Stephanie Walters has just started working as Jake Lorrimer's secretary/personal assistant when she gets jumped by a gang of youths intending to gang rape her. She escapes serious harm as Jake is nearby (she was just leaving work and they had been waiting for her) and he rescues her. Now 2 years later, Stephanie is feeling that the close platonic friendship with Jake which subsequently developed and which she holds so dear may be threatened.
Basically Stephanie starts noticing Jake as a man, but also noticing that he seems annoyed, etc., with her, so she decides he's missing his gf (he's been dating models for the past 2 years) and therefore she shouldn't take his new come on's seriously, but she's falling in love with him! Is she over the trauma of the rape? Does Jake think of her as anything more than a PA/Susy susbstitute?
This is one of those books that I never want to pick up based on the cover, but once I start reading it it's wondeful. Stephanie was completely traumatized by her experience and refused to get therapy, make a police report, etc., and Jake was afraid to push her at the time. He too was traumatized by the experience and it's quite brillantly handled how this manifests and gets revealed, allowing/forcing Stephanie to step up and claim her emotions. Well done.
