She leaned over to grab one side of the eight-foot-long banner that was supposed to say Merry Christmas, Twilight giving him a straight-shot view down the front of her sweater. She waited for him to pick up the other half. His eyes bugged. Joel stopped in his tracks, gaze fixed on Jana’s cleavage. His pulse jumped right off a cliff. Last night, this gorgeous creature was in my bed. “Joel?” “Huh?” “You gonna stand there all day with your mouth hanging open?” He shut his jaw, picked up the other end of the banner and followed her outside to drape it from the railing of the upper deck. “Before we anchor the banner securely, let’s make sure it’s even,” she said and hit the stairs for the lower deck so they could stand back and examine their handiwork. He followed her, hunching his shoulders against the cold air blowing off the water. Jana cleared the stairs ahead of him, turned and stared owl-eyed at the message on the unfurled banner above them. She gasped. “What’s this?” He stared up. The banner read Will You Marry Me? Seeing the words spelled out in red letters across the boat yanked the breath…

As a woman, I sometimes feel like I’m too critical of female protagonists. Tess Greene, the heroine in DISASTER GIRL by Michelle Dayton, is realistically flawed, but I admire her determination, intelligence, and her mix of toughness and plenty of heart. It’s something the hero in this story admires too, and why he ends up falling for her. Tess had a somewhat chaotic childhood, constantly doing damage control. As a result, that became kind of what she does for a career. This story involves revenge porn, and Tess collaborates with potential employee and tech geek she’s hopelessly attracted to, Max Hampshire, to bring down the sleezebag behind it all. I like characters who are multifaceted, and Tess qualifies for sure. She’s not the stereotypical cold-hearted businesswoman. She’s had some life experiences that have made her more guarded, but she cares about a lot of people and is fiercely loyal. Since the story is told strictly from Tess’s perspective, you naturally sympathize with her, and you relate to her insecurity about Max’s feelings for her. The chemistry between Tess and Max is phenomenal and the witty banter makes the steamy scenes even better when they eventually happen. I have fallen down…