For Richer for Poorer - by Danielle Steel (Hardcover)

Eugenia Ward has worked for as long as she can remember. After working for Oscar de la Renta for many years, she decides to take the plunge at age forty and open her own business and brand. Her clients bought costly evening gowns and wedding gowns in addition to her ready-to-wear clothes. Once COVID hit, she began to take huge losses as nobody was going out, so the style of clothes she made was gone, leaving her with significant expenses and hardly any money coming in. In addition, she is like a magician as she is the single mom of five children, over ten years after a divorce from her gigolo-type husband, who gave her five children in just five years. The children are older, and two are married, but her most selfish and ungrateful daughter, Gloria, and her fiancé feel like she is an ATM, so they keep adding extras to their upcoming wedding. They will meet for a one-week summer vacation, which Eugenia has planned, and it should be a fun event. Her daughter Daphne is due to deliver twins around the time of the wedding. They meet in the Hamptons, and Sofia, her daughter, is a nurse practitioner and midwife, brings a date, Brad, whom she had never mentioned before, although he is black and a doctor. The only ones shocked are Gloria and her fiancé. Everyone seems to like Brad, and they both seem so well-suited for each other. Daphane and her husband invite the family to a dinner party she has arranged. Eugenia meets Patrick Hughes, a successful real estate developer, who is also going through rough times. He has 17 buildings in Manhattan that are not being rented. As they are invited on Patrick's yacht, things take a turn. Eugenia is fascinated by the boat and the man he is. Gloria's fiancé refuses to go on the yacht and decides to stay home. Unfortunately, he is a liar, an unfaithful to Gloria on more than one occasion, not to mention as poor as a pauper except for his title, which makes him feel entitled. As the family realizes Gloria's future husband is not who he pretends to be, she questions who exactly her husband is. Eugenia feels Patrick is a very wise businessman and leans on him for advice and guidance, something she has never done before. Her talented daughter is an excellent designer, and together with her mom, they take a huge risk with coming up with a new line for Fashion Week, which happens to fall shortly after the wedding. Although crises happen and some shocks arise, Eugenia and Patrick, both workaholics, seem to get closer and closer. A very enjoyable read.