Marriage Confidential

This was a very good, mentally intense suspense story, capped by a dangerous confrontation. Madison is a respected and well-liked State Department liaison who has worked hard to make an international art exhibit proceed smoothly. But the night of the opening there was a cybersecurity breach that threatened to become an international incident. There’s only one person that Madison trusts to fix the problem – high school friend and techno-wiz Sam Bellemere. But why does everyone believe that he is her husband?

I was hooked on this book from the very beginning. The tension leapt off the pages as Madison and her team discovered the breach and tried to shut it down. I was amazed at how calm and cool she appeared as she desperately tried to reach Sam to ask for his help. I loved how he put his confusion over the “husband” designation aside while he dealt with the crisis, but didn’t let Madison put off the explanation once it was over.

I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Sam and Madison. They had been friends since high school when Sam was assigned to be her tutor as his community service after spending time in juvie for hacking. What neither one had been aware of was the intense crush that each had on the other. Madison was the popular girl, and Sam the super-shy, awkward geek that had no idea how to talk to her. But they became friends and maintained that friendship over the years. When Madison needed a way to fend off the unwelcome advances of male coworkers, she invented a husband and based him on Sam. She never expected to make that “relationship” public.

I loved how Sam slid right into the role without missing a beat. His protectiveness was stirred when he found out the reason for the deception and ramped up even further when he realized the danger that Madison was in. I loved his unyielding and logical method of demolishing her objections to staying at his place until the danger was over. Poor Madison was left trying to hide her feelings when all she wanted to do was throw herself at him, not knowing that he wanted the same thing. Working and living together gave those feelings a chance to grow, if only they could let go of their insecurities long enough to take the chance. I liked how their long-standing friendship made it easy for them to talk to each other. They also had a great deal of respect for each other and their abilities, which made their teamwork even stronger. Each of them dreamed about the possibility of making their “marriage” permanent. Madison doesn’t realize that Sam loves her and thinks that they are destined to be friends only. Sam doesn’t know how to tell her how he feels leading to that so awkward “contract” proposition. Neither can deny the physical attraction, and the scene where they gave in was both steamy and sweet. “She poured all she had into those kisses, everything she wanted to share with him and didn’t dare speak the words.” I ached for them both and wanted to shake them when neither could find a way to speak the words in their hearts. The ending had a fun twist as they finally got past their fears.

The suspense of the story was fantastic. It was mostly a mental game of cat and mouse until the end. I was intrigued by the whole hacker/cybersecurity theme given its relevance to the issues of today. Sam quickly realized that there was more going on than just someone messing with the security at the museum. He became even more protective of Madison when it was obvious that the hacker had a very personal vendetta against her. The teamwork between Sam and Madison was amazing as they combined his tech brilliance with her knowledge of people. The intensity increased when Sam became the focus of two attacks. I was glued to the pages as they got closer and closer to identifying the culprit. The final confrontation was a nail-biter as things didn’t go quite according to plan. The resolution was both satisfying and heartbreaking.