Annie's Secret (M&B - The Balfour Legacy) (MB Continuities) [Paperback]

When I read the blurb to Annie 's Secret By Caroline Mortimer, I knew it was one I would like to read and I also knew that it will be interesting. Despite that I was surprised by how engaging and gripping it was. I probably read it in an hour. Annie was one of the eight Balfour sisters and the first daughter of the 2nd wife. She was not as wild as some of her sisters and never let her hair down; until four years earlier while on a skiing trip with some university friends. She ran into a handsome stranger, playboy Luc, with whom she skis down slope and accepted his invitation to go back to his room for a drink. You can imagine what happens next - a night of endless passion, Annie's first which left her with a secret legacy. Their plan to meet up the next day was thwarted by fate which meant that Luc had to go away in a hurry. They never said goodbye nor did they exchange last names. The fateful events that took Luc away changed his life forever and he went from playboy to responsible hard core business man overnight. Four years later Annie is on a training course in Italy where she bumps into Luc but he does not recognise her and she is angered by his lack of recognition. When he remembers her she discovers that he is 'The Luca de Salvatore', and Luca finds out that she is Annie Balfour one of the Scandalous Balfours sisters. What now, should she run away or should she let him in on her secret?

This was a beautifully crafted story. Both leads were very likable, strong and self assured. I like the fact that Annie did not cower at Luca's demands once he found out what Annie did not tell him about their night together. He was initially condescending because of what he believed about the Balfours from the tabloids, but experiencing Annie up,close and personal changed his opinion of her and her family. Annie stood up to him nicely with the Balfour family rules of dignity, charity, loyalty, independence, courage, commitment, integrity, humility, wisdom, and the Balfour name constantly playing on her mind and reminding her of who she was. Although their story was a complex one, I felt that they had enough to make their relationship work if they could honestly tell each other how they felt instead of brandishing threats and counter threats. I liked how Annie stood her ground, and did not want to embark on a marriage of convenience. She recognised that she had a choice, in most M&B's we are given to believe that the heroine succumbs to threats because she felt she had no choice and I often find that very annoying, because we always have a choice. This was not the case here. They were both determined to fight for what they believed in if in their time together they could not come up with a workable solution to their problem. This was the case until one of them allowed love for the other to dictate the actions and not their pride and ego. The resolution was beautifully written, the hero grew taller and taller as a person by the time the story ended. Another interesting element was the fact that you get a sensing as you start reading the book that Oscar Balfour was up to something when he forced Annie to go to the training in Italy, and we may just be right.

Carole Mortimer's Balfour Legacy book started out with a bang! As those of us who have been reading the series know that their father Oscar Balfour has recently lost his current wife and his ambition now is to see his daughters take charge of their lives and he also sends them on journeys which result in them finding a life partner.

Annie, has always felt the competition of her sisters so when she got a chance to not go on the family vacation and go with her university friends on an ski trip she took the chance. And then she realized how safe she had always played her life. When she met a drop dead gorgeous Italian man she took him up on his offer and spent time skiing, and had drinks at his private chalet. That's not all they did, the result being a son Oliver. What neither of them counted on was that Luc never had the opportunity to make their dinner date the next night because he found out his father had suffered a stroke which had been brought on by Luc's carelessness with the family business. Annie was shocked when he didn't show up and then a month later when she found out she was carrying Luc's baby. They was no way to contact him. Because they had acted on their mutual attraction more than getting to know each other, they never exchanged last names.

Now four and one half years later, her father Oscar Balfour insisted she should attend a conference in Italy and of course, quite by chance she bumps into that same very sexy Italian Luca de Salvatore. It was a crazy coincidence, who could have imagined that 4 ½ yrs later she would run into him? I immediately wondered if Oscar Balfour knew his grandson father's identity and did he set it up because he knew life was too short? Luc thought something was familiar about Annie but he couldn't pinpoint it until he recognized the tattoo on her back while she was swimming. However, Annie knew immediate who Luca was and wondered if she should tell him about Oliver.

When Luca returned back home to his father, he realized he was responsible for the state everything was in....his father's health and the state of the family business. He literally grew up and worked day and night to make the business even more successful than it had been before. Luca was at the very same hotel as Annie. Something was familiar about her, the attraction was fierce and when he finally realized who she was and put two and two together when by accident he found out she had a four year old boy, he knew it was his child and he was furious. And then the battle began he was determined they marry or he would fight for custody. They constantly fought, we constantly drawn to each other, kissed, touched and argued. Annie stood her ground and Luc hurled accusations at her as to why she didn't contact him. It was nasty and Annie was hurt but all of it.

A truce was called when Annie agreed to accompany him to his vineyard in Venice. They were somewhat relaxed with each other and then the inevitable happened, they made love. What they didn't count on was they would be called back to London because Oliver had suffered an accident and was in the hospital. So many conflicting emotions, especially when Luc met his son for the first time. Annie was an incredible mother, a protective one but she knew without a doubt she loved Luc but she couldn't marry him unless he returned that love. To stay strong she remembered the one of the Balafour's motto's, "A Balfour should be frightened of nothing. Face your fears with courage and they will lead to further self-discovery." Of course, they got their happy ending but at some cost and it was extremely creative how Carole Mortimer had her hero Luca realize what was most important in life and at what cost he was willing to make them all a happy and loving family.