The Secret Sinclair

by Cathy Williams

The most shocking consequence of all . . .

She didn’t mean to fall for a notorious playboy, but Sarah Scott’s head was overruled by Raoul’s skilful seduction. Yet after he jets out of her life Raoul’s legacy continues . . . . Sarah is pregnant with the Sinclair heir! Five years later, single mum Sarah is struggling to make ends meet, working as an office cleaner. Having taken on yet another job, Sarah is on her knees scrubbing floors when her eyes meet those of her designer-clad new boss – the man she’s never been able to forget…Raoul!

Genres: Romance, Harlequin, Harlequin Presents, Contemporary Romance, Second Chance, Mills and Boon, Contemporary

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Cathy Williams, born in Trinidad and Tobago, is a British author who has written romance novels for Mills & Boon since 1990. She lives in Chiswick, London, with her three daughters and continues to craft engaging, heartfelt love stories.

Reviews

[StMargarets · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story started out promising with a brutal break-up that left the heroine devastated.

What? – I can’t help it, I’m an angst junkie.
The next scene, five years later, with the billionaire hero discovering the heroine is now a cleaner in the building he just bought is also satisfying. She faints. He’s defensive and arrogant – especially when he finds out he has a secret son.

It all goes downhill from there. The hero is judgey about her house – and she is judgey about his modernist flat.

They both snipe and snipe and snipe about logistics of child custody, what if’s about sex with other people, what if’s about sex with each other, trips to theme parks, meeting her parents.

It was all minutiae writ large so the H/h didn’t have to reveal their true feelings.

What silent Oliver (their son) thought about all of this is beyond me. He’s the only one I liked by the time this boring story ground to a stop.

For those who need to know: hero had other women in the five years. Heroine was a virgin when she met the hero and has been celibate since their affair as college students in Africa.

[Vintage · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our charming H, Raoul, raises arrogance to a level unprecedented even in a Harlequin. Ugh. My first reaction is to give this a one or two star rating as his actions and, for lack of a better word, emotions are horrible.

Raoul and Sarah meet in Africa helping villagers build up resources. Raoul doesn't necessarily seduce the virginal Sarah knowing he will leave and never see her again, but as good as. The story starts off when she lays the kiss of death on what little relationship they have by asking where it's going. Have you ever had "the talk"? The one where the guy carefully cliches his way out of the relationship with "It's me, not you. You deserve someone better than me. Yadda, yadda, yadda." Here is a link to the breakup list.http://listovative.com/top-10-ultimate-breakup-cliches-list/. Raoul bluntly lays it out that he is built for bigger things; she'll be better off without him, blah, blah, blah. Okay, yeah guy. Sadly, this conversation rings a little more realistic than is comfortable in a Harlequin which makes it all the more infuriating and insulting.

Sarah takes it on the chin and tosses his luggage out. Actually she places it carefully out, but you can't have everything. I don't think I have to tell you what little souvenir she brings home from Africa?

Flash to five years later. She's scrubbing a floor and he walks by. Ouch. Not how you want to meet your ex-dreamboat. Raoul is horrified to find out how low Sarah has dropped since they parted. Not a teacher, but a lowly drudge. (The drop to lowly cleaner/drudge is one trope I seriously dislike and has been done to death.) This is where R cements his reputation as one of the most arrogant and insensitive heroes in Harley-land. He assumes she left her studies for another guy. He initially refuses to believe he is the father. He is, in general, a serious ass hat.

The road to insta-Daddyhood is a little rockier for R than most Harley-land heroes, but he perseveres. Sarah is grateful that she has someone to lighten her load and has to continuously remind herself what a callous cad R was in the face of all his six foot plus golden lusciousness. She actually looks forward to seeking out her real dream man which insults the pants of Raoul. Boxing her once again into a corner, Raoul railroads her into a marriage so he can keep tabs on their son and keep her in his bed. She caves, of course, but this time she caves sexually rather than emotionally. Guess who gets his feelings hurt being used for his body? Let's all wipe a tear for the poor sensitive alpha male.

