Dream Girl Drama

Bestseller Bailey follows The Au Pair Affair with another irresistible sports rom-com. After a difficult childhood with a struggling single mother, Sig Gauthier basks in his newfound financial comfort as a member of the Boston Bearcats hockey team. When his truck breaks down while he’s driving through Connecticut with a dead cellphone, he walks into a nearby country club for help, where he meets Chloe Clifford, a beautiful blonde harp player. The pair are smitten from the first glance and share a passionate kiss. There’s just one thing standing in the way of their relationship: Sig’s absentee father, who wants back into his life, happens to be engaged to Chloe’s mother. After Chloe moves to Boston to study at Berklee College of Music and play with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the pair try to avoid each other—and their feelings—to stave off a scandal that would put both their futures in jeopardy. But the chemistry between these soon to be stepsiblings is explosive and ignoring it proves impossible. Readers who don’t like the instalove trope may not buy into the immediate connection between the leads, but Bailey backs it up with thoughtful characterization and red-hot sex scenes. This is a winner. (Feb.)