Hannah Stark has set her sights on corporate law to assure her a career of paperwork, predictability, and conservative suits. Contracts, finance, and the art of the deal sing to her, while the mess and misery of the courtroom do not. But her daughter needs to eat, so when Hannah is offered a temporary position in a small town firm’s domestic relations department, she reluctantly accepts.
Trent Knightley is mightily drawn to his newest associate, though Hannah is as protective of her privacy as she is competent. When their friendship and attraction heat up, Hannah’s secrets put her heart and Trent’s hopes in double jeopardy.
*EXCERPT*
James stood beside Mac at the window in Mac’s office, watching the head of the domestic relations department escort his newest associate to her car.
“Why isn’t that idiot sneaking in a little kiss here and there?” James asked. “He’s not even touching her. Didn’t offer his arm, hasn’t got his hand on her back.”
“Some of us appreciate a more subtle approach,” Mac said. “Some of us with a little discretion and tact.”
“I about sat her in my lap at lunch earlier this week. She said I was flirting my eyelashes off, and laughed at me.”
“Laughed?” By a little blue Prius, Trent handed Hannah her briefcase. “You have my condolences, James. You must be losing your touch. We depend on you to carry the Knightley standard into the bedroom of western Maryland, but it looks as if at long last – well, one hopes it’s long last-”
“Shut up,” James smacked Mac’s shoulder for good measure. “It’s just as long and lasting as it ever was, but Hannah Stark has been inoculated against my devastating charms by the only thing that has ever protected a female from falling for me.”
“Common sense?” Mac drawled. “A functioning brain? A sense of humor? An accurately calibrated ruler?”
“She’s fallen for him,” James said, gesturing towards the parking lot. “We have reason to hope.”
About the Author:
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Grace Burrowes’ bestsellers include The Heir, The Soldier, Lady Maggie’s Secret Scandal, Lady Sophie’s Christmas Wish and Lady Eve’s Indiscretion. The Heir was a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2010, The Soldier was a PW Best Spring Romance of 2011, Lady Sophie’s Christmas Wish won Best Historical Romance of the Year in 2011 from RT Reviewers’ Choice Awards, Lady Louisa’s Christmas Knight was a Library Journal Best Book of 2012, and The Bridegroom Wore Plaid was a PW Best Book of 2012. Her Regency romances have received extensive praise, including starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist. Grace is branching out into short stories and Scotland-set Victorian romance with Sourcebooks. She is a practicing family law attorney and lives in rural Maryland.
Jennifer’s Review of A Single Kiss
Review (4.25 Stars): I liked Hannah and Trent as a couple in A Single Kiss because they had so much in common even though they didn’t know that in the very beginning. Hannah was looking for a job as an attorney to be able to take care of her and her daughter, Grace, and would have taken anything as long as it wasn’t Family Law. Family Law brought back too many painful memories for her and she only had to get through six months of it and then she would be moved to the Corporate Law department, which is what she desperately wanted. Hannah was very reserved and wouldn’t let people really get to know her because she wanted to keep her life private. She didn’t want people to know about her past and she kept people at an arm’s length wherever she went.
Trent was this great guy that had given up on love after his divorce. He had a daughter to take care of and wanted to do the best job that he could for his clients. Meeting Hannah and having her work for him made him feel things that he thought were long gone. He knew that Hannah was hiding things about her personal life and he wanted her to trust him so she would open up to him when she was ready. I couldn’t imagine a more admirable guy than Trent and he was right there by her side when all her secrets came to light.
This is the first book in the Sweetest Kisses series and it has a lot of potential. I loved how Trent’s family stood by one another no matter what happened and I’m looking forward to seeing Trent’s brothers get their own happy endings. The pacing was slow in parts but I didn’t feel that it took too much away from the story and I was glad to see everything wrapped up nicely in the end. Looking forward to the next title in the series.
Can’t wait to read this series by Grace Burrows. I’ve loved all her books. Thanks for the chance.
Carol L