Bottom line, I did not enjoy this so for me it would be more a two star. I have a hard time with his callous dismissal of her emotions as well as the fact that she is abandoned. Unlike most arrogant Harley H's, he knows she is not a gold-digging, manipulative, birth-control destroying witch, but he has sex with her anyway. However, reviewing this for other, I think a lot of people will enjoy the angst and the eensy bit of change that Raoul exhibits.

I have noticed that Cathy Williams' heroines are in serious need of better birth control. Even among Harlequins they have a higher incidence of pregnancy, and her heroes are much more likely to abandon the innocents the seduce.

[Shatarupa Dhar · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my fifth title by Cathy Williams.

It starts with a prologue where we are shown a glimpse of Sarah Scott and Raoul Sinclair in Mozambique and how within a matter of three months during their respective gap years they have a growing attraction between each other.

He has long hair (ooh... of course, later he doesn't) and she hasn't even started University while he has finished with it. What they had is nothing more than a holiday affair for him. He grew up in foster care and hence wants to make a name for himself first and not get entangled in a relationship. He's leaving in a few days and that's that.

The story then starts five years later where Sarah is a maid and is working hard to clean a particularly stubborn stain from the carpet laid in the Director's floors of an exclusive family bank in London just when Raoul walks over, exuding wealth. One look at him, and she faints. Time hasn't been good to her. She left the compound just two weeks after he left. Instead of becoming a teacher, she was there. Because she had gotten pregnant and had failed to locate him to even give him the news. She was only nineteen then, not even aware of her pregnancy till she was five months along. Even though her parents were supportive, she had been heartbroken.

He literally owned the company whose floors she had been scrubbing less than two hours ago.

Raoul's meteoric rise in a mere five years is a bit unbelievable. That they are shocked to see each other is an understatement. He refuses to believe that Oliver is his son. But with time to think, he concludes that it may well be true and pays Sarah a visit. Not growing up with family, it was endearing (and infuriating) to see Raoul think about a four-year-old, his habits, mannerisms, etc. Also, there is this old familiar chit-chatty vibe between Raoul and Sarah that was like a breath of fresh air in a Harlequin book. There is no domineering riffraff here, rather Raoul's humble beginnings make him more determined to give love to his son, along with respect to Sarah.

Sarah wouldn’t want her to find out via her grandchild that the heartbreaker and callous reprobate was now around.

It was heartbreaking to see Raoul not able to bond with Oliver at first. And this book took it real slow in the bonding stakes, which I guess is how it works in reality too. But of course, everyone is different.

...she was so damned open, honest and vibrant that she demanded him to engage far more than he was naturally inclined to. She didn’t tiptoe around him, and she didn’t make any attempts to edit her personality to please him.

He's still afraid of commitment though, till the very end of the story. At least it appears that way. And with little to no intimacy between the protagonists, this tale was rather bland.

P.S. Why the cradle snatcher cover though? Because Raoul is three, four tops, years older than Sarah.

[lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

So , the H Raul met the h Sarah in Africa , they had a relationship (3 months ) which ended when she asked him # the big question# where our relationship is going? , so she left africa pregnant but she doesn't know of course! 5 years later they met again , She , working as an office cleaner and He , a billionaire! ! and a 4 year old kid in the middle .
nice read .

[Daisy Daisy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The H - He was a total moron at the start of the book and for most of it actually and our h was a spineless wimp who needed to grow up but it all came right in the end for our unbelievable couple for the obligatory HEA. Honestly don't think they would have been a couple without the secret baby pffff

[iamGamz · Rating 2 out of 5]

An ok story about reunited lovers.
They met while doing work in Africa. Spent 3 months together. She fell in love, he had other plans for his life. The breakup left her heartbroken.

Five years later, she’s working as a cleaner, scrubbing the stain out of a carpet when he walks back into her life. He’s now accomplished all his goals and is a millionaire. She is the mother of the child he didn’t know she had.

