Pamela Browning, The Treasure Man

The Treasure Man

Pamela Browning

Harlequin American, Apr 2006, $4.99

ISBN: 037375115X

Jewelry designer Chloe Timberlake agrees to look after the Frangipani Inn while her cousin Gwynne, the owner, completes her Masters. When she arrives in Sanluca, Florida near the Everglades, she is shocked to see how run down the once magnificent B&B has become. Even more stunning is to see former Sea Search Inc. diver Ben Derrick lurking about. When she was a teen who spent a summer here she had a crush on him that he ignored.

Chloe and Ben agree that he can stay rent free in return for doing needed repairs. As they reside in the inn, Chloe can see how despondent Ben is and how much she still wants him. She tries to help him heal the mental anguish of a diving tragedy, even while they fall in love, but he resists coming out of his mental self harangue even for love.

The lead couple seems real, and because they do, they are able to keep this delightful contemporary romance from falling into a soap opera. Chloe is terrific as she enables the miserable Ben a second chance at life if he finds the courage to go for it. Pamela Browning provides a deep character study of a man whose tragic past has left him a shell of a man. Only the patience and nurturing of love can bring the opportunity to heal to his tormented soul.