September 10, 2024

Spotlight: State of Union by Paula Dombrowiak

September 10, 2024/ Michelle Bowles

(Kingmaker, #3)
Publication date: September 10th 2024
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

Our marriage could make or break us…

Letting go of billionaire playboy Darren Walker was the right thing to do.

My life as a former escort will only damage his campaign for congress, and I’m too scared to admit I’ve fallen in love with my fake husband.

Except when Darren finds me and refuses to let me go, I can’t run from my feelings any longer. It’s time I have the courage to confess that he isn’t my husband in name only. He’s my everything.

All Darren wants is to carve out a future for himself while honoring his father’s legacy. But can I truly be the politician’s wife my husband needs when there are those who will use me to derail his campaign?

It doesn’t matter how much we love each other, I can’t change my past.

But we have no way of knowing that he has shocking family secrets that are yet to be revealed. Secrets bigger than me and powerful enough to destroy him.

And his enemies won’t stop until they’ve left him—and our marriage—in ruins…

The Kingmaker trilogy is a steamy, marriage of convenience, romance, in a political setting. State of Union is the final book in the trilogy with a guaranteed HEA. The books must be read in order, for the best reader experience.

Excerpt

The small bell at the top of the door jingles, a leftover from the hardware store that used to occupy this space. In walks Ethel Jackson, her crocheted handbag tucked under her arm. She looks around the space approvingly, her eyes finally meeting mine.

“Looks like a bunch of pomp and circumstance to me,” she says looking at me skeptically.

“Are you looking to volunteer?” I raise a challenging eyebrow.

“I thought you could use my sunny disposition.”

I can’t help but smile. “Well then, I have a spot for you right over here.” I lead the way to an empty desk near the windows where she sets down her crochet bag, a piece of yarn making its way out of the top like it has a mind of its own.

“Is this the famous Ethel?” Rausch asks.

Ethel places a hand on her hip and looks up at him as he towers over her short, round frame. If I was a betting man, my money would be on Ethel if these two were pitted against each other. “I don’t know about famous, but whatever you’ve heard,”—she pauses and gives him a naughty smile—“it’s probably true.”

Rausch laughs. Apparently, Ethel can win over anyone.

“Where’s that pretty wife of yours?” she asks.

The mention of Evangeline pulls at the edges of my wound, pain ripping through me like a lightning bolt.

Before I can make an excuse, Rausch bellows over the noise. “Angie!” She makes her way over. “This is Ethel, and she would like to volunteer.”

“People say I got a voice like honey, so if you want to put me on the phones, that’s fine by me,” Ethel proposes.

I give Rausch a thankful nod and retreat to my office. The desk is a secondhand one from the nearby school. There are strict rules on how campaign donations can be used. Right now, funds are limited as we start ramping up requests that can sometimes feel like begging. My last name can only carry me so far, and my reputation proceeds me.

“Excuse me, are you Darren Walker?” A young man inquires from the doorway.

I nod and he drops an envelope on my desk. “You’ve been served,” he says and leaves just as quickly as he arrived.

An envelope from a law office in Arizona.

I know exactly what it is. Like a Band-Aid, I rip the envelope open to expose the wound.

Divorce papers.

Pulling off my tie, I throw it across the room. It flutters through the stagnant air and lands silently on the dirty linoleum floor.

“Don’t forget about the fundraising event this weekend,” Rausch says as he enters my office. He sees my tie on the ground and picks it up. When he places it on the desk he notices the papers.

“You can gloat if you want to,” I tell him angrily, using him as a punching bag. “You got what you wanted, right?” I look up at him, the sting of getting the papers still fresh.

“If you want me to say that Evangeline leaving was the best thing for your campaign, then fine, but that doesn’t mean I’m happy about seeing you in turmoil.”

I scoff. “In turmoil? Is that what you think this is?”

“No.” A look of understanding crosses his face like a shadow. “I understand your heartbreak.”

I never thought of Rausch as a person, just a thorn in my side, giving me disapproving looks and lectures about getting my life together. Of course he knows what heartbreak is. No human gets a pass on that in their lifetime, not even someone as impenetrable as Rausch.

“You can think what you want, Darren, but what I said to you before was the truth. I would have done everything within my power to protect her.”

I lift my eyes from the papers. “Well, it seems she didn’t want to be a part of this life after all.” I can’t seem to keep the disappointment out of my voice.

