Chartreuse, Louisiana - Present Day

A highly successful butler, Emma Jamison's life is turned upside-down when she is assigned to organize the mansion of a wealthy client to host the resident. Though she never gets to meet President Ferguson, Emma is shocked to overhear his upstairs peccadillo with a woman who is not his wife. As she is preparing to leave for the evening, a wardrobe malfunction finds her in the bathroom trying to repair her dress when the Secret Service begins shouting. Wrapping her dress around herself as she is hustled out of the front door while learning the President has had a heart attack, Emma realizes that the media are present and snapping pictures of the entire event. Suddenly, the conscientious and low-key Emma is known worldwide as the woman who shagged the president to death. She tries in vain to clear her name, losing her business and savings in the process. The Secret Service refuses to help or even comment on the president's private life or death, and when a video of the act itself pops up on the internet showing only the back of woman who resembles her, Emma throws in the towel. She winds up in tiny Chartreuse, Louisiana to be near her grandmother and try to put her life back together.

Emma is able to secure a job as the head of housekeeping at the retirement home her grandmother has just entered. She is living in the wonderful home that her grandmother deeded to her and trying to make life happy and normal for herself. But small town's aren't immune from the media and Emma suffers everything from cold-shoulders to outright vindictiveness. When she is rescued from one such incident by Max Duval, she hopes that maybe there is hope for her. The problem is Max doesn't believe her any more than the rest of the world, and all the chemistry sparking between them means nothing if he won't have faith in her. When their paths keep crossing however and Max does get to know Emma better, he readjusts his evaluation of the situation. He is running for District Attorney and the election campaign is heating up, but Max finds his thoughts focused on only one thing, clearing Emma and making her his. She is determined to stay out of the spotlight, and that means staying away from Max, especially after a journalism student captures them on camera and sells out to a tabloid that wants more dirt on the notorious Emma.

Secondary characters play major roles in the story and include Emma's grandmother Dorothy; Max's grandfather Harold; Max's opponent, Dirk Briggs; Emma's new friend, Katie; the resident's of Sunnyside Retirement Villa; and journalism student Louis Ashton. A corresponding romance between Dorothy and Harold sparks both laughter and trouble with the aid of the eccentric Sunnyside residents. The damage that can be caused by an overzealous media is played out well, and Louis is used by the slimy Dirk to nasty perfection. Katie is militant in her defense of Emma and uses both wily ways and her knowledge of the town to force people to accept and appreciate her.

BETWEEN THE SHEETS is romantic comedy at its best. Emma is practical and resigned. Weary of the press and the reputation they have stuck her with, she valiantly tries to go on with her life but has given up believing that everything will be normal again. Max is strong-minded and fights for the underdog. He will do everything in his power not just to protect Emma, but to prove her innocence. Laugh-out-loud moments are numerous and lighten the episodes of very public humiliation that Emma suffers. Exceptional storytelling, writing, and characterization make this a page-turning read. The romances are sweet, passionate, believable, and, at times, hilarious. Southern charm infuses the setting and people of Chartreuse and adds the perfect atmosphere to the hijinks. BETWEEN THE SHEETS is a highly recommended tale that will enchant everyone.

Jennell