HIS BY DESIGN – Dani Wade
Harlequin Desire #2250
ISBN: 978-0-373-73263-0
August 2013
Series Romance

Atlanta, Georgia – Present Day

Sloan Creighton is in a business tug of war with his stepmother, Vivian, and office assistant Ziara Divan is caught in the middle. Ziara has been the recipient of Sloan's flirtatious attention in the past, but the man only occasionally visits Eternity Designs. Now he is challenging Vivian for control of the company, and Ziara has been offered the position of his personal assistant, though Vivian intends to make sure she reports back Sloan's secrets. Ziara wants a coveted job in the company, so doesn't dare turn the offer down. But will giving in to Sloan's advances prove to be a temptation she can't resist?

After losing his mother in his teens and then watching his father marry Vivian, Sloan stayed in the shadows after the death of his father and watched his stepmother gain control of Eternity Designs. But the company is now stagnant, and Sloan intends to not only revitalize it, but take over. His concentration should be on the company first, but Ziara has always intrigued him, and now having her as his assistant gives him the chance to get to know her better. She's an exotic beauty who keeps herself hidden beneath buttoned up clothing and severe hairstyles, and he's determined to get her to bloom—and into his bed. Yet he knows he has to be careful around Ziara, because she is going to be reporting back to Vivian…

Readers are pulled into the world of fashion design in HIS BY DESIGN and are in for an enjoyable and passionate tale. Sloan has built a successful business career outside Eternity Designs and could walk away from further association but wants to build the company back up after the ruthless neglect by Vivian to expand it. While his intentions toward Ziara were sexual at first, once he gets to know her, the more intrigued he becomes to learn about her past. Why does a beautiful woman hide her looks so as to not attract a man? As they grow closer, and the more he reveals to Ziara about his plans and his past, the walls she's erected slowly begin to peel away, only to suddenly rebuild again. What is it in her past that she doesn't want him to know?

Ziara's life growing up was difficult to say the least. The only child of a woman who prostituted her body and cared less about her child, Ziara finally escaped and hasn't looked back. But the past haunts her, and she doesn't want to end up like her mother, using beauty and sexual affairs to get ahead in life. She wants the plum job at Eternity Designs, and getting involved in the battle between Sloan and Vivian may turn out to be a “do or lose” situation for her. She suspects Sloan is on the right path, but does Vivian hold the upper hand?

In HIS BY DESIGN, readers will surely empathize with Ziara and see Sloan as her white knight in shining armor. The pain both of them suffered in childhood bonds them even as it shapes their hesitancy about getting romantically involved. Their romantic journey is one that's both emotional and passionate. Will they find the way to a happily-ever-after? Discover for yourself in the intriguing HIS BY DESIGN.

Patti Fischer