Just imagine working side by side with someone for a year--someone who is your ultimate fantasy, but someone you can't be with just because he's you're boss. No doubt there are a lot of "seduce the boss" secret fantasies walking around behind downcast eyes, in restaurants and offices and businesses. Lucky Kelly--I never had a boss as toothsome as hers to fantasize over...

And Kelly is lucky because she's got a friend whose done a makeover on her; she's lucky there's a masquerade where she can take her made-over self to and have the opportunity of a lifetime: a night with Liam. Kelly is a very sympathetic character--a super tall super size sixteen with a damaged self-esteem. Kelly is a big beautiful woman who does not dare to see herself as sexy.

Unlike many other romances, there aren't any extra romantic couples thrown in to provide a second romance as filler. No tricks. No padding. Just story. As soon as I read about Kelly, I really cared what was going to happen to her--a real accomplishment in a short story.

There's just a hint of the past year when Kelly had been working with her boss, but it's enough of a hint to make Kelly's feeling real. Her Liam is not just physically ideal; he's honest, hardworking, loyal, owns his own bar, and has an infectious sense of humor. He's enough of a dream that the most Kelly can want for herself is a single night with him--and even that, in a mask.

N. J. Walters writes a fresh-voiced, sexy, touching short story that delivers everything it promises and more. Not everyone can flesh out a character so well, in a mere 43 pages. N.J. scores a hit with this teasing, hot and tender tale. A perfect summer read.

Maîtresse
Copyright 2006