Sara Barclay's fiancé was killed in the car accident that crippled her brother, Sam, and left him widowed. Since that time she's lived only for her neice, Carly, and her brother - so when he brother announces that he is purchasing a house in the country naturally Sara will accompany him. In addition to caring for her neice, Sara is also acting as an assistant to Sam who was a currency trader before the accident and is now writing a book and freelancing on the subject. What she is not doing, however, is getting past the accident, something that soon becomes obvious when she takes an instant dislike to their new neighbor, Jonas Chesney, even before meeting him.
Their meeting, when it does happen, is volatile. They bump into each other in the lawn and Jonas can't resist making out with her, fondling her breasts, while Sara is outraged in her head devastated that someone other than Rick could make her feel like this. Meanwhile Sam has fallen in love with Vanessa, Jonas' stepsister, causing more conflict as Sara struggles to come to grips with the car accident at long last.
The book pretty much proceeds like this: Sara feels stuck with Jonas to give Sam and Vanessa some time alone (Sam is now wheelchair bound and cannot take leisurely strolls in the evening, for example), Jonas and Sara do something sexual, Sara is turned on but upset at both herself and Jonas that he could make her feel like this when Rick is dead. It's not my favorite book; there are way too many times when Jonas is fondling Sara's breasts out of the blue while it clearly seems like it's completely uncalled for and/or she's not into it. Although the author makes it clear that such behavior is both abnormal and irrational for these two (cf Sara's thoughts "Didn't he know he had no right to look at her that way? She belonged to Rick - Rick who was dead[...]" upon meeting Jonas and Jonas's reaction to kissing her "'I want you.' He repeated the words in a slurred, unsteady voice, a blank, almost dazed look in his eyes[...]"), the fact is they are acting this way, and I must say this certainly isn't Penny Jordan's best work.
Oh pooey. The premise
Oh pooey. The premise sounds good, but the hero sounds like a sloppy lover. :( It's in my TBR pile though, we'll see when I eventually get to it.