Isabel Beebe wrote to the good-looking young man who went off to enlist when she was fourteen. But he was older than her, and had been engaged to her sister, and he never replied to the kid with the crush on him. Years later she's home from New York for a few months to help her parents sell their wedding dress shop, and Ford Hendrix is back in the town of Fool's Gold as well, every inch the Special Forces soldier. Isabel doesn't know whether to