Rival Hearts

In Randel’s (The Lady in the Attic) first contribution to the Quilts of Love series, Molly Henderson is editor of the magazine, Quilter’s Heart. Ben Weaver helms Outdoor Adventures. Both publications are part of the Tampa-based Master’s Publishing empire. Company owner Blake Masterson is poised to launch a new publication, American Legend, and the eccentric publisher has decided to choose as editor-in-chief either long-time employee Molly or newbie Ben using a challenge. Ben will join Molly’s quilting group, and Molly will kayak. Each journey will be chronicled in their respective magazines. As the competition heats up and their staffs pit the boys against the girls, Molly and Ben earn each other’s respect and discover they are not as different as they might have originally thought. Can they ignore their growing attraction and keep focused on the prize? Attentive readers will likely recognize the foreshadowing and guess the conclusion before reaching the halfway mark. Still, Randel’s rich characterizations of Ben and Molly and the complexity of their relationship will keep most readers’ attention long after it becomes obvious who will be the new editor-in-chief. Agency: Steve Laube Agency. (June)