A relationship begins with him thinking his life could stay the same and her terrified that he would break her heart again. This all leads to bickering and trying to hide the truth.

Not exactly an exciting or riveting read. While reading, I was easily distracted. The characters and storyline did not hold my attention. It was lukewarm at best. Not a keeper for me.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

She didn't mean to fall for a notorious playboy, but Sarah Scott's head was overruled by Raoul's skillful seduction. Yet after he jets out of her life Raoul's legacy continues.… Sarah is pregnant with the Sinclair heir!

Five years later, single mom Sarah is struggling to make ends meet, working as an office cleaner. Having taken on yet another job, Sarah is on her knees scrubbing floors when her eyes meet those of her designer-clad new boss—the man she's never been able to forget…Raoul.

About the Author

Cathy Williams is a great believer in the power of perseverance as she had never written anything before her writing career, and from the starting point of zero has now fulfilled her ambition to pursue this most enjoyable of careers. She would encourage any would-be writer to have faith and go for it! She derives inspiration from the tropical island of Trinidad and from the peaceful countryside of middle England. Cathy lives in Warwickshire her family.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Caught in the middle of crouching on the ground, trying to get rid of a particularly stubborn stain on the immaculate cream carpet that ran the length, breadth and width of the directors' floor of the very exclusive family bank in which she had now been working for the past three weeks, Sarah froze at the sound of voices emerging from one of the offices. Low, unhurried voices—one belonging to a man, the other to a woman.

It was the first time she had been made aware of any sign of life here. She came at a little after nine at night, did her cleaning and left. She liked it that way. She had no wish to bump into anyone—not that there would have been the slightest possibility of her being addressed. She was a cleaner, and as such was rendered instantly invisible. Even the doorman who had been allowing her entry ever since she had started working at the bank barely glanced up when she appeared in front of him.

She could barely remember a time when she had been able to garner a few admiring glances. The combined weight of responsibility and lack of money had rubbed the youthful glow from her face. Now when she looked in the mirror all she saw was a woman in her mid-twenties with shadows under her eyes and the pinched appearance of someone with too many worries.

Sarah wondered what she should do. Was there some special etiquette involved if a cleaner come into contact with one of the directors of this place? She hunkered down. In her blue checked overalls and with her hair scraped back under a matching scarf, she figured she might easily have passed for a heap of old clothes dumped on the ground, were it not for the elaborate trolley of cleaning materials by her side.

As the hushed voices got closer—just round the corner— Sarah put her all into the wretched stain on the carpet. But with a sinking heart she was aware that the voices had fallen silent, and the footsteps seemed to have stopped just in front of her.

In fact, sliding her eyes across, she could make out some hand-made Italian shoes just below charcoal-grey trousers, sharply creased, a pair of very high cream stilettos, and stockings with a slight sheen, very sheer.

'I don't know if you've done the conference room as yet, but if you have then you've made a very poor job of it. There are ring marks on the table, and two champagne glasses are still there on the bookshelf!'

The woman's voice was icy cold and imperious. Reluctantly Sarah raised her eyes, travelling the length of a very tall, very thin, very blonde woman in her thirties. From behind her she could hear the man pressing for the lift.

'I haven't got to the conference room yet,' Sarah mumbled. She prayed that the woman wouldn't see fit to lodge a complaint. She needed this job. The hours suited her, and it was well paid for what it was. Included in the package was the cost of a taxi to and from her house to the bank. How many cleaning jobs would ever have included that?

'Well, I'm relieved to hear it!'

'For God's sake, Louisa, let the woman do her job. It's nearly ten, and I can do without spending the rest of the evening here!'

Sarah heard that voice—the voice that had haunted her for the past five years—and her mind went a complete blank. Then it was immediately kick-started, papering over the similarities of tone. Because there was no way that Raoul Sinclair could be the man behind her. Raoul Sinclair was just a horrible, youthful mistake that was now in the past.

