Kensington, Aphrodisia, February 2006

He was the best lover she'd ever had, but she'd never even gotten his name. It had been the last day of her vacation in Crete and Suzanne met him on a nude beach. The connection was instant, but purely physical, of course--how could it have been anything else since they barely talked. Still, four years later, Suzanne remembers it fondly. So fondly that when, on one of her regular nights out with girlfriends, she reveals her secret in their discussion of best-sex. To her surprise, her girlfriends insist that she track him down--not as hard as she'd thought with the Internet and Google available. In fact, dozens of guys respond to her ad claiming to be the man of her dreams, or at least willing to give it a good try.

Jaxon never forgot the afternoon in Crete--not even during his brief marriage. He's intent on proving himself, making partner in his San Francisco law firm, getting ahead in a white world, and leaving the stigma of being the poor kid from Jamaica behind him. Still, Crete meant a lot and he often searches the Internet for some hint that his mystery mermaid remembered it as well. When he Googles her ad, he knows it's her, and he can't help responding even though he really needs to spend his time working.

Suzanne wants family, children, the Leave it to Beaver lifestyle--but all that is in the future. For now, she can settle for hot sex, right. And Jaxon is ideal. The two agree to 'champagne rules,' keeping their relationship special, never letting the bubbles go flat, with no talk about the future or work or boring things. Still, the rules get bent and it's the kind and caring Jaxon she starts to care about. But a Jaxon so driven by work he'll sacrifice anything to get ahead can't be right, can it? Especially not when one of the things he's willing to sacrifice is her.

Author Susan Lyons dishes up hot steamy sex, best girlfriend bonding, and a strong romantic conflict in a compelling story. Jaxon makes a super-sexy hero, with his hot chocolate athlete body and his sharp lawyer-brain. Suzanne is torn between her normal self and her sexy-twin-self--the woman she feels herself to be when she's with Jaxon. Can she really be both?

It may not be fair, it clearly violates the champagne rules the two agreed upon, but ultimately Suzanne needs Jaxon to be something more for her--needs a relationship. When that moment comes, champagne rules get in the way--which is rough when Suzanne learns that they might be the only think keeping them together. You'll definitely want to find out whether the two can progress from hot and steamy to hot, steamy and committed.

Four Stars

See more BooksForABuck.com reviews of novels by Susan Lyons.

Reviewed 12/16/05

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