Rausch lets out a breath. “You can sit here and stare at those papers, or you can pull yourself together and win this election.”

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About the Author

Paula Dombrowiak grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois but currently lives in Arizona. She is the author of Blood and Bone, her first adult romance novel which combines her love of music and imperfect relationships. Paula is a lifelong music junkie, whose wardrobe consists of band T-shirts and leggings which are perpetually covered in pet hair. She is a sucker for a redeemable villain, bad boys, and the tragically flawed. Music inspires her storytelling.

Connect:
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June 11, 2024

Spotlight: Queen of Ruin by Paula Dombrowiak

June 11, 2024/ Michelle Bowles

(Kingmaker Series, #2)
Publication date: June 11th 2024
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

Our marriage is fake. But our feelings are dangerously real…

Marrying playboy billionaire Darren Walker was only ever supposed to be a business deal.

If only it were that easy.

I’m finding it far too comfortable living in Darren’s world, and I never predicted I’d find real meaning in the charity I’m involved with while I pretend to be the perfect wife.

The worst thing is, I’m scared Darren’s feelings for me are becoming real, too.

But a woman with a past like mine doesn’t belong in a world like his. Especially because I thought my heart belonged to someone else before we were married. Someone much too close to him.

When Darren decides to leave his playboy ways behind and follow in his father’s footsteps, I must face reality. A marriage like ours won’t last forever.

Not when my former life has the power to come back to haunt me. There’s no way Darren’s reputation will survive the scandal of being married to a former escort.

And if I let myself get any deeper, neither will my heart…

Queen of Ruin is the second book in The Kingmaker trilogy, a steamy marriage of convenience romance full of political scandal. The books must be read in order for the best reader experience. This book does end in a cliffhanger.

Excerpt

“Revisionist history, Alistair,” I say, pointing my finger in the air before taking a seat on the step.

Alistair takes a seat next to me, stretching out his long legs over the marble steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

“We look back on history and memorialize a great man, but we forget about the flaws; we minimize them. His martyrdom makes it impossible to point them out. It’s true that Lincoln had one foot in the 20th century, but the other foot was still planted heavily in the 19th,” I lament, “and yet here we sit on the steps of this memorial that holds the daily pilgrimage of thousands, and we forget about those innate things that made him human.”

“We’re not really talking about Lincoln, are we?” Alistair asks astutely.

“I didn’t get along with my father,” I say as a matter of fact. “That’s never been in question; a constant since as far back as I can remember, and yet I always looked up to him.” I sigh, tilting my head towards Alistair who looks down at his clasped hands resting on his thighs. “But I always thought I knew him. Lately, I’m beginning to question that, to question a lot of things.”

“Anything in particular that you didn’t know?” he inquires, lifting a brow.

I pull out the envelope and hand it to Alistair.

“Fuck,” he says, “He was a client?”

“No, these were taken four years ago. She was a student, and my father was giving a speech at her university. She said nothing happened.”

“Do you believe her?” The photos are damning without context, but that’s the problem with photos – they’re up to the interpretation of the viewer.

“Bailey was there when they met and attests to the fact that he drove my father back to his hotel alone.”

“That’s not what I asked,” he questions.

“I wanted to believe her,” I admit, peering over at Alistair. “But it’s this part of me,” I gesture to the monument, “that needs the facts.”

“Who gave those to you?” Alistair’s question breaks through my thoughts. “Rausch?” He gives a dark laugh.

“I know he’s pissed that you circumvented the will, but now that it’s done, what does it matter to him?”

“Other than to gloat that he was right about marrying her?” I scoff. “I’m not worried about that.” I shake my head. “It’s who he got the photos from that I’m worried about.”

“If the press had gotten ahold of them…” Alistair doesn’t finish his sentence, but he doesn’t have to. This would be a huge scandal, whether it was an innocent interaction or not. Politics runs on perception, not to mention the media storm that would descend on Evangeline.

Even though I’m angry, I wouldn’t wish that upon her or the destruction of my parents’ reputation.

“Someone’s had these for four years, Alistair,” I point out, my voice sounding grave with the weight of it. “I have a feeling it was Langley.”

“But what would he have to gain from that?” Alistair asks. “Rumor around Washington was that he was going to be your father’s first pick as a running mate.”

Something my father taught me – Presidential elections aren’t won in the final hour. Presidents are made decades before they even run.

Feeling my phone vibrate in my pocket, I hold my hand up for Alistair to stop as I take a call. He rolls his eyes.

