A Bad Boy for Christmas

Lemmon’s sexy and well-constructed third Second Chance romance (after Rescuing the Bad Boy), set in the small town of Evergreen Cove, Ohio, uses a nice reversal: the man (who is not at all a bad boy) wants marriage and the woman is commitment-shy. Faith Garrett swore off romance after her fiancé cheated on her. So no matter how attractive Conner McClain is, she insists that they limit themselves to flirting. But as Christmas moves closer, she’s drawn to the scarred military veteran, who has relationship demons of his own. Their interplay works well, as jokes lead to kisses and then to sex scenes that are steamy but not raunchy. Though the Christmas theme takes a little while to show up, it plays an important role, and the story peaks with a dramatic snowed-in Christmas encounter. Likable and realistic characters with believable emotions, and the right balance of fantasy fulfillment, make for some good holiday heat. Agent: Nicole Resciniti, Seymour Agency. (Oct.)