Lady Be Good

Flying from England to Texas, Lady Emma Wells-Finch meets world-famous pro golfer Kenny Traveler. She assumes that he's a gigolo and decides that he's just the man to relieve her of her virginity in order to get the stuffy, oafish Duke of Beddington out of her hair. Kenny's need to avoid scandal to save his career conflicts with Emma's need to invent scandal to free her from her English admirer. The results are hilarious. In a secondary plot line that mirrors Lady Emma's predicament with the duke, Kenny's seemingly flighty sister, Torrie--as beautiful as Kenny is handsome--is being forced by her father to marry geek Dexter O'Conner. Dexter and Lady Emma have their work cut out for them, for Kenny and Torrie's respective childhoods have left them scarred and incapable of adult relationships. Some outstanding secondary characters join this foursome, including those from Phillips's earlier Fancy Pants. Her Texas settings and sportsmen as heroes continue to shine, and her playful homage to the peculiarities of wealthy Texas women and small towns is dead-on. Phillips's newest is well written, funny, sexy and altogether satisfying. (Feb.)