In Love with Lewis Prescott

Smith’s light and sexy second I Heart SF contemporary romance (after The Close-Up) offers few surprises but still delivers plenty of fun. San Francisco corporate architect Harper Ellorza takes time away from work to restore her grandparents’ home in Half Moon Bay—a task that proves complicated by an incompetent contractor. When Harper literally runs into television star Lewis Prescott, their ripped-from-Hollywood meet-cute is full of coffee spills and miscommunication. Lewis is on the run from relentless paparazzi eager to cash in on his recent public meltdown, and Harper offers to hide him in her half-finished home until the media storm blows over. In yet another improbable coincidence, Lewis worked construction before hitting it big as an actor, and he’s happy to take over as contractor in the house’s restoration. Harper’s close-knit Filipino family welcomes Lewis into the fold, leading Lewis to discover a new sense of belonging. Meanwhile, Harper and Lewis’s chemistry cannot be put on simmer, and it boils over into some intense and emotional interludes. The climax is less an homage to Notting Hill than a direct copy of its ending, but it satisfies nonetheless. Series fans will be pleased. Agent: Sarah Younger, Nancy Yost Literary. (Feb.)