Child prodigy and piano virtuoso Claire Keyes drops
everything on her schedule to return home to Seattle to
care for her fraternal twin, Nicole, after a phone call
from her younger sister, Jesse. Jesse insists that Nicole
wants Claire to help out at home with her recovery from
gall bladder surgery, and at the family bakery. Because of
her musical gift, Claire was taken from the family twenty-
two years ago, when she was six, to be trained in classical
music. Her sisters never truly understood that Claire was
not the rich, traveled, cosseted princess they envisioned
her to be, but a sad woman with no life of her own and no
family. Having her sisters actually want to see her is
huge, and there is nothing that is going to keep her away.
It seems that Nicole was unaware of Claire coming to help
out, and in no uncertain terms she tells her twin to get
lost. Claire digs in her heels and defies her sister, and
it's a poignant -- and humorous -- game they begin playing.
The fact that Claire does not know how to do anything, and
I mean any-thing, other than play the piano doesn't help,
and she truly is more of a hindrance than help. However,
she is willing to learn and teaches herself a lot. There
are a lot of stumbling blocks in her way including Nicole's
soon-to-be ex-brother-in-law, Wyatt, who only knows
Nicole's version of Claire. Wyatt has a precious eight-
year-old daughter, Amy, who is deaf. Nicole helps him out
with day-care for Amy, and now he is forced to ask Claire.
There is an instant loving bond between her and this
wonderful child.
Wyatt's wife abandoned her family when it became apparent
their baby was deaf. Even though he was not madly in love
with his wife -- and only married her because she was
pregnant -- her treachery taught him not to get too involved
with any woman. When the animosity between Wyatt and
Claire dissolves and they give in to the sizzling sexual
pull between them, Claire falls madly in love. Wyatt had
warned her not to expect anything but a fling with him, but
this determined woman throws all caution to the wind and
goes after Wyatt full-steam-ahead!
SWEET TALK is one of those stories you don't want to end.
It has plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and just the right
amount of lump-in-your-throat moments. The characters are
all terrific, and the fast-paced, well-balanced storyline
zips along. This romantic comedy embraces family loyalty
and betrayal, and lots of love and laughter. This is the
first of the Bakery Sisters trilogy, and will be a hard act
to follow.
Is there anything sweeter than a first love?
Don't ask Claire Keyes. The twenty-eight-year-old piano
pridigy has never had a regular boyfriend, much less a real
romance. Her music career has left little room for friends
or family--which is just part of the reason sh'e estranged
from her two sisters.
But now Nicole is sick, and Jesse is AWOL. Despite the fact
that Claire can't boil water, she's determined to play
caretaker. Connecting with her sisters tops her to-do
list... along with falling in love, or at least in lust, for
the first time.
Ambitious? Maybe. But a girl's gotta dream. And ruggedly
sexy Wyatt is a dream come true. Although he keeps telling
himself that he and Claire come from entirely different
worlds, he lights up hotter than a bakery oven whenever
Claire is near. If this keeps up, she just might sweet-talk
him into her bed... and her life.