Past Lies
Bobby Hutchinson
Harlequin SuperRomance, Jan 2006, $5.50
ISBN: 0373713258

In Valdez, Alaska, helicopter tour guide owner Ivy Pierce assumes upon meeting Alex Ladrovik, that he is another vagabond looking to temporarily work for food. However, he shocks her when he stays around to continue to help her after her partner-uncle has a heart attack. Already attracted to Alex before his kindness, Ivy sleeps with him.

Alex has no time for romantic alliances as he follows the route his father took three decades ago before vanishing. However, he cannot leave Ivy at a time she needs help. Even harder for him is that he is falling in love, but he has a mission to complete, and a home in California waiting for his return. She wants him to stay, but can understand why he would not want to remain in a cold pristine wilderness.

This is a fabulous contemporary romance with a touch of a mystery (what happened to his dad?) that emphasizes falling in love in a remote area, the stark beauty vividly described. The lead couple are a delightful charming pair, as Ivy and Alex are ever attracted to one another, though her initial impression is that he is a homeless hobo, and his is of a frontier woman who needs no man. The suspense is actually in the romance as fans will wonder whether he stays, he goes home alone, or she goes with him.