UNTIL WE TOUCH – Susan Mallery
A Fool's Gold Romance
HQN
ISBN: 978-0-373-77893-5
July 2014
Contemporary Romance

Fool's Gold, California – Present Day

Larissa Owens followed her boss, former football hero tuned entrepreneur Jack McGarry, to Fool's Gold when the company he co-owns moved there. Larissa is not only the personal assistant who keeps Jack's life running smoothly, she also provides massages for all four owners. In her spare time, she responds to animal rescue calls, and from time to time has “volunteered” Jack's home as a temporary refuge for cats, dogs, etc. Jack is pretty laid back and has his pick of any woman he wants, yet he rarely lets anyone get too close to him. Larissa might be seen as Jack's pseudo wife, but when her mother tells him that Larissa is in love with him, both are shocked at the idea.

Up until her mother's proclamation, which is an attempt to push Larissa to either pursue Jack or come back to Los Angeles, neither looked at the other in romantic terms. But now that is all Larissa can think about, and it gives Jack “unwanted” reactions to her. Larissa finally realizes that maybe she is attracted to Jack and the only way to fix things is to have an affair with him, then let the “love” die a natural death. Sounds good, but how is she going to go about seducing a man who keeps her at arm's length?

Readers first met Jack and Larissa in WHEN WE MET, and knew that while they were close, it was purely business. He has good-naturedly put up with her animal rescue “projects” because he likes to do a bit of “rescuing” himself by offering money to help people. When Larissa discovers a homeless teen, it is Jack she turns to in order to provide housing, a job and education. Yet the more she involves him, the greater he feels a “noose” around his neck, reminding him of his family's past tragedy. He sees her more as a good friend and part of the “family” but can't stop his body from responding to her. It's all wrong…right?

Larissa and Jack thought they were just friends, but in UNTIL WE TOUCH a long simmering sexual tension is finally uncorked. Jack earned his millions playing football, as did his business partners, Sam and Kenny. Their other partner, Taryn, was briefly married to Jack, but after she lost their baby they divorced and became good friends. Larissa fits smoothly in the business as their all around assistant with Jack as her boss and hasn't thought of him as anything other than a friend, so her mother's suggestion she's in love with him has her in a dither. Does she perhaps care for Jack? As the heat builds, a couple of kisses prove that perhaps there's more than friendship between them. Should Jack and Larissa act upon it—and face the loss of friendship should it fail?

A fun, flirty, and sexy tale that really sizzles from the moment they first kiss in UNTIL WE TOUCH, readers will not want to put it down as Susan Mallery once again scores a hit with another of her Fool's Gold romances . Jack and Larissa shouldn't be a match as she is all about good deeds and eating healthy, while Jack prefers keeping a distance and enjoying good food, but they click until they're nearly an extension of each other. As with the other stories in the Fool's Gold series, UNTIL WE TOUCH is a winning tale I highly recommend.

Patti Fischer