Only Skin Deep

eHarlequin.com Book Summary - How to make yourself over in three easy steps: 1. Find a new look 2. Find a new apartment 3. Find a new man Lauren Hewett had done the near impossible. In one remarkable weekend, she had transformed herself from eternal bridesmaid to foxy female, found a cozy new home and attracted the attention of her longtime crush, Travis Banks. But now that she'd tempted him, what was a good girl like Lauren to do? Could she win over Pinedale's most notorious bachelor with her inner beauty...or would he teach her a thing or two about affairs of the heart? (end book summary). An Excerpt From... Only Skin Deep by Cathleen Galitz Lauren Hewett felt an eerie connection to the imaginary person playing the piano in the corner of the room. Like him, she too was invisible. Actually, the ghost pianist had the advantage over her. He could at least make himself heard, if not seen - something Lauren hadn't been able to manage since shortly after her thirty-fifth birthday. She wasn't sure exactly what caused this phe-nomenon, only that one day she woke up and found herself of an age when no one bothered to ask her opinion on matters of importance anymore, or treat her as anything other than an oddity. As the background music ground to a halt, she gave the antique player piano another crank and reached inside herself for a smile. Smiling vacuously was, after all, one of a maid of honor's many duties - especially when she was the daughter of the bride. Still, Lauren couldn't help but heave a little sigh of regret when a figure clad in ivory lace made her way up the gleaming spiral staircase in the foyer. The bride was the focal point of a room tastefully bedecked with the very floral combination Lauren always envisioned for her own wedding: pink roses, miniature white carnations and baby's breath. "Always the bridesmaid, never the bride," she muttered under her breath. Fighting back a wave of melancholy, Lauren focused her attention on a montage of framed pictures hanging on the wall behind her. In her favorite, a little girl with wide green eyes and dark pigtails sat upon her father's lap, blissfully unaware that he would pass out of this world before his only daughter would receive her high school diploma. The woman standing behind the two of them with a hand lovingly draped on her husband's shoulder was a younger version of the smiling bride who was at the moment addressing her guests from halfway up the stairs. Lauren touched a finger to her own lips before plac-ing it to her father's as if to prevent him from saying anything to ruin the moment. "Don't worry, Daddy. You'd like him. He makes Mom happy." Across the crowded room, she caught a glimpse of Travis Banks, looking just as bored as she felt. At six-three he stood a good head taller than anyone else in the room. In a tailored black Western suit, he looked even better than she remembered - a feat she hardly thought possible. Lauren was surprised to see him in attendance.