EYE CANDY – Jessica Lemmon
A Real Love Novel , Book1
Loveswept
ISBN-13:  978-1-524-796433-3
July 2017
Contemporary Romance

Columbus, Ohio – Present Day

At 11:45 a.m. each morning, Jacqueline and her friend Kayla wait for the blond Adonis to run by the window in their building.  He always runs without a shirt on, showing his wide chest and no hair.  Her friend Kayla may be married to a great guy, but the runner is still a treat to look at.  After going through a divorce, Jacqueline still hasn't gotten back in the dating game.  When her husband confessed to sleeping with his assistant, any confidence she had in herself died a quick death.  If it wasn't for Vince, her friend at work, who knows where she would be.  Then when Vince went through a divorce, Jacqueline was there for him, too.  They share the vice presidency at the Brookdale Group and many nights have been spent eating pizza and watching TV and drinking beer at his place.  If she had met Vince before her ex she might have considered him, but now they are best friends and he's still a bit bitter over his divorce.  Jacqueline has seen the runner at her apartment building and knows his name is JT, and Kayla has urged her to step outside and ask him for a date; what could it hurt?

Vince was hurt by his divorce, and his friend Davis sometime helps him by meeting him at a close bar and sharing drinks.  Davis went through the same thing with his ex-fiancée several years ago, and still hasn't gotten further than one-night-stands with blondes, but without him and Jacqueline, Vince doesn't know what he would have done.  Vince had to find a job after his real estate business went bust, and Leslie didn't like having to go back to work, so she left.  Talk about being a failure!  Now Vince sees his friend Jacqueline panting after the runner, and knows if they start to date that loser will dump her too, just like her ex.  Maybe if he encourages their dating, he will come out the winner when they break up and Jacqueline turns to him for comfort.  Who says men can't think ahead?

When Jacqueline's dates with JT don't heat up, she finds Vince nosing in her business all the time, until they share an overwhelming kiss.  But jealousy and trouble await them as they must fight through their feelings of perhaps getting too close too fast, and not trusting someone they know is trustworthy.  But then, the course of true love never runs smooth—right?

Jessica Lemmon has scored a home run with this light, modern romance at the work place and two best friends trying to accomplish the old friends-to-lovers change.  Jacqueline thinks the world of Vince and thinks he is one of the best and most compassionate men she's ever known.  Gradually, Jacqueline comes to the knowledge that Vince could even be a possibility for a relationship, especially after a bone melting kiss.  Vince just considered Jacqueline a great friend with compassion, until he sees her drooling over the runner, JT.  Vince knows JT isn't good enough for Jacqueline, but then he realizes that he would definitely be better for Jacqueline.

Secondary characters are JT the runner, Kayla, Jacqueline's friend, and Davis, Vince's friend.  Friends who encourage them to move on with their lives after their divorces, and Vince and Jacqueline at first just can't make the effort to risk heartache again.

EYE CANDY is an enjoyable and amusing story of two modern day singles thinking about joining the dating life again.  They have helped each other through their sorrows, and helped them survive the bad days for many months.  Can the transition to lovers be successful, with the pain and paranoia left over from their previous lives?  Jacqueline and Vince are two characters with a good history of connection between them, can they go forward into love with each other?  The second in the Real Love series will feature Davis and Grace, the bartender at their favorite bar.  EYE CANDY is a spectacularly fun and entertaining story you won't want to miss this month!

Carolyn Crisher