"Love is no respecter of age."

At forty years of age, single, independent Natalie Harrigan had finally made CEO of the Training Advisory Council. Moving back home to Canberra, Australia, meant she would see more of her younger brother Jake--when he was home.

Luke DeMarco was also coming home. The same home as Natalie, the home he had spent much of his childhood at with her, Jake and their father, while his parents spent time at the pub. At twenty-eight he was a bit young for his new job, but he was going to give it his best shot.

Neither Nat nor Luke expect the other, so their meeting in the bathroom, sans clothes, is a bit of a shock, to say the least. For Luke, the meeting only proves that the crush he had on her ten years ago hasn't disappeared, but has progressed to something stronger. Natalie sees that Luke, whom she last saw as a boy, has grown into a "virile, potent, and sinfully sexy" man.

Natalie finds herself becoming restless. After her divorce, she concentrated on picking up the pieces and advancing her career. Now though, she wonders is life is passing her by. Things start to heat up between Luke and her, especially after she discovers she will be spending more time with him than she had imagined. It doesn't take that long for her to begin truly seeing who Luke really is and how important he is to her life. Unfortunately, Luke is starting to wonder if perhaps she would be better off with someone older...

This is an impressive story, well-written, easy going, and a joy to read. The lead characters were enjoyable together. One of the things I like about an older woman/younger man story is how the protagonists come to accept that love is no respecter of age. I've found I like at least one of the main characters to have to acknowledge this and in this story it was the heroine. Her journey to recognition of this and that it had happened to her was well done. I enjoyed getting to know the hero and found him to be a fine match for the heroine. I did feel the secretiveness about the length and reason for their friendship a bit overdone. Also, considering the heroine's desire not to get pregnant, the lack of the mention of birth control was unexpected. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this story enough to hope for one about the heroine's brother, Jake.

Sensuality-- fairly non-descriptive sex; monogamous sex. Sexually scenes: 3.

Reviewed by Flora Bell
Courtesy Sensual Romance
Posted April 29, 2003

Also available in paperback.

Summary

Men are trouble, and having a man in her life is not on Natalie Harrigan's agenda...for Natalie, the choice is simple... trouble...or nothing. Natalie would much rather focus on her career. The new appointment to the coveted postion of CEO is her number one priority. She intends to prove the naysayers wrong...she'll be the best CEO ever. But her younger brother's best friend has ideas of his own on how he'd like to fit into Natalie's life.

Luke DeMarco has always loved Natalie from the moment he first set eyes on her...when he was eight years old. Now, twenty years later, she's more woman than ever, and Luke's not too worried about the difference in their ages. Surely his gentle wooing will convince Natalie that age is no barrier to love. But will Natalie allow him to move from their Boardroom to her bedroom?