Leslie Kelly, Overexposed

Overexposed

Leslie Kelly

Harlequin Blaze, Sep 2007, $4.99

ISBN: 9780373793518

In Chicago, former marine Nick Santori knew Isabella Natale when she was little "Izzy" growing up in Little Italy. When he sees her in her family's bakery, Nick thinks she is beautiful and wants her. When she sees Nick in the bakery, her feelings of wanting him as a teen remains as strong as an adult.

Nick works as a bodyguard at a night club that some might say is a strip joint. Though confused and wondering how shallow he feels; as he desires Izzy, Nick also has the hots for exotic dancer Crimson Rose, whose velvet mask is almost as enticing as her exotic G-string. Crimson Rose knows the new bodyguard as she has desired him since they grew up in Little Italy together. Although as Izzy she does not have the guts to seduce Nick, as her alterego Rose she does.

This is an entertaining torrid contemporary romance that seems a bit over the top as Nick fails to realize that Crimson Rose is his Izzy. The story line is character driven by Izzy whether she is the baker or the erotic dancer. In either persona, she knows she loves Nick, but assumes he does not reciprocate beyond being a pal. He will prove her wrong as he willingly is seduced by the dancer and plans to seduce the baker because he may feel fickle but loves "both" women.

Harriet Klausner