Atlanta image consultant Victoria Sharpe is
about to give a makeover to the man who broke her heart in college, and a do-over to a love that always should have been.
SYNOPSIS:
Looking at her potential client, Atlanta image
consultant Victoria Sharpe is convinced the job will be a cross between What
Not to Wear and Man vs. Wild. She’d love to turn down the offer, but refusing
it—not to mention the referrals it could generate—just might break the bank.
Yet, agreeing to make over this man’s image might also break her heart. Again.
Max Brown will
tolerate anything to gain access to his trust fund. Returning to work in the
family business, even submitting to his mother’s demands to trade his
comfortable flannel for Armani is worthwhile if he can get the money necessary
to start a camp for at-risk boys. But then he sees he’ll be working with
Victoria Sharpe, his college girlfriend, the one who got away. Or, really, the
one he left. The impression he makes here will be the most important of his life,
and the person most as risk is himself.
EXCERPT
Max jangled his car keys in his hand as he
waited at Victoria’s door. He felt as nervous as a fifteen-year-old on his
first date. He wore the gray pants and navy blazer Victoria had approved
together with a brilliantly white shirt and a yellow tie with small navy dots.
He wiggled his toes in his new black oxfords and marveled at how comfortable
they were. True to her word, Victoria had steered a wide berth around wing tips
and had showed him that style and comfort were not mutually exclusive.
He knocked a second time and nervously
straightened his tie. And when she finally opened the door and he got his first
glimpse of her, he let out a low whistle. His gut told him he would have a hard
time keeping his hands off her.
And hard was the operative word as his body
twitched below his belt. The black dress had a ruffled skirt that skimmed her
knee. The V neckline teased at her cleavage but left plenty to the imagination.
Simple sapphire and diamond earrings sparkled as they caught the light, and he
saw a matching bracelet circling her wrist. While her high-heeled shoes were
plain, they made her legs seem as if they went on forever. And when she bent to
pick up her purse from a table beside the door, he caught a glimpse of her
black lacy bra and gritted his teeth in an effort to will his body to
cooperate.
This might be a very long and very frustrating
night.
After taking her arm and helping her negotiate
the steps down to the drive, he held her purse and wrap while she settled into
the passenger side of his SUV. She had certainly taken her own advice to heart.
She was stylish and understated, but he wasn’t so sure her classic beauty
wouldn’t make her stand out like a diamond among pieces of coal.
They chatted about mundane things for most of
the drive to his parents’ estate, but when he turned into the long drive lined
by towering pines, he posed a question. “Are you okay with me introducing you
tonight as my image consultant? I mean, that won’t make you feel like…well, you
know.” He was at a loss for words.
“What you are trying to ask is if I’ll be
insulted if people think I am your employee.”
“Well, yeah. I mean, you’re not, but in this
crowd, that’s liable to be what people assume. I was just thinking you might
drum up a little business when people see how you turned the beast into Prince
Charming.”
“Too bad I didn’t tame his raging ego, too.”
“Touché.”
Victoria laughed, and once again Max had to
scold his misbehaving libido.
MY RATING:
FAVORITE QUOTES:
“…he looked like a cool drink
of water on a hot day – especially to a woman who’d been in a sexual desert for
too many years.”
“She was certain her hair
stood on end from the sparks shooting through her body.”
“Tori, you might not believe
this now, but one day you’ll understand I’m better as a memory than as a poor
excuse for a man in your life.”
MY REVIEW:
A sweet, second
chance romance tale, that at times, held bittersweet memories. A young
couple fighting their chemistry due to past grievances and old secrets.
We have all read many books with this theme, but even so, I enjoyed this
one. The novella was short, well crafted, not overly sappy, and
relatively mild. There was only one actual sex scene, but thankfully - it had some sizzle. An enjoyable and light read for a relaxing
afternoon.
Empress DJ
In 2001, Marilyn discovered Romance
novels quite by accident, which led to a renewed interest in writing. She
started out by writing fanfiction about Clark Kent, Lois Lane and Superman,
which developed into a desire to write about her own characters. She’s had over
forty short stories published in the confessions and Romance magazines.
Also, she has taught a class in how to
effectively write for this genre and worked as a researcher and copy editor for
several Romance authors. All this combined to give her a great love of the
Romance genre and helped develop a multitude of friendships in the Romance
community.
She’s a member of Romance Writers
ofAmerica, as well as her local chapter, Heart of Dixie. In addition to
reading, Marilyn loves to knit (as long as it’s only a scarf), cook (in the
crockpot), garden (in a couple of pots on her patio), and her motto is “Have
passport, will travel.” She’d love to add to the list of 32 states and 21
foreign countries she’s already visited.
After raising two great sons, she loves
to spoil... er... dote on her two granddaughters.
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5795962.Marilyn_Baxter
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