Need You for Always

Adair’s charming second Heroes of St. Helena wine country contemporary (following Need You for Keeps) sets up a culinary entrepreneur with an injured Army Ranger sniper. Emerson “Emi” Blake and Dax Baudouin had a sizzling fling at the wedding of her friend to his brother, but distractions keep them from turning one night into more. Emi is juggling career ambitions and family obligations following the death of her mother. Her efforts to grow her Pita Peddler food cart business to a full-fledged food truck and compete in the national Street Eats competition are hampered by her significantly younger sister insisting on maintaining a “pixie” persona to honor their mother, which their father devotedly supports. Dax isn’t interested in staying in St. Helena once he’s recovered from his injury, though Emi might tempt him to change his mind. Aidar’s writing can skirt along the twee, but it’s balanced by her unabashed enthusiasm for her characters and the positive aspects of love—romantic, sororal, and filial—as well as steamy romantic encounters. Agent: Jill Marsal, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. (Oct.)