The Temporary Wife

Another Windsor Is Heading Down the Aisle

Alright my fellow spicy book dragons, if you enjoyed The Wrong Bride, it's time to head right back into the wonderfully dramatic world of the Windsor family because Grandma Anne has another grandchild to marry off!

This time we're following Luca Windsor and his executive secretary, Valentina. And ya'll... This man is a simp. He might be a billionaire businessman who pretends he's completely in control, but when it comes to Valentina?

Absolutely not.

The Temporary Wife takes the arranged marriage rules we learned about in the first book and gives us a completely different romance filled with boss/employee tension, a secret marriage, forced proximity, family drama, heartbreak, jealousy, plenty of spice, and a man who has spent years pretending he isn't completely obsessed with the woman working beside him.

Spoiler alert: everyone seems to know how Luca feels about Valentina except Valentina.

The Windsor Marriage Contract Strikes Again

Before we get into Luca and Val's mess, we need a quick refresher on Grandma Anne's infamous Windsor marriage rules. Once you're married, there are expectations.

The couple cannot spend more than three consecutive nights apart. When they're together, they have to share a bedroom and a bed. They must remain married for three years, stay faithful, and genuinely give their marriage a chance instead of clinging to their old lives.

Break the contract? You risk losing everything.

And if The Wrong Bride taught us anything, it's that Grandma Anne does not play around when it comes to these marriages.

Unfortunately for Luca, Grandma Anne has finally chosen his bride. And he absolutely does not want her.

Meet the Characters

Valentina (FMC): Luca's executive secretary and the resident Ice Queen of the company. Grandma Anne personally hired her when Luca took over the finance and investment side of the Windsor empire, and she's been dealing with him ever since. Valentina is intelligent, hardworking, loyal, caring, sarcastic, and more than capable of putting Luca in his place. She dropped out of college after her mother's life-changing workplace accident and has spent years doing everything she can to help her family.

Luca Windsor (MMC): The Windsor sibling currently running the family's finance and investment empire. Luca is serious, intelligent, protective, possessive, witty, and sarcastic, but underneath all that control is a man fiercely devoted to the people he loves. He's also determined to fulfill the dream his father was working toward before his parents tragically died. And despite pretending otherwise, Luca has been in love with Valentina for a very long time.

The problem? Luca always knew Grandma Anne would eventually arrange his marriage. So he never allowed himself to truly pursue Valentina. Until Grandma Anne tells him exactly who she intends for him to marry.

Absolutely Not, Grandma

Luca's intended bride is Natalia Ivanov, a spoiled, materialistic socialite he has absolutely no interest in marrying. So Luca decides to take matters into his own hands. His solution?

Marry Valentina instead. You know. Normal workplace behavior. Luca proposes a deal. They'll get married, satisfy Grandma Anne's three-year requirement, and then go their separate ways once the contract is complete. They even establish their

own rules:

1. Don't fall in love.
2. Keep their marriage secret at work.
3. Share a bed every night.

I'm sure you can already see the tiny flaw in this brilliant plan. Luca is already in love with her. Sir, Rule #1 was broken before you even wrote it.

"You Were Always My Queen"

Things between Luca and Valentina are already complicated, especially after Luca does something at Raven and Ares' wedding that he can't take back. Then Grandma Anne drops a bomb Luca definitely wasn't expecting. His engagement has been decided.

Luca is expected to marry Natalia Ivanov, and while Luca is anything but thrilled about his future bride, Valentina is still his executive secretary. That means dealing with everything that comes along with being Luca Windsor's right-hand woman, including his personal life. But then Luca asks Valentina to send his fiancée roses. And that's the final straw.

Valentina has spent years putting up with Luca's bullshit, hiding her feelings, and maintaining the professional relationship between them. But arranging flowers for the woman he's supposed to marry? Nope. She's done. Valentina quits.

Luca? Oh, absolutely the fuck not. He refuses to accept the idea of Valentina simply walking out of his life and starts offering practically anything he can think of to convince her to stay. A better employee contract? Sure. More money? Absolutely. A better house and car? More vacation time? Take it.

He even offers her an entire company to run. Sir, she is trying to quit her job, not negotiate the acquisition of a small country.

But beneath Luca's increasingly desperate attempts to keep her is the truth he's been hiding for a very long time. Valentina was never just his secretary. And eventually, Luca finally tells her:

"You were never a pawn, you were always my queen. Everyone knew it but you."

That line? Yeah. Luca Windsor was already a goner.

Nothing Like a Little Blackmail to Start a Romance

Valentina isn't exactly jumping at the opportunity to marry her boss. Then her grandmother is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Luca knows exactly how much Valentina loves her family, and he has the resources to make sure her grandmother receives the medical care she needs. Does Luca use that to help convince Valentina to marry him? Yep.

Nothing like a little blackmail to get the romance started, ya'll. Luca agrees to cover the expenses and medical care for her grandmother, and Valentina agrees to the marriage. But once they're married, it becomes increasingly obvious that Luca isn't treating this like some temporary business arrangement.

When Luca apologizes, he apologizes for everything. Communication matters to him. He tries to reassure Valentina that he won't hurt her again, and he doesn't do anything halfway. Unfortunately, convincing Valentina to trust him is another story entirely.

The Three-Diamond Ring

Then Natalia discovers Luca was seen going into Laurier's. Naturally, she assumes he was there buying her an engagement ring. Girl... No...

When Natalia shows up at Luca's office expecting answers, he asks her to leave and eventually explains to Valentina why he was really there. He was buying wedding rings for himself and Valentina.

