Evening Hours

Kaylee Benton's dreams of being a fashion model ended with a terrible car accident. She has adapted by running a top modeling agency. But Kaylee has never been able to form a relationship with a man due to the scars she believes no man will ever be able to accept and her inability to have a child. So when she meets devastatingly attractive Cutler McFarland and he begins to show an interest in her, she doesn't take his flirting seriously. However her father takes notice of her attraction and is determined that his daughter find happiness in her life. Her father quickly digs as deeply as he can into Cutler's past to find something to use against him. He goes to Cutler with an ultimatum. Convince Kaylee that he has fallen madly in love with her, marry her, and make her happy or he'll use the information that he has found to destroy Cutler's mother. Left with no choice, Cutler sets out to woo Kaylee. Kaylee soon finds herself under full scale assault by Cutler. Already half way in love with him, she soon falls completely in love and before long she agrees to marry him. Cutler was already fiercly attracted to Kaylee before her father's interference, perhaps even on his way to falling in love with her so it doesn't take long for what started out as blackmail on Cutler's end has turned into something more as he begins to truly and deeply love his wife. But if she ever finds out the truth behind their marriage, will they be able overcome the lies? Evening Hours is a fine example of why I pick up a book just because it has Mary Lynn Baxter's name on it. The sensual tension between Kaylee and Cutler stands out from their first meeting making me want them to find their happy ending. While Kaylee's father may have had the best of intentions, his meddling could ultimately cause harm to a relationship that may have flourished without his interference. All of this makes Evening Hours a contemporary romance that grabbed my attention and held it until the last page. Melissa Reviewed For Joyfully Reviewed

The other driver ran the stop at full speed leaving passenger Vera Benton dead, her daughter sixteen years old Kaylie severely injured after catapulting through the driver's side windshield, and her spouse Edgar shocked and dismayed. Kaylie recovers, but has a noticeable limp and can never have children. Sixteen years later, Edgar is proud of his beloved daughter who has won the Houston Woman of the Year Award for the success of her Benton Modeling Agency. At the gala, he notices she and District Attorney Cutler McFarland seem attracted to one another; this is the first time he has seen his daughter show any interest in a man in years. When Edgar learns some interesting information on Cutler, he blackmails him into courting and marrying his daughter or else he will expose the naked truth hurting Cutler's dying mother. Though used to playing hardball and running for reelection, Cutler would do anything for his mom, but he does not have to fake being in love with Kaylie though he fears her reaction if she ever learns of her dad's extortion ploy. EVENING HOURS is a tense tale that grips the audience on several levels especially what happens if Kaylie learns about her father's good intentions extortion and Cutler's cases hurting his reelection chances. The latter is quite interesting because Cutler knows first hand that by doing the right thing as he recently did, he lost a friend who was his prime financial backer. Either one of two current cases could cost him his reelection even if he does everything legally correct. The subplot with a powerbroker adds depth to a tight legal thriller. Harriet Klausner