Kate Moore is in need of money.  Her young son, Ben is ill and needs an operation.  Kate decides to go to a distant cousin she has never met for the funds. Alex Gatting is the CEO of his engineering firm and he has never heard of having a cousin named Kate Moore.  He refuses to lend her the money but will give it to her if she will sleep with him.  Kate is horrified by his proposal but she needs the money.

The two protagonists in this story are genuine and believable.  Their past plays an important part of who they are and their actions reflect it.  Kate is portrayed as a very loving mother.  She loves her son and will do anything to save his life.   Alex’s proposition is very distasteful but she finds herself doing it and more horrifying -- she enjoyed it.  Alex thoroughly enjoys the physical relationship with Kate.  She fascinates him and he finds himself being more involved than he thought he would be.  When he finds out the truth, he is more than contrite about his actions toward her. 

Kate and Alex slowly build their relationship and it strengthens as time passes.  It takes awhile before Kate can truly trust him and the same is true for Alex.  These two have chemistry together from the get go and as the story unfolds, the reader is drawn into their story.  Ben is a pivotal character as he is the one who brings Kate and Alex together.  Ben comes across as a very sweet child and his actions are age appropriate.

The Mistress Affair is a sweet romance that will warm even the most cynical hearts.  With two interesting leads and a darling child – what more can a romance reader want!

Reviewed by Susan Tam for The Road to Romance

October 2, 2005