Rachel and the Tough Guy by Jeanne Allan, Harlequin Romance #3498

Nicholas Bonelli needed someone to take care of him after an accident left him with an arm and a leg injury which rendered him unable to work. Nicholas is a womanizer who has a different woman for every day of the week, sometimes more than one woman for a day depending on the function he was attending.

Rachel Stuart was a first grade teacher tired of taking care of vacation neighbors pets for extra money during the summer. Friends with Nicholas' sister, Dyan, she took on the job of acting as Nicholas' private nurse. Her ulterior motives were not known by anyone but her.

Nicholas doesn't want Rachel's services and continually attempts to come up with ways to get her to quit. Rachel needs Nicholas' private detective skills to help her with a case she wants investigated, so she is not so easy to get rid of. Unfortunately, falling in love with him wasn't in her plans.

Nicholas thinks that he is unable to love because of a family "curse" that everyone in his family marries not only young but someone the rest of the family finds an unsuitable mate. He has long since past his late teens and as a result, he feels, his chance at love.

Rachel is a good heroine. A bit too dense at times when it comes to accepting facts, but holding on to a dream for fifteen years I imagine could cloud her perception. The fiery kisses that the two share are enough to keep the reader's interest peaked as to when they will share another one.

The last scene involving Rachel, Nicholas and a large black dog, Scotty, is rather priceless and I have to admit even at 3 o'clock in the morning I found myself chuckling lightly at the scene Ms. Allan describes.

Rachel and the Tough Guy was a cozy read that I would rate sweet.

©Susan Matthews, phantomroses.com