The Baby Contract by CeeRee Fields – Review & Excerpt
Description:
An unwanted wife, a broken contract, and a secret baby.
Elizabeth Sutherland Martinez’s life was idyllic. She married the man of her dreams. Had a supportive stepfather. And a dream job. Until the night she discovered everything she thought was true was a lie. Her husband only needed her to settle a debt to her stepfather by getting Elizabeth pregnant. The child and Elizabeth unknowing pawns in a contract forged between two powerful men bent on adding to their wealth.
She fled from all of it.
Rafael ‘Rafe’ Martinez wanted Elizabeth the first time he set eyes on her. Until he was forced to tangle with her stepfather, who presented Rafe with the unholy bargain. When he realizes Elizabeth only wanted him to impregnate her, Rafe’s done and demands a divorce so he can be free to find love elsewhere.
A year later, the two meet again only to discover they both have been lied to. Him thinking Elizabeth had anything to do with the contract. And her thinking he only wanted Elizabeth because of the contract.
Little do either of them know the rocky path of their beginning will lead them to a love like no other, but first, they have to survive her stepfather’s murderous intentions.
Review:
The Baby Contract by CeeRee Fields is the 2nd book in her The Contract series. I’ve read this author before (The Rayburn Mysteries) so I was eager to see what this was all about…. Now that was different. I really enjoyed that.
Elizabeth Is happily in love, she has a secret she can’t wait to tell her stepfather and husband, but before she can do that, she overhears something that smashes her world to pieces!
I get the impression she’s quite a sheltered person, she might write novels under a pen name, but she lives the peaceful life. All she has ever wanted was a family, after losing her mother, her best friend and stepfather became her family, then Rafe was added, and Elizabeth was happy. So she’s got no choice but to run…..
Rafe I wanted to hate, he really was vile to Elizabeth, but the more you read about him, the more you come to realise he had been played! He really did love her at first, but an arrangement between Rafe and Harold (stepfather) with Elizabeth’s knowledge and consent (which he finds out she didn’t know about) sours the marriage, now he wants out! The marriage (unknown to Elizabeth) was only meant to be for a year.
He thinks she’s a gold digger, a cheat and possibly unable to conceive a child! Add in the fact his housekeeper hates Elizabeth, his mother despised her and wants him to marry someone with more clout in their circle!! (So he had that going on in the background)
My thoughts were if you were in love with that person wouldn’t you challenge them about the affairs? And why only a year? Thought he was a bit of an a$$ to be honest. And a bit gullible (your new girlfriend is taking you for a FOOL!!)
I liked that, a second chance type of romance, not my usual read, but I really enjoyed the drama, the suspense, and although we knew who the bad guy was (stepfather) and we knew why, it was more than just that.
The secondary characters were great, they took Elizabeth (now Colby) under their wing and made her feel she finally had a family. They kept her safe from her stepfather, they bolstered her when she was low, and loved her unconditionally.
The first part of the book is Elizabeth trying to get to grips with the betrayal and shock of her marriage, throw in the fact her stepfather and best friend were trying to kill her (very large estate in trust for her) Coping with a pregnancy on her own, and still in love with her ex! She’s finally living the life she wants. But with constantly having to look over her shoulder for her stepfather it’s all taking it’s toll on her. But she’s not going to give up!
And I like she’s finding her backbone, she has an opinion and she’s not afraid to voice it anymore. We jump to six months and find Colby (was Elizabeth) living a quiet life on a ranch, she has her extended family around her, and life is growing inside her nicely, she’s also written a book. Life is good (so you know something is coming to screw it up!)
Well it does……
From there it’s a fast pace of cat and mouse, Elizabeth pretending she doesn’t know what her best friend and stepfather are planning, planning for her future. Then add Rafe wanting a second chance! She still loves him, and wants them to be a family. But he’s going to have to prove he’s serious, she wants them to be together always, so it’s down to Rafe to show her.
It’s a second book in the series, I didn’t read the first one. But you don’t need to. So will Rafe and Elizabeth/Colby get back together? What happens when he finds out about the baby? And can Elizabeth stay one step ahead of her stepfather?
Definitely recommend this book if you’re a fan of murder/mystery stories.
Reviewed by Julie
Copy supplied for review
“Where will you go?”
“Back to my ranch…” she gasped and slapped a hand over her mouth.
“Harold doesn’t know you have a ranch?”
“No one here does. It’s like a safe haven that I’ve used the past year while trying to figure out how to lure Harold and Megan out.” She laid her hand over his thigh. “But, I trust you, Rafe.”
He smiled.
“I probably should tell you I’ve changed my name to Colby—”
He covered her mouth and shook his head sharply. “Don’t.”
