great to be here!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

This is an upstairs-downstairs story where two people from completely different worlds, who each have tragic pasts, find in each other a perfect union.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

‘Married abroad?’ Layla opened and closed her mouth. ‘Please tell me you’re not thinking Vegas and an Elvis impersonator?’
He gave a crooked smile that made something in her chest ping like a latch springing open. ‘No. But if you’re not keen on an impersonal register office, how about a small and simple ceremony on a beach in Hawaii?’
Hawaii. The lands of bikinis and beaches and beautiful bodies.
Oh joy.

 

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

It was while I was writing my previous release- Cinderella’s Scandalous Secret that I found one the subsidiary characters was keen for her own story. Funny how it happens that way sometimes.  Layla Campbell jumped off the page and I couldn’t resist crafting a story for her.

 

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Layla has known Logan ever since she came to live at his family’s Scottish estate as a child, so her attraction to him was more of a hero-worship crush at first that then blossomed into a more adult thing. Logan has been trying not to notice Layla for years!

 

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

When Layla talks to Logan about how self-conscious she is about the scars on her leg from the accident that killed her parents, I found myself feeling sad that she had denied herself so many things most people take for granted- wearing short dresses or shorts, dancing, swimming.
Excerpt:
‘Layla.’ He kept his voice low and gentle. ‘Look at me.’
Her fingers began to pick at a frayed patch on her jeans, her mouth still set in a stubborn line. ‘I know what you’re going to say, so don’t bother saying it.’
‘Tell me what you think I’m going to say.’
She pulled a thread out of the patch on her jeans and played tug-of-war with a series of sharp little tugs until it snapped. ‘You’re going to tell me I’m being silly about being self-conscious about my leg. That I should try and live a normal life and not care what anyone says or if they stare and ask rude questions.’ She rolled the broken pieces of thread into a ball and dropped them onto the table beside her chair. ‘But you’re you. You’re not me.’
Logan took one of her hands and anchored it against his thigh close to his bent knee. ‘You’re not silly to be self-conscious. It’s tough having anything that draws unwelcome attention. But it concerns me you’re limiting your enjoyment of life because of other people’s reaction or judgement.’
She went to pull her hand out from under his but he countered it with a little more pressure. Her palm was soft against his thigh—warm and soft—and he couldn’t stop imagining how it would feel on other parts of his body. His groin stirred, his blood rushed, his self-control went AWOL. Before he could stop himself, he brought her hand up to his mouth, pressing a light kiss to her bent knuckles. She gave a little whole-body shiver as if his touch was having the same effect on her as hers was on him. The tip of her tongue darted out to sweep a layer of moisture over her lips, her throat rising and falling in an audible swallow.

 

Readers should read this book….

If they want to read a story about an alpha hero with a heart and a damaged heroine who finds she is perfect after all.

 

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I’m working on Book One of a new trilogy involving three young women who flat together in London. I am so excited to be writing linked stories again. My next release is The Return of Her Billionaire Husband and I think it’s by far the most emotional book I’ve written. It is a reunion plot with a couple who tragically lost a baby to stillbirth. I wept buckets writing it. I had to give myself a few days off here and there just to get through.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

 

Giveaway: A signed copy of Billionaire’s Wife on Paper as well as a copy of Cinderella’s Scandalous Secret, the connected book. Open International.

 

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Are you or have you ever been self-conscious about a part of your body? If you’ve overcome it, how did you do so?

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Excerpt from Billionaire’s Wife on Paper:

A COUPLE OF days after the legal work was completed in Edinburgh, Layla flew business class with Logan to the island of Maui in Hawaii. The luxury villa he’d organised for their short stay was situated at Kapalua Bay beach, a gorgeous crescent of blindingly white sand and turquoise water and palm trees. Layla felt as if she was living in a dream sequence—swept away to an exotic location by a handsome billionaire who was intent on marrying her as quickly as he could.
But not for the romantic reasons her girlhood dreams had envisaged.
The speed and efficiency with which Logan set about achieving a goal was nothing less than breathtaking. Layla barely had time to get her head around the idea of a beach wedding, let alone buy the appropriate attire for it, when she found herself standing on the balcony of the beautiful villa overlooking the ocean with just minutes to spare before the ceremony.
Her wedding day.
It was strange to think that this time last week she had been a single woman with a simple goal of keeping her business on track. Now she was about to be married to a man she had known for most of her life who didn’t love her the way a husband should love his bride.
But Logan did love his family’s home and so did she, so it would have to be a good enough reason to marry. The only reason to marry, because the last thing she needed was to get silly ideas in her head about their relationship lasting beyond the year, as set down in the document his lawyer had drawn up.
One year and one year only.
The money Logan had transferred to her account on signing the document would guarantee Layla’s business success. It was exactly the windfall she needed to expand her business from a scribbled sticky-note vision into a profit-making reality.
Logan came out to the balcony where she was standing looking at the view. She turned to face him with an attempt at a smile. Their wedding ceremony was minutes away but if he was uncomfortable or uneasy about what they were about to do, he wasn’t showing it on his face. They might as well have been heading down the beach for an afternoon stroll.
He pushed back his shirt sleeve to glance at the silver watch on his strong tanned wrist. ‘The celebrant will be here in ten minutes.’
‘Okay…’ Layla took a deep breath and smoothed her hand down over her churning stomach. ‘Isn’t it meant to be bad luck for you to see me in my dress before the ceremony?’
His eyes ran over the Bohemian-style white dress she had bought in a boutique in Edinburgh. It was enough like a wedding dress for her to feel like a bride, even if she wasn’t a real one, and long enough to cover the scars on her leg. And—even more important—she could wear flat sandals or bare feet rather than struggle with heels.
‘I can safely say I’ve already had more than my fair share of bad luck. You too, I imagine.’ His tone was wry. ‘You look beautiful, by the way.’ His gaze held hers in a lock that did strange things to her insides. Tingling things, thrilling things. Forbidden things.
Layla was the first to look away, worried he would see things she didn’t want him to see. Things she didn’t even want to admit to herself. ‘I don’t have a bouquet or anything. I hope that’s not bad luck too.’
He walked over to a box that was sitting on the coffee table in the large open-plan room off the balcony. She hadn’t noticed it earlier as she’d been preoccupied with getting ready so soon after their arrival. Or it had been delivered while she was in the shower. He took the lid off and the sweet tropical scent of frangipanis filled the air. He took out a simple but beautiful bouquet and handed it to her.
‘I hope this will do?’
‘It’s perfect.’ Layla took the bouquet from him and bent her face to the creamy blooms with their egg-yolk-yellow hearts, the glorious fragrance drugging her senses. Not to mention Logan’s intoxicating closeness doing exactly the same thing. He was dressed in an open-necked white shirt and mid-blue jacket and trousers that brought out the intense blue in his eyes and the deep olive tan of his skin. She could smell his aftershave—could even pick up the clean fruity smell of his shampoo from his recent shower. His jaw was freshly shaven and her fingers itched to touch his face to trace where the razor had glided over his tanned skin. She was aware of every inch of his body standing within touching distance of hers. Aware of every breath he took, every flare of his nostrils, every rustle of his clothes when he moved.
Within a few minutes they would be husband and wife.
On paper.
She had to keep reminding herself of that pesky little detail.
Logan held out his hand, his expression inscrutable. ‘Ready to head down?’
Layla put her hand in his, holding the bouquet in the other, her heart thumping, her pulse racing. ‘I’m ready.’
I think…

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

Logan McLaughlin can’t lose his Scottish family estate. But to rescue it his grandfather’s will demands that he weds! Logan avoids real relationships, having failed so significantly at love before. So when housemaid Layla suggests he takes a convenient wife he’s intrigued…
Untouched Layla never imagined Logan would choose her! With her scars, she feels far from the perfect bride. To protect the only home she’s ever known she’ll wear Logan’s ring…but can she ignore the burning connections threatening to destroy their paper-only arrangement?
Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | kobo | Google |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Melanie Milburne writes modern romance stories for Harlequin Mills and Boon. Her love affair with romance novels began when she read her first romance at the age of seventeen and it inspired a dream to one day become a romance author. With over 80 books in print and several industry awards and nominations for her work, Melanie enjoys crafting contemporary romance stories from her home in Hobart in beautiful Tasmania, where she lives with her husband and fur family of two dogs and two cats.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram |
 
 
 

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42 Responses to “Spotlight & Giveaway: Billionaire’s Wife on Paper by Melanie Milburne”

  1. erahime

    I have been body conscious now and then but I have learned to accept them for the most part.