“Sir, I’ve been notified that the jet is ready for flight,” Bailey explains on the other end.

“What are you talking about?”

“The crew called me to find out if you would be joining.”

“Bailey, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I start to get agitated.

“I don’t think Evangeline knew that the flight crew would alert anyone.”

Evangeline?

Fuck!

“What’s going on?” Alistair asks, the creases of concern fanning his eyes.

“Evangeline’s leaving, and she’s taking my fucking plane.” My heart races and the sudden change makes me feel dizzy. Never did I think she would actually leave – especially when she knows what’s at stake.

“Leaving?” he asks, tilting his head in confusion. “Does she know she’s not getting any money unless she stays the whole year?”

“She knows damn well!” I yell, pacing along the steps. But if I thought Evangeline cared about the money, I’d have bought her a closet full of designer gowns, fur coats, or whatever the fuck she wanted.

She’d rather leave penniless then stay with me.

I press the phone to my ear and ask to be patched into the pilot.

“What’s the destination?” I ask before the pilot can utter a word.

“Sorry, Mr. Walker?”

“Where the fuck is my wife going?” I fume.

“Las Vegas, sir,” the captain confirms. “Do you want me to cancel the flight?”

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March 14, 2024

Spotlight: King of Nothing by Paula Dombrowiak

March 14, 2024/ Michelle Bowles

(Kingmaker Series, #1)
Publication date: March 12th 2024
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

I’m not the sort of girl you take home to meet your parents.

But our marriage of convenience is the perfect revenge…

I find Darren Walker drowning himself in expensive whiskey. Young, handsome, and educated, he’s the playboy son of a U.S. Senator, and his father’s sudden death has hit him harder than expected.

When he offers me millions of dollars to marry him, I want to tell him that I can’t be bought.

But of course, that’s not true, and Darren is prepared to play dirty.

He’s made it his life’s mission to squander his potential in order to avoid living in his father’s shadow. But if he wants to see even one cent of his trust fund, he needs a wife. And not just any wife will do.

Ours will purely be a marriage of convenience, and I’m going to be his final, perfect revenge.

My name is Evangeline Bowen, and I’m an escort to the rich and powerful. But soon I’ll be the wife of a Senator’s son, who thinks he knows all my dark secrets.

All of them, except for one…

King of Nothing is the first book in The Kingmaker trilogy, a steamy marriage of convenience romance full of political scandal. The books must be read in order for the best reader experience.

Excerpt

The tilt of her head causes fine pieces of hair to caress the side of her neck, and I want to run my finger over the arch, across her shoulder, and push the strap of her dress down so I can kiss the top of it, but I don’t. Instead, I hold my breath, wondering what she’s thinking, because her silence is killing me… and every moment she breathes instead of speaks causes a painful beat of my heart.

“It’s Emerson,” I say, stepping forward to stand next to her.

“I know,” she says with a hint of humor.

“You don’t like it?” I ask. “Because we can go back if you…”

“Shut up, Darren.”

I do as I’m told, shoving my hands in my pockets and rocking back on my heels. She looks at the photograph as if she’s memorizing every detail, and I find myself jealous of her attention to something other than me.

When I can’t stand the silence anymore, I ask, “He’s not a particularly good-looking gentleman is he?”

The profile accentuates his large nose and prominent chin. I realize I’ve never studied what Emerson looked like, only his words. But now, scrutinizing his picture, I can see why.

“It’s not just about someone’s physical appearance,” she says without looking away from the photograph, “it’s his words; what’s in his heart, and how he lives his life,” she continues. “I think he’s kind of beautiful.”

The way she talks about Emerson is hypnotizing – describing what’s below skin and muscle to one’s soul is the true meaning of beauty.

The piece of Emerson I used to hate belonged to my father – self-righteous and hypocritical. She strips away all the awful parts, allowing me to see a new version of him. Just as she threatens to make me fall in love with him, I begin to wonder.

“Who made you fall in love with Emerson?” I ask, and she finally turns to face me, her wide blue eyes filled with trepidation, and I feel as though my question has hit the vulnerable muscle between bone and tendon like the piercing of an arrow.

“Who says I’m in love with Emerson?” she asks, and it’s not lost on me that she’s evading my question, but I’m too distracted by the way her body moves and the red silk of her dress that leaves little to the imagination to keep hold of my thoughts.

