Title:  The Billionaire’s Secret
Series:  Amalfi Night Billionaires #4
Author:  Kathleen O’Brien
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Published:  September 14, 2015
Publisher:  Tule Publishing
My Rating:  5 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Cover Description:

High School art teacher Sophie Smith is usually the most honest of women. But when her dearest friend and mentor asks her to be her stand-in on a two-week vacation at an Amalfi Coast luxury resort, she won’t let her down… even if it means posing as a rich, pampered socialite.

As it turns out, Sophie could get used to this, especially handsome, enigmatic gardener Declan Muldoon who’s strangely more thrilling than any of the billionaires buzzing around. She ends up falling for him—hard.

Then Sophie discovers she’s not the only one pretending. Declan’s gardener gig is temporary. He’s actually the black sheep of a very wealthy, powerful family, a man who appears to be in need of an heiress…. 

An heiress exactly like Sophie is pretending to be.

Read on for my thoughts on The Billionaire’s Secret.  No true spoilers, promise.

Oh, what a tangled web we weave…

The last place Sophie expected to find herself was in this luxurious hotel, surrounded by every sort of pampering possible – for the rich and famous.  Trouble is, she is neither.  Doing this goes against every grain of her being, but for Millie she would do just about anything.  Even pretend to be someone she obviously was not.

For two weeks Sophie would pretend to be one of the rich and careless, storing every memory, every sight for her friend who was unable to make this trip for herself.  Who knew that being seen as a rich woman would not be as fun as it had always seemed from afar.  Being rich brought it’s own troubles, and one of those was being seen as an asset to be acquired by several of the hotel guests, rich, male guests.  It would come as no surprise to anyone who actually knew her that the riches of the hotel’s gardens meant more to Sophie than the attentions of some of its guests.  Here among the beauty of the gardens she could capture the sights if not the smells of this exotic slice of paradise.  And if she happened to enjoy the company of a gardener by the name of Declan, who was to be bothered by that.  It might not be her life she was living right this moment, but she wasn’t about to deny herself the company of an attractive man, no matter what he did for a living.

Declan was hiding.  He wanted nothing to do with his wealthy family’s business and wanted to do what he enjoyed most.  Creating beauty in any form.  Right now that form was in tending to the gardens at his friend’s resort.  He hadn’t counted on discovering Sophie.  Didn’t think their light flirtation or even friendship was a bad thing.  After all she was rich, pampered and only here for a short time.  If she wanted to spend time with the hotel gardener who was he to deny her enjoyment.  Yet, Sophie didn’t seem like the rich, spoiled women he knew.  She certainly sketched like a professional, not someone idly trying her hand at drawing.  She was such a delightful mix of innocence and richness.  He’s feelings for Sophie surprised him and since she appeared genuinely interested in him… well, he was a man after all.  A man who knew what he wanted.

The Billionaire’s Secret was such fun.  Two people stepping, unknowingly, into each other’s worlds.  Neither expected to find a love that would last.  And they certainly didn’t expect the truth, which always comes to the surface eventually.  Rich in details, emotions and a story that keeps the reader’s attention, I would recommend this novel for anyone who believes in love, no matter one’s role in life… and in possibilities.  An excellent addition to the Amalfi Nights Billionaires series.

*I received an e-ARC of The Billionaire’s Secret from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. That does not change what I think of this novel.*

Available for the Kindle