PERFECT FLING – Carly Phillips
Serendipity's Finest, Book 2
Jove
ISBN: 978-0-425-25972-6
August 2013
Contemporary Romance

Serendipity, New York – Present Day

After watching her brother marry her best friend, Assistant District Attorney Erin Marsden is feeling lonely and a bit blue. As Serendipity's “good girl,” she wants one night to walk on the wild side and hooks up with bad boy Cole Sanders. Erin doesn't see him again until three months later, and by then, she's learned that she is pregnant with his child. Cole made it clear he wasn't into relationships, and Erin wasn't sure how to approach him with the “you're going to be a daddy” news, but that is all taken out of her hands when she's shot by a mysterious shooter. At the hospital, Cole discovers she's pregnant, and nothing will stop him from protecting her and the baby 24/7, even going up against her tough brothers. But Cole has secrets, and before Erin will let him into her life, she has some questions she'd liked answered.

Cole's only tie to the town is his father, a man who never misses a moment to tell Cole that he's worthless. That attitude has been painful to Cole, but he's managed to make something of his life. Right now he's a big city undercover cop in between assignments. His job—and life—is dangerous, and a family has no place in his future. With Erin's pregnancy, he's thrust into action—is it Erin the shooter is targeting, or is it Cole? Until they arrest the suspect, Cole is going to be there for Erin. Being in close quarters has the sexual heat that began with their first night rising once again. If they give into passion, will it lead to more than a fling?

Erin has spent her life as a good girl, making her family and friends proud, but a spur of the moment decision to sleep with Cole Sanders changes her life in PERFECT FLING. While she is three months pregnant, very few know because she isn't sure what the reaction would be and she is mulling over whether to tell Cole he is going to be a daddy. She loves her family, but being good all the time has its disadvantages. One night of wild, uninhibited sex with Cole let her experience a freedom she'd never known before. But with Cole now in her life—as her baby's father and as her protector—it makes her want to scratch the itch for more sex with Cole. Is it hormones, or because she wants Cole?

After coming off a tricky and dangerous assignment, Cole wants a little downtime, though why he decided to come back to Serendipity is a good question to ask. Visits with his father only leave Cole frustrated and feeling worthless. With Erin now pregnant, he has to battle the inner demons fighting inside him: walk away because it would be best for Erin and the baby, or stay to try and make a family life with them. Cole knows hopping back into bed with Erin is probably a mistake, but their sexual attraction is uncontrollable. Meanwhile, more attempts are aimed at Erin. Clearly someone is after her, but is it a case one of them worked on? That bit of drama was pretty easy for me to figure out who the culprit is, and in PERFECT FLING, you don't have to wait until the very end to find out the answer. Finding the villain's location, however, becomes a game of cat and mouse.

A return to the Serendipity series by Carly Phillips is always fun, and readers will not be disappointed. Cole might be the town's bad boy, but he's a goodhearted man inside. It takes Erin in PERFECT FLING to not only bring it out into the open, but to get Cole to see it for himself. Their sizzling chemistry, along with their sharp, lively banter, makes Cole and Erin a favorite couple of mine. Does the good girl tame the bad boy? Find out for yourself in the must-read PERFECT FLING.

Patti Fischer