And Valentina's ring? It has three diamonds, one representing each year of their marriage agreement. For a man who supposedly plans on walking away after three years, Luca sure is putting a lot of thought into being Valentina's husband.

Valentina Is Always Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop

Luca might know exactly what he wants, but Valentina has plenty of reasons to protect her heart. After seeing her mother's reaction to their marriage, Valentina finally tells Luca more about her past. Her father left Valentina and her mother for the woman he had originally been supposed to marry. He married that woman, had another child, and essentially disowned Valentina.

Then there's her ex-boyfriend, Ben. When Valentina went home because of her mother's accident, Ben cheated on her with one of her friends. And how did she find out? She surprised him for his birthday. Yeah. No wonder this woman has trust issues.

So even when Luca tells her he's staying, Valentina keeps waiting for everything to fall apart. She doesn't trust promises easily, especially when her past has repeatedly taught her that people can choose someone else. And Luca has to prove that Valentina isn't temporary to him.

Luca Windsor, Possessive Billionaire Simp

Luca's jealousy throughout this book was hilarious. This man spent years pretending he didn't care about Valentina while apparently fooling exactly one person. Valentina. Everyone else knew. And once they're married? The facade starts disappearing quickly. 

Another man getting too close? Luca has entered the chat.

Valentina going on a date? Apparently we're date crashing now.

Someone disrespects her? You might want to reconsider your life choices. Luca does not play when it comes to Valentina.

Ben Really Should Have Kept His Mouth Shut

Valentina eventually finds herself competing for the COO position at the company, giving her an opportunity to prove that she's capable of far more than being Luca's executive secretary. Unfortunately, Ben comes back into the picture.

Valentina finally tells Luca what Ben did to her and why she's determined never to fall for him again. Then Valentina wins the competition.

Ben? Doesn't handle that particularly well. He accuses her of sleeping her way to the top and calls her Luca's whore.

Oh, buddy. Wrong woman. Wrong husband.

Luca is furious and makes one particularly important fact very clear. They're married. Well... There goes the secret marriage.

The Romance Has Some Beautiful Moments

For all the possessiveness, jealousy, blackmail, and billionaire craziness, Luca also has some incredibly thoughtful moments with Valentina. One of my favorites involves a photograph hanging on her wall. Luca tracks down the actual tree from the picture and discovers the land belongs to Xavier. So what does a Windsor billionaire do? He buys the land. Obviously.

He takes Valentina there for a little date, and I absolutely loved it. Then you get lanterns and Post-it notes on another occasion. It's one of those moments that shows Luca doesn't just throw money at the woman he loves. He pays attention. He notices what matters to her. He remembers. And when Luca loves someone, he loves them with everything he has.

Valentina's Grandma Was Everything

I absolutely loved Valentina's grandmother. She's spunky, witty, funny, and loves messing with Valentina and Luca. Basically, once you meet Grandma, you understand exactly where Valentina gets some of her personality.

Unfortunately, her illness also brings some of the most heartbreaking moments of the book. When tragedy strikes and Valentina's grandmother passes away, Luca and Valentina's marriage is tested in a way neither of them expected.

They violate one of Grandma Anne's sacred marriage rules. And remember what happens when you violate the Windsor marriage contract? You lose everything. Grandma Anne does not fuck around, ya'll.

But what happens afterward forces Luca to prove something incredibly important, not only to Valentina, but to her mother too. Take away the money. Take away the company. Take away everything attached to the Windsor name. Luca still chooses Valentina.

And Then the Family Secrets Start Exploding

Because apparently heartbreak isn't enough, Catharina Maura throws even more family drama, secrets, and crazy revelations into the story. Valentina's relationship with her father comes crashing back into her life. Her half-brother becomes involved. Old wounds get ripped open. Secrets come out. And watching Luca put Valentina's father in his place? So satisfying.

Then the head of the Garcia family and Valentina's half-brother get involved. Let's just say someone eventually ends up on his knees apologizing to Valentina. As he should.

The Verdict

Highly Recommended For: Fans of billionaire romance, boss/employee romance, marriage of convenience, secret marriage, forced proximity, he falls first, possessive MMCs, workplace romance, family drama, emotional healing, jealousy, witty banter, and plenty of spice.

The Temporary Wife was another fantastic addition to The Windsors series. What I loved most was how different Luca and Valentina's relationship felt from Ares and Raven's story.

Luca has loved Valentina for years, but because of his past and the Windsor family's arranged marriage tradition, he never believed she could truly be his. Then the possibility of losing her becomes real. And all that carefully maintained billionaire control goes straight out the damn window.

Valentina doesn't immediately fall into his arms either. She has years of abandonment and betrayal affecting the way she views relationships, so Luca actually has to prove that when he says he's choosing her, he means it. And I loved watching Luca become increasingly unhinged over this woman while simultaneously trying to convince everyone, including himself, that their marriage was somehow temporary.

Sir. You bought land because of a tree in a photograph hanging on her wall. There is nothing temporary about this situation.

Between the secret marriage, sarcastic banter, Luca being completely obsessed with his wife, Valentina's amazing grandmother, family secrets, emotional moments, crazy plot twists, possessive jealousy, and plenty of spice, I really enjoyed Luca and Valentina's story.

Another Windsor down. And you know Grandma Anne isn't finished yet.

Happy reading, and remember my fellow spicy book dragons, before starting a book please check the tropes, and always check for trigger warnings. Nobody likes an unfinished book because the tropes aren't your cup of tea or having a bad reading experience because of unexpected trigger warnings.