“No love can be bound by oath or covenant to secure it against a higher love,” I provide her with a particularly lovely quote by Emerson.

“Nobody talks like that anymore,” she says, a romanticism in her eyes and her voice that makes me sad, because I’ve lost that innocence—or maybe I never had it to begin with—but I want a piece of it. I want to sink my teeth into it and shiver from its sweetness.

“It’s a dead language, like Latin,” I muse.

“Not dead. Just lost.”

I sniff, loosening my bowtie and spinning around the room to look at all of the other framed photographs and paintings. “Have you ever had a client recite poetry to you in bed?” I ask. “Is that a kink?”

“That’s a vulgar question.”

“I’m a vulgar man.”

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April 18, 2023

Spotlight: Beautiful Lies by Paula Dombrowiak

April 18, 2023/ Michelle Bowles

Publication date: April 17th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

I own the boardroom. He owns the stage. We were never meant to be together, but when something’s forbidden, it only makes you want it more.

My jaded heart was determined never to be fooled again. There’s too much at stake, and my daughter always comes first.

And then one night, on the eve of my forty-third birthday, I walked into a bar, and locked eyes with Adrian Corvin.

He’s a musician, covered in tattoos… and way too young. He’s the opposite of everything I should want.

When he followed me outside of the bar, not even the Arizona monsoon could keep me from kissing him.

With just one taste, I was an addict.

It was only supposed to be one night.

No names, no expectations, and no truths.

Only lies.

And he tells beautiful lies.

Excerpt

Maybe it’s the beer or the stifling heat, but his eyes seem to follow as I make my way around the room. Caught staring back, it’s as if he sees my thoughts when the corner of his lip tugs into a knowing smile. It’s impossible for him to know that I’m imagining what kind of lover he would be - selfish or generous, relentless or fleeting, but his smile says otherwise. That smile could knock a girl right out of her panties. Maybe for one night I can be someone else, and that makes the prospects endless.

Slipping between the crowd, I find myself on the street. A gust of wind travels down the long strip mall. Everything is dark, all the other stores closed for the night. Closing my eyes, I inhale deeply and smell the rain.

It’s coming.

The city hibernates all year waiting for the rain to penetrate the hard-shelled soil, breaking it open, and once it does, everything comes to life.

A lightning bolt stretches across the sky just as the wind picks up, blowing the hair from my neck and cooling it. I start to walk down the block on the way back to my car, passing a darkened record store when I hear a voice call out behind me. “Hey.”

Without even turning around, I know it’s him, the singer with the velvet voice and the kissable lips. The wind continues to blow like a freight train down the block, picking up the edges of my shirt and blowing my hair across my face. Turning around, I see he’s standing on the sidewalk, looking every bit as delicious as he did on stage. Waiting for him to look around me, to the person whose attention he was really trying to get, but he just stares at me the same way he did in the bar, like he’s trying to unearth my secrets.

Caught in the spider’s web of his soulful eyes, I’m unable to move.

The silence is broken when the sky opens and dumps heavy sheets of rain, plastering my hair to my face and my shirt against my body in less than a minute. Moving towards me, with each step closing the distance between us, the bashful smile on his face causes my pulse to quicken, and the blood rushing in my ears becomes the only sound I can hear. When he reaches me, I can see the pulse in his neck as his hand grips my waist, guiding me into the alcove of the darkened record store, taking us out of the rain. With his hand still on my waist, the heat from it makes me shiver.

His close proximity takes the breath out of me, and I watch as the water drips from his hair onto his full lips, leaving a trail down his chin. In the dim light of the alcove with only the streetlamp to illuminate his face, I see the green flecks in his brown eyes as he searches mine. They pull me in like a magnet; intense and beautiful. My palms press against his chest slowly gathering his shirt between my fingers, all while my heart pounds in my chest because this stranger drew me in the minute I laid eyes on him in the bar. It’s as if he is a tiny piece of my past buried long ago now being unearthed.

Maybe it’s the wind, the way it wraps itself around us, pushing us together rather than pulling us apart, I feel as though this is a chance I need to take. How many times in the last eighteen years had I truly taken something just for myself? And how many more times in my lifetime will I get a chance to choose something for myself?

In the small space between us, a question lingers in the air.

Can I kiss you?

Wanting it and doing it are two different things, because once I cross that line, will I be taking a step backwards? Looking at his beautiful rain-soaked face, I know the answer.

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About the Author