Back In The Bedroom is a textbook example of how likable characters can make a book enjoyable. There’s nothing new or original about this book – outgoing girl meets uptight guy and sparks fly, and there you have the story – but the characters are so charming! I smiled all the way through it.

Tessa Delacantro’s degree in art history may have broadened her mind, but it doesn’t pack a lot of job potential, so she works for Eddie Ledger’s temp agency. Tess is very fond of Eddie, a sweet guy who treats his employees well. When he asks her to house sit for him for a weekend, she agrees, but when she shows up she interrupts a robbery. The robbers toss her into a locked room with only a cot in it – and said cot is occupied by a gorgeous man wearing only black boxer/briefs.

The man is Eddie’s son, Reilly Ledger, who had come to talk with his father. Poor Tess is scared, and when she’s scared she talks and talks and talks. Reilly (who is taciturn with a capital T) is put off by her chattering, but he’s not cruel or uncaring and they cuddle for warmth and protection. Sparks are generated.

In the morning, Reilly (ex-CIA) takes down the remaining robber and he and Tess go their separate ways. When she goes to work, Eddie sends her to an accountant who needs some help with his customers. If you don’t know who the accountant is, you’ve never read a romance. Neither Tess nor Reilly is all that happy with the arrangement (the heat from the sparks left them feeling a bit uncomfortable), but sly old Eddie has arranged it so there’s no temp left, and it’s either Tess or no one. And those sparks are about to start a fire.

The plot of Back In The Bedroom is silly as can be. I mean, if Reilly was really uncomfortable with Tess, there are other temp agencies. The burglar subplot is laughable as well, serving only as a means to get Eddie and Reilly’s mother back together again.

It’s Tess and Reilly who are the stars of the Back In The Bedroom, especially Tess. Quite simply, she’s a dear. I’ve read any number of romances featuring cute little pixie heroines and shuddered from a sugar overdose. But sometimes through the magic of good writing, the cute little pixie heroine comes across as sweet and charming like Tess does in this book. Tess may be a big-eyed cutie, but she isn’t a bit silly. She is good at her job, does not act ditzy or helpless, has a close but sometimes exasperating relationship with her overprotective siblings, and best of all, she has a kind and loving heart. She senses Reilly’s hurt and she instinctively wants to help him. And she’s the aggressor until quite late in the book, always a pleasant change of pace.

Outwardly calm and professional Reilly nurses a deep inner wound. His lover was a traitor who tried to kill him. He never knew his father Eddie while growing up, and now Eddie is trying to make amends. So Reilly has trust issues. He protects himself by overwork and has no social life. He may look like a typical hard alpha male, but he’s no jerk. He doesn’t hate women, he never is cruel, he just Speaks. As. Few. Words. As. He. Can. But he finds all his barriers crumbling in the face of a cute young woman with big eyes and a big heart.

Ignore the silly plot and concentrate on the endearing characters and you will probably finish Back In The Bedroom just like I did – with a big smile.