This book contained two stories~~ Marriage of Inconvenience, which focused on Rich Manning, and Stand-In Wife, which focused on Paul Manning.
Marriage of Inconvenience- Jamie Warren desperately wants to have a child. She considers adopting and also artificial insemination. She asks her long time friend, Rich Manning to be her donor. He agrees, but he feels they should be married and he wants to be active in the childs life. Both of them have feelings for each other, and want the marriage to be more than just a marriage of convenience. But, unfortunately, it takes them a long while to admit their feelings. They also keep the marriage and pregnancy a secret from both families. Then, when they do tell their families, Jamie thinks that Rich sees this all as a big joke, based on the way he is acting. They finally do realize they really LOVE each other and they agree that Rich should move in with Jamie. And pretty much it's a Happily Ever After.
My thoughts: I didn't really like the whole premise of this story. I thought Jamie was way too needy and desperate. She also seemed to play mind games with Rich. I honestly don't know how Rich put up with her for so long. I think Jamie could've gone through an adoption agency, and part of the time I felt like she was just using Rich to get what she wanted. At times, it really didn't seem like she wanted to be married to him.
Finished on January 24th, 2009
Stand-In Wife focuses on Paul Manning. He recently lost his wife Dianne and trying to get through his grief. She died right after giving birth to their daughter, Kelsey. They also have 5 year old twin sons, Ryan and Ronnie. Dianne's sister, Leah comes to live with them to help Paul take care of the children. Eventually, Paul's parents suggest that Paul and Leah get married, which they end up doing. It starts out really being a marriage of inconvenience, but they soon realize they are attracted to each other. Then, Leah thinks she might be pregnant, which frightens Paul because he doesn't want to lose his wife again. This almost breaks up Leah and Paul's relationship, until they both recieve signals from Dianne that they are meant to be together.
My thoughts: I liked this story better than the other story. But I'm not sure what I think about a man marrying his dead wife's sister. It was a cute story though. Not very realistic, of course, but to me, I read to escape everyday life, so it's ok if a story is not realistic or has a Happy Ending, when it normally wouldn't. I think I will wait a little bit before reading Manning Grooms.
Finished on 1/28/2009.
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