  2. Mary Preston

    I used to always think my hips were big – wide. I soon learnt they were just perfect for childbirth.

  3. Melanie Bowers

    I have psorarisis on my legs, the front of them so I very rarely where anything that shows them but sometimes I wear bathers and think stuff it

  4. carol L

    When younger and had put on 40 pounds after child birth I felt very uncomfortable. Then I just started wearing clothes that fit me until I lost the weight. Which I did. But in reality, we have to love who we are for us. No one else. I love the excerpt and really want to read this now. Happy New Year.
    Carol Luciano
    Lucky4750 at aol dot com

  5. Diana Tidlund

    Not really. We’re made how God sees fit. My older brother had muscular dystrophy, my older sister still has multiple sclerosis, I had epilepsy growing up. The list continued. Even with these issues I always felt that we are in this world as long as God sees fit. Enjoy life and don’t worry the small stuff ! We are all beautiful in our own way !

  8. lyn212

    Yes I have different areas of my body that I’m self-conscious about. I just move on and try not to think about it too much.

  11. Courtney Kinder

    Yes I am self-conscious about parts of my body but I try to be happy with who I am

  13. dbranigan

    Just a body part? I have been self-conscious about my body for most of my life. I will never get over my issues, but I am learning to just let it go…except when I shop for clothes!

  14. Lynne Brigman

    I am very self conscious about my body now. I’m the past 5 years I have put on weight and I am now very self conscious about my body now. This is very new to me because I never worried about it before. I am at a loss for his to overcome it.

  15. Pammie R.

    I don’t like being photographed because I look way different in pictures than I do in the mirror. I am a fat chick, but when I see my reflection, I don’t see that. When I look at pictures, I do. I have some kind of dismorphic disorder that causes that.

  16. Pamela Conway

    I have been self conscience about my body but for the most part accept it but do find myself comparing myself to others at times & find myself lacking.

  17. Claire Reed Warren

    I am self conscious about my eyes-they are very different shapes from one to another and it almost looks like I have had a stroke because one is almost closed. I realized that when I smile, both eyes smile and laugh lines make them look similar again

  21. Anna Nguyen

    i don’t like my legs and i like to wear skirts instead of pants because i think it compliments it more and hides what i don’t want to show

  22. Charlotte Litton

    I’ve always been self conscious, but after getting cancer, I’m thankful I’m alive and this is the way I look.

      • laurieg72

        I forgot to add varicose veins after 4 children. I wear TED compression stockings a lot..

  25. Karina Angeles

    I’m very self conscious. I have a bit of a “muffin top” going on. I try to hide it by wearing high waisted jeans and loose fitting blouses or tops.

  28. BookLady

    I am self-conscious about my body, but I try to emphasize my good features.

  29. dholcomb1

    I was always teased about my hair as a child, midway in high school, products came on the market to make it more manageable. Over the years, I’ve come to love my curls and am able to wear them the way I want.

  32. Angela Smith

    i’ve always been self conscious about my body since i was a little kid..,i’ve always been overweight and always been teased about it..

  33. Melanie Milburne

    Thanks for all your comments. I’m sorry for not replying to each one individually. It’s sad to see how many of us struggle with body issues. Why are we women so hard on ourselves? Thanks for sharing your thoughts

  35. Sheila

    I have always had big breasts. It made for some uncomfortable comments in high school. Clothes were hard to fit so I ended up with baggy shirts. Even that caused some comments. So I have always been self-conscious of them.

  36. Irma Jurejevčič

    I do. There are days I feel gorgeous and days when I feel like a creep. I do have a loving husband who always says how pretty I am and it helps, so very much.

  37. Lilah Chavez

    My smile . I have a snaggle tooth that throws my smile off and I have a very big lower lip.

    What I used to do was cover my mouth while I laughed. But now I let go

  38. Amy R

    Are you or have you ever been self-conscious about a part of your body? Yes and I’ve not overcome it

  39. Jade Boger

    I have been self conscious about almost every part of my body. I think that time and getting older and a little bit wiser has helped. For example I’ve always been self conscious about my adult onset acne. Learning better ways to apply makeup, talking about it and getting chemical peels from my dermatologist has helped a ton.

  40. Linda Herold

    I am self conscious about my whole body!!! I have not overcome it!