Sweet Southern Bad Boy

In Summers’s charming third Harmony Homecomings contemporary (after Not So New in Town), intrepid film location scout Katie McKnight and stymied military thriller author Vance Kerner meet cute when she approaches him about the possibility of her father’s studio using his North Carolina property. Katie’s job security hinges on her discovering the perfect location for her controlling father. After brief identity confusion during their first encounter, she negotiates an exchange of her child-wrangling skills with Vance’s sister’s kids, who are temporarily in his care, for Vance’s promise to consider the studio’s offer. Vance is struggling with both writer’s block and his continued desire for approval for his work from his own semi-estranged father, a retired Army general. Summers excels at detailing Katie and Vance’s immediate attraction and steamy flirtation, including dubbing each other “Pirate Man” and “California Cupcake.” Detailed interactions with their friends and family help to build them as fully realized characters. (Dec.)