"Another mesmerizing Stuart bad boy"
Sally McDowell knows she is dying and has not long to
live. She has many regrets through her life. But most of
all she regrets the disappearance of her son, Alex, nearly
two decades ago and never once stopped hoping he would
return to her. As the end nears, this is her most
cherished wish: to see Alex come back. Carolyn Smith loves her "Aunt Sally" and is very defensive
of the woman who has always treated her like a daughter.
But deep inside, while she knows Sally cares for her, she
realized the devotion is just a substitute in Sally's life
for the missing Alex. She would do anything for Sally,
only she holds the secret that could end Sally's torment,
but in the process destroy her heart. A secret even she
is not sure is real. Eighteen years ago, young Carolyn loved Alex, followed him
around with stars her in eyes, he was her first love, her
hero. But late one horrible night she trailed Alex to the
beach, saw him meet someone in the shadows and watched as
that person killed Alex. So traumatized, Carolyn went
into shock, and by the time they found her, she is nearly
dead with pneumonia. Months later, when she recovers and
awakes from the coma, she finds the family believes Alex
stole money from Sally and ran away. They are so
convincing, Carolyn actually begins to doubt she saw Alex
killed, that it was just a part of her fevered
imagination. But if Alex ran away, why did he never come back, never
contact the family? Where did he go? These are questions that have haunted Sally's and
Carolyn's quiet world for nearly two decades. Carolyn is
determined to make Sally's death as peaceful as possible.
Only, they are rocked when the stranger comes. A stranger
claiming to be Alex. He looks like he could be Alex and
Sally, now fading fast, wants desperately to believe this
man is her long lost son. She accepts him with little
question. However, Carolyn knows better. His coming
brought back the nightmare of eighteen years ago, and she
KNOWS she saw Alex killed that night, knew there was
nothing she could do to save him. So there is no way this
man is Alex, despite his assurances. Obviously, being Alex McDowell would make him rich on
Sally's death, reason enough for the charade. And since
Carolyn wants her aunt to die happy, she hesitates on
openly challenging him. But as she is around him, Carolyn
discovers this man knows too many small things about her,
knows how she yearned for Alex, but was too young to
handle the attraction and that attraction is still
there - only amplified into a raw, primitive force by the
fact this Alex is a grown man. Despite knowing in her
heart she witnessed the 'real' Alex's death, she cannot
run from the strong physical sparks they create. She hates
this impostor that can pierce her heart, make her want
him, but she cannot stop being pulled to his dark
sexuality. Is this man here to hurt Sally, steal the inheritance
meant for the real Alex? Or is he there for revenge? But
against whom? Though the memories are returning, she
still cannot 'see' the shadowy face that killed her
childhood love. Is Carolyn's life in danger by the very
man who stirs her blood? Sally is hinting she will change
her will, which names Carolyn to inherit everything, in
favor of this stranger. Is his back up plan, in case the
will is not changed, to woo Carolyn for the fortune?
And there is a killer still shadowing their lives? Who
killed Alex eighteen years ago? Why? No one does the black hearted bad boy better than Anne
Stuart. She is the Queen of this sector in romance, and
her continual delivery time after time, historical,
contemporary and series romance, keeps you spellbound with
stories that will haunt you long after you put the book
down.
Reviewed by DeborahAnne MacGillivray
Posted April 3, 2003
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