Confused, she frowned at him.
“No one except Tanner knows your new name and new address, right?”
She nodded.
“Don’t tell me. The music should drown out the microphones in here, but I refuse to chance your safety like that.”
Her eyes popped wide. She had forgotten about the bugs her temporary security team was using to keep her safe.
“Do you understand?”
Her heart melted at seeing his tender side peek out.
She nodded again, and he removed his hand.
“You changed your name too.”
It wasn’t a question, but a statement and the sparkle in his eyes were mischievous as if he loved sharing a secret with her.
And though he didn’t ask, she felt the need to try to explain. “Elizabeth felt like a name for a fool after everything came to light, and I wanted a new start at a new place with a new name.”
The sparkle brightened, and a smile stretched across his face. “After this is over, I’m going on a treasure hunt—”
“Wait. What?” What the hell is he talking about? I just told him I changed my name and moved to a whole new state, and he’s talking about treasure hunts?
His palm cupped her cheek.
“I have the best idea. When we’re done in Alaska, I need to go home, and you’re going to return to wherever your home is—”
“But—”
“Shh, let me finish.” He placed a gentle kiss over her lips.
She reluctantly motioned zipping her lips and tried to keep quiet even though she wanted to protest. They had just found each other, and now he wanted to break up?
“We’re not breaking up, so get that look off your face. But my mother comes back from her trip abroad in February. I have several trips planned for a venture opening their business in February. But the most important thing is,” his earnest gaze tangled with hers. “I want to find you. I’ve been trying to think of a way to apologize for all the bullshit you went through and show you that you can trust me. That I’m not going to let you down again, and this is it.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I’m going to find you. Each day we’re separated, I want us to talk either by phone or by text. If I’m listening like I should have been from the beginning, you’ll give me hints to where you live now, and I’ll use those to find you.”
“Holy crap. You want to stalk me like prey.” And why does that turn me on? Heat curled in her at the thought of having his undivided attention focused on tracking her.
“I do. I want you to know I’m paying attention. So, don’t say ‘this is your hint for this week.’ Just toss something in during our normal conversation—”
“To show you’re actually listening to me.” Like he hadn’t during their marriage. To be fair, she hadn’t paid enough attention either, and she would need to own that.
“We both need to work on our communication, and I think this will do it.” He pulled her into his lap and held her close. “I love you. I have been in love with you the second you tripped over the sidewalk trying to rescue that kid’s dog.”
Her face heated to scalding as she remembered that coffee date. The poor little girl was almost in tears trying to catch the puppy before it darted into traffic. Elizabeth had just barely snagged the ball of fluff before it jumped the curb. Unfortunately, she had tripped over an uneven paving stone, but she had still caught the dog. “I didn’t know you saw that.”
“I did. It was one of the reasons I knew you wouldn’t back out of the contract when Harold presented it. That maybe we could have made it work.” He tightened is arms as if to feel she was actuall there. “Little did we know we were doomed from the start.”
“Why? Why would that be the tipping point?”
“Because you were stubborn enough to forget about breaking your fall instead, you grabbed that mutt and body-slammed the concrete.”
“Yeah, I have to say that hurt like hell.” She nuzzled into the hollow of his neck and sighed. He really did love her. They had just gotten sidetracked for a moment. Just as she was about to suggest another round, heavy footsteps traveled to them, and she scrambled from his lap. “Kenneth.”
“Sounds like he’s awake.”
“Shit.” She snatched up her clothes and raced for the downstairs bathroom, glad she had at least tossed on her shirt even though it only reached the top of her bare thigh. Lying around half-naked with Rafe was one thing, but she would never live down her absolute embarrassment if one of her security people caught a glimpse of her naked ass.
TF3-1100
I’m a geek, a gamer, a music lover, and a voracious reader. I love Star Trek and B-grade movies like Attack of the Killer Tomatoes and Sharknado. I enjoy figuring out software and learning new things and applying them to whatever book I’m currently working on.
I write romantic adventures. I live vicariously through my characters. I can be a knife-wielding forager who saves her family from deadly kidnappers or a slinky thief who must outmaneuver her sadistic cousin. My male characters aren’t cookie-cutter either. There’s so much diversity in the world that one size does not fit all. It’s the same for love. My male characters range from he-men, alpha types to nerds in glasses who can kickass when needed whether in a board room or in a parking garage. I have characters who are blind and have lost a limb in order to save others.
The one thing they all have in common is they are people who learn to move past their hurdles and find love.
Visit CeeRee Fields at the following links:
Website: https://ceereefields.com/
Twitter: twitter.com/ceereefields
Facebook: facebook.com/ceereefields