And yet..

Obeying some kind of primitive instinct to match a face to that remarkable voice, Sarah turned around—and in that instant she was skewered to the spot by the same bitter chocolate eyes that had taken up residence in her head five years ago and stubbornly refused to budge. She half stood, swayed.

The last thing she heard before she fainted was the woman saying, in a shrill, ringing voice, 'Oh, for God's sake, that's the last thing we need!''

She came to slowly. As her eyelids fluttered open she knew, in a fuddled way, that she really didn't want to wake up. She wanted to stay in her peaceful faint.

She had been carried into an office and was now on a long, low sofa which she recognised as the one in Mr Verrier's office. She tried to struggle upright and Raoul came into her line of vision, taller than she remembered, but just as breathtakingly beautiful. She had never seen him in anything dressier than a pair of jeans and an old tee shirt, and she was slowly trying to match up the Raoul she had known with this man kneeling over her, who looked every inch the billionaire he had once laughingly informed her he would be.

'Here—drink this.'

'I don't want to drink anything. What are you doing here? Am I seeing things? You can't be here.'

'Funny, but I was thinking the very same thing.' Raoul had only now recovered his equilibrium. The second his eyes had locked onto hers he had been plunged into instant flashback, and carrying her into the office had reawakened a tide of feeling which he had assumed to have been completely exorcised. He remembered the smell of her and the feel of her as though it had been yesterday. How was that possible? When so much had happened in the intervening years?

Sarah was fighting to steady herself. She couldn't believe her eyes. It was just so weird that she had to bite back the desire to burst into hysterical, incredulous laughter.

'What are you doing here, Sarah? Hell…you've changed…'

'I know.' She was suddenly conscious of the sight she must make, scrawny and hollow-cheeked and wearing her overalls. 'I have, haven't I?' She nervously fingered the checked overall and knew that she was shaking. 'Things haven't worked out…quite as I'd planned.' She made a feeble attempt to stand up, and collapsed back down onto the sofa.

In truth, Raoul was horrified at what he saw. Where was the bright-eyed, laughing girl he had known?

'I have to go… I have to finish the cleaning, Raoul. I…'

'You're not finishing anything. Not just at the moment. When was the last time you ate anything? You look as though you could be blown away by a gust of wind. And cleaning? Now you're doing cleaning jobs to earn money?'

He vaulted to his feet and began pacing the floor. He could scarcely credit that she was lying on the sofa in this office. Accustomed to eliminating any unwelcome emotions and reactions as being surplus to his finely tuned and highly controlled way of life, he found that he couldn't control the bombardment of questions racing through his brain. Nor could he rein in the flood of unwanted memories that continued to besiege him from every angle.

Sarah was possibly the very last woman with whom he had had a perfectly natural relationship. She represented a vision of himself as a free man, with one foot on the ladder but no steps actually yet taken. Was that why the impact of seeing her again now was so powerful?

'I never meant to end up like this,' Sarah whispered, as the full impact of their unexpected meeting began to take shape.

'But you have. How? What happened to you? Did you decide that you preferred cleaning floors to teaching?'

'Of course I didn't!' Sarah burst out sharply. She dragged herself into an upright position on the sofa and was confronted with the unflattering sight of her sturdy work shoes and thick, black woollen tights.

'Did you ever make it to university?' Raoul demanded. As she had struggled to sit up his eyes had moved of their own volition to the swing of her breasts under the hideous checked overall.

'I…I left the compound two weeks after you left.'

Her strained green eyes made her look so young and vulnerable that sudden guilt penetrated the armour of his formidable self control.

In five years Raoul had fulfilled every promise he had made to himself as a boy. Equipped with his impressive qualifications, he had landed his first job on the trading floor at the Stock Exchange, where his genius for making money had very quickly catapulted him upwards. Where colleagues had conferred, he'd operated solely on his own, and in the jungle arena of the money-making markets it hadn't been long before he'd emerged as having a killer streak that could make grown men quake in their shoes.

