I’d recommend buying this volume based on the first story alone. Nora Roberts aptly demonstrates why she is at the top of the bestseller lists. I loved Laine and Max, and I was sorry to see their story end even though I knew Eve and Roarke were next in line.

Laine Tavish has a successful antiques business called Remember When, and a satisfying life in Angel’s Gap, Maryland. She has a nice home and a great dog named Henry. Even though she is 28 and not seriously dating anyone, she knows the right person will come along. Laine also has a past she is hiding. Her father is Jack O’Hara, a con artist and a thief. Although she loves him dearly, Laine wants no part of her father’s lifestyle and has worked hard to become respectable. Then a man is hit by a car and killed in front of her store. She is startled to discover he is her father’s best friend, known to her as Uncle Willy. Willy died trying to tell Laine something, and she knows he and her father have been up to no good.

Max Gannon is a private investigator hot on Willy’s trail. His employer is desperate to retrieve a multi-million dollar fortune in diamonds that was recently stolen. Max knows that Jack O’Hara, Willy, and another man known as Alex Crew were behind the theft. Jack and Willy are small potatoes compared to Crew. Calling Crew a homicidal sociopath is a compliment.

When Max scopes out Remember When and meets Laine, the sparks fly instantly. He knows who she is, but wants to get a handle on her part in the theft, if she had one. This is a love-at-first-sight story, but unlike most examples of this plot device, it was very believable for me. Max and Laine have an instant attraction to each other, but in the course of their short acquaintance, they talk about why they are perfect for each other. We know why Laine falls in love with Max, as she explains it to him. There is also a wonderful undercurrent of humor between them that left me smiling throughout their story. Laine has a sarcastic bent, and I loved her comments to Max.

Roberts does an incredible job weaving the mystery of the diamonds through Laine and Max’s relationship. Laine is in danger, but she is adept at handling herself, having grown up with a thief and a con man. She is nobody’s fool and I loved that about her character. She thinks on her feet and is a partner to Max, not a burden.

Max is a great hero. He is patient with Laine regarding her father and understanding about her conflicting loyalties, he loves her dog, he’s smart, sexy, funny and perfect for her. Sign me up. Yum, yum.