Christy Herself

Courtney and her fiance have been engaged for eight years, and he seems in no hurry to set a date. Courtney is working a clerical job until she can obtain employment in the field she has a degree in. She finds herself at work one day, facing a normal 8 hours, when she is terminated, accused of stealing from the company. When she arrives home early, she finds her fiance in bed with another woman. She immediately moves in with her mother, and breaks the engagement and relationship.

Bad luck follows her in that she not only ends up having to replace a tire, but finds that her bank has frozen her account for unusual activity and she cannot pay for the tire. The shop owner graciously allows her to leave with a promise to pay. When she goes back, she meets the owner's son, Clay.

Clay is helping at his dad's shop while his dad recuperates from surgery. His dad wants him to run the shop, but it's just not his thing. He works as an IT professional and makes good money developing websites. He has done some bad things in his past that ended a good friendship, and is now trying to do things in the right way.

There is an instant attraction with Courtney and Clay meet, and the story goes from there after he offers Courtney a job to answer phones and schedule appointments.

This was a book that was hard for me to put down. I liked the characters, I liked the flow of the story. It was one of those books where as you read it, and the characters get to know each other, and are drawn to each other - you feel it yourself. You feel yourself wanting that kiss. Wanting that touch. Then, when it happens, you sigh with happiness because you can almost feel that touch on your skin as well.

It probably didn't hurt because in my mind, Clay looked a lot like Chris Pine. Heh.

The story flows well, the characters are likable, including the supporting characters. The first date between the characters was my idea of not only a great first date, but a romantic one as well (I'm not giving anything away; you have to read it for yourself). The writing is wonderful - I mean, if it makes you feel like you are the one getting kissed, it has to be great!

A few complaints, and please keep in mind - this could totally be the jaded, single part of me: for someone to jump into this relationship so quickly after breaking off an 8 year relationship seems a bit unrealistic. Even if someone cheats on you, that takes time to get over. Further, things went almost a little too smoothly as far as life goes. She got fired, but they realized their mistake and she got a lot of settlement money, they move in together, then they get a house... I mean, don't get me wrong. There were things that popped up, and there is a storyline involving the hero's niece that has family drama. But the flow of going from an 8 year relationship that ended badly to this relationship that went so well didn't seem real to me. But again, that is based on my life experiences.