Raoul barely noticed. Money, for him, equated with freedom. He would be reliant on no one. Within three years he had accumulated sufficient wealth to begin the process of acquisition, and every acquisition had been bigger and more impressive than the one before. Guilt had played no part in his meteoric upward climb, and he had had no use for it.

Now, however, he felt it sink its teeth in, and he shoved his fingers through his hair.

Sarah followed the gesture which was so typically him. 'You've had your hair cut,' she said, flushing at the inanity of her observation, and Raoul offered her a crooked half-smile.

'I discovered that shoulder-length hair didn't go with the image. Now, of course, I could grow it down to my waist and no one would dare say a word, but my days of long hair are well and truly over.'

Just as she was, she thought. She belonged to those days that were well and truly over—except they weren't, were they? She knew that there were things that needed to be said, but it was a conversation she'd never expected to have, and now that it was staring her in the face she just wanted to delay its onset for as long as possible.

'You must be pleased.' Sarah stared down at her feet and sensed him walk towards her until his shadow joined her feet. When he sat down next to her, her whole body stiffened in alarm—because even through the nightmare of her situation, and the pain and misery of how their relationship had ended, her body was still stirring into life and reacting to his proximity. 'You were always so determined.' she continued.

'In this life it's the...

[T from Istria 💛💚 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dnf 30%

[Mtve41 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Snooze fest. Clinical interactions and mundane talk. The h tried really hard -not- to not push herself as a single mom to the H. If you’re okay with having made it on your own and you’re not a gold digger just WHY are you taking the H on a guilt trip and telling him how he must meet his son.

Didn’t even find their initial meeting passionate and angsty. Forget second chance.

[Vanessa · Rating 1 out of 5]

So Raoul and Sarah had a brief three month stint in Mozambique. Both are young and neither more full in the bank account than the other. However, Raoul has big plans and they don’t include the woman he KNEW would be wanting a HEA so he dumps her. He feels slightly better because she does rally briefly before they completely part ways. Raoul left no way to contact him and you know what that means?

Five years later he comes across her in his newly acquired business while he is there w/ some OW. Sarah sees dollar signs and wastes no time exposing her little secret to him. Okay, it wasn’t exactly like that, but it so FELT like that. Here is this woman that claims she has some pride because she doesn’t want her parents to be forced to completely support her, but she accepts government assistance and STILL has her parents supporting her by sending her money! She sees big bucks ex who owes her something and she sure doesn’t put up much of a fight to prevent him from taking over her life. This annoyed me and it didn’t help that Raoul thought that when he dumped her all those years ago holding a bun (sure he didn’t know but he didn’t really care to check either) that she would NEVER say anything bad to anyone about what he did! Where did he get off thinking that she wouldn’t?

So he pushed her aside for his goals and dreams; and she can not possibly find an alternative to achieve hers? She just gives up and seems like a run down version of what she was before. But when he comes on the scene suddenly she sees an easier life and it just rubbed me the wrong way.

In the end, I just didn’t care too much for either of these two characters. The only character that was enjoyable and held up under some pressure from Raoul who thought he could buy everything (despite the fact that it is proven that he can buy Sarah) is their child!!

[Mem · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not so great. She was on her own for 5 years. Chance meeting during her office cleaning job and he starts telling her what he wants for"his" child. The boy he would never have known about if not for this meeting. He abandoned her 5yrs ago and never looked back, and leaving no way for her to contact him when she realized she was pregnant.

[Lenore Kosinski · Rating 2 out of 5]

THis one just wasn't for me... Hard to get behind and really understand Raoul's attitude, and so really didn't end up liking him. I wouldn't say the end was an abrupt change, but it was quite quick. And Sarah...I don't know...I just wasn't feeling it between them. *shrugs*

[Brittney Bower · Rating 1 out of 5]

lost interest 60% into the book.

[Tory Michaels · Rating 3 out of 5]

utterly meh on this one, unfortunately. more a 2.5 star than 3.

