Praise for New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author
SUSAN MALLERY
âMalleryâs prose is luscious and provocative.â
âPublishers Weekly
âSusan Malleryâs gift for writing humor and tenderness makes all her books true gems.â
âRT Book Reviews
âRomance novels donât get much better than Malleryâs expert blend of emotional nuance, humor and superb storytelling.â
âBooklist
âMallery sets up some very tough choices for her heroine, making this book compelling and intense.â
âRT Book Reviews on Finding Perfect
â[A]n emotional story with a beautiful happy ending! Another must read by Susan Mallery.â
âGood Choice Reading on Almost Perfect
âWarm, funny, and sexy, this lighthearted yet touching page-turner is a satisfying, rewarding read and the âperfectâ beginning for Malleryâs Foolâs Gold series.â
âLibrary Journal on Chasing Perfect
âAs demonstrated in this compelling story, family doesnât have to share blood, just emotions. Filled with emotional drama, devastating treachery and the power of love, this finale will delight fans.â
âRT Book Reviews on Hot on Her Heels
âOne of the Top 10 Romance Novels of 2009!â
âBooklist on Straight from the Hip
MONTANA HENDRIXâS PERFECTLY good morning was thwarted by a hot dog, a four-year-old boy and a Lab and golden retriever mix named Fluffy.
Things had started out well enough. Montana had been determined to get the nearly a year old dog into a therapy-dog training program. Sure, Fluffy was exuberant and clumsy, with a habit of eating anything and simply being too happy, but she had a huge heart. If she was, in simple terms, a screwup, Montana refused to hold that against her. Montana knew what it was like to fail to meet her potential, to always feel she wasnât good enough. Sheâd made a career out of it. Fluffy was not going to suffer the way she had. And even if she was projecting a little too much on to an innocent dog, well, sometimes that happened.
So there she was, on a beautiful Foolâs Gold summer morning, walking Fluffy ⦠or, rather, being walked by Fluffy.
âThink calm,â Montana, holding firmly on to the leash, told the dog. âTherapy dogs are calm. Therapy dogs understand restraint.â
Fluffy gave her a doggie grin, then nearly knocked over a trash can with a sweep of her ever-moving tail. Restraint wasnât in Fluffyâs vocabulary. She was barely calm in her sleep.
Later Montana would tell herself she should have seen it coming. This particular morning was the first weekend after school had let out and there was a festival to celebrate. Street vendors had been setting up for days. Although it was early, the smell of hot dogs and barbecue filled the air. The sidewalks were crowded and Fluffy kept pulling toward the children playing in the park. Her expression was clearâshe wanted to be playing, too.
Up ahead, a mother paid for a hot dog. Her young son took it eagerly, but before he took a bite, he spotted Fluffy. The boy grinned at Fluffy and held out the food. At that exact moment, Montana was distracted by the latest display in Morganâs Bookstore and accidentally loosened her grip. Fluffy lunged, the leash slipped and that was when the trouble started.
Offering a hot dog from a distance might have seemed like a good idea ⦠until a ninety-pound dog came barreling toward the little boy. He shrieked, dropped the hot dog and ran behind his mother. The poor woman had missed the beginning of the encounter. All she saw was a crazy-looking dog headed right for her and her son. She screamed.
Montana started after Fluffy, yelling for her to stop. But it was as effective as telling the earth to slow down its rotation.
The mother scooped up her little boy and ducked behind a lemonade stand. Fluffy picked up the hot dog without breaking stride and swallowed it in one gulp, then kept on going. Apparently freedom called.
Montana hurried after her, the new summer sandals sheâd bought the week before cutting into her feet. She knew she had to get Fluffy. The dog was sweet, but not very well trained. Montanaâs boss, Max Thurman, had made it clear that Fluffy was not therapy-dog material. If word of todayâs disaster reached him, he would insist the dog leave the program. Montana couldnât stand for that to happen.
Fluffy was a lot faster than she was and quickly ran out of sight. Montana followed the sound of shrieks and screams, making her way through the streets of the town, dodging a peanut cart and narrowly missing a close encounter with two guys on bikes. She turned a corner just in time to see a tail disappearing through the automatic doors of a tall building.