cover image Always--

Always--

Jeane Renick. HarperCollins Publishers, $4.99 (373pp) ISBN 978-0-06-108141-5

This banal romance between a gorgeous actor and a woman who desperately wants a child unintentionally makes an interesting study in simplistic morality. After meeting her at a political fund-raiser, thespian hunk Thomas Saxon is so impressed by the candor and ``generous bustline'' of paralegal Marielle McCleary that he invites her for an evening of strawberries, creme fraiche and hot sex. Since Marielle has been scheming to conceive a child (without telling the prospective father), she has added incentive to accept Thomas's invitation. Marielle, who balks at being the other woman for more than a weekend, tells Thomas that if he wants more fun, he'll have to dump his significant other, ambitious actress Alissa Bellemy--and that's easier said than done. Further complicating Marielle's existence is an African tribe seeking restitution of some gold artifacts stolen from them and left to Marielle by English relatives. Britain's Inland Revenue claims almost 80% of the treasure and then the IRS gets to pick the bones, making it easy for Marielle to contemplate doing the right thing--just as well, as she's not equipped to handle tough moral decisions. Renick wrote Trust Me. (June)