[A · Rating 1 out of 5]

The h's confessions to not being able to track him on the net and when H is a one of a kind wunderkid taking over an entire bank without any media exposure and a true rag to riches under 5 years at that!

[Calysta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Almost a good story, but the man was too selfish and manipulative and the woman deserved better

[Martha B. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book started interesting. There was a hint of drama. Even if it was hard to believe the H became ultra rich after only five years apart . As I continue the plot became predictable and the writing a bit repetitive.
I started to skim trough without feeling to miss much. I persevered to see if I could be surprised but I wasn’t. If you’re looking for a cute, predictable story it could be the book.
I wanted something more.

[Karine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Le début est plus que super. J'ai été beaucoup moins emballé par la suite et par le personnage du héros.

[Tali · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books where I really wish the blurb on the back of the book had been written more carefully, but this is quite a lovely sweetly-crafted story that's really not reflected when you read the back. Both lead characters, Sarah and Raoul, have great chemistry and the way that Cathy Williams dealt with the issue of suddenly becoming a parent and the problems that Raoul had with the social care system was very delicately handled. Sarah's confusion was also dealt with in a relatable manner, and, if you can't already tell, I really loved all the characterizations in this book. The love story isn't half bad either. Mainly, I think I enjoyed this story because these were people who I could get behind and really root for.
One to recommend. 4 stars.

[Dorothea Müller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plötzlich ist in Raoul Sinclairs Leben nichts mehr, wie es war: Er trifft auf seine erste große Liebe und das diese Liebe auch nicht ohne Folgen geblieben ist. Denn er hat einen Sohn. Er möchte Sarah zurückerobern und da Leben seinen Sohnes teilhaben.

Im Moment erwische ich immer diese Liebesromane mit einem Kind drin. Gefühlschaos, Leidenschaft und Spannung. Zwei Leben, die aufeinander treffen. Sarah und Raoul treffen einander und Sarah fragt sich ob Raoul in ihrem Leben haben will. Ich finde die Geschichte sehr schön geschrieben und auch den Blickwinkel mit dem Kind sehr schön beschrieben. Eine nette Geschichte für zwischendurch.

[RomLibrary · Rating 2 out of 5]

She didn't mean to fall for a notorious playboy, but Sarah Scott's head was overruled by Raoul's skillful seduction. Yet after he jets out of her life Raoul's legacy continues.… Sarah is pregnant with the Sinclair heir!Five years later, single mom Sarah is struggling to make ends meet, working as an office cleaner. Having taken on yet another job, Sarah is on her knees scrubbing floors when her eyes meet those of her designer-clad new boss—the man she's never been able to forget…Raoul.

[Greiciane · Rating 2 out of 5]

É uma história de amor que nos faz pensar que nem tudo que sonhávamos para nossa vida é concretizado, as vezes a vida se torna melhor, as vezes pior e as vezes apenas diferente, mas que amadurecemos e nosso olhar muda também... Bem... eu recomendo para quem procura uma historinha fácil, simples mas que dá pra passar o tempo.

[Julie C-F]

Meh, a new folder because it was meh.

It felt like watching movie that held a good promise but turned dismal.

It felt like watching a tennis match that has went on for several hours and compared to a real match, that would have been more exciting.

Their conversation was too boring and I've fell asleep a few times.

Meh.

[Laura's Book Addiction · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hard to read just didn't like the characters at all.

[Wanderlusting Diva · Rating 3 out of 5]

good

[Harlequin Books]

Miniseries: Protecting His Legacy
Category: Classic Romance

[Harlequin Books]

Miniseries: Protecting His Legacy
Category: Classic Romance

[Ttw · Rating 1 out of 5]

didn't like it.

[Toniette · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a cute story and I'm glad that he finally admitted that he loved her. It is also cute to watch him learn patience and how to be a parent. I'm glad everything worked out.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guy dumps girl because she doesnt fit ambition. Years later discovers she had his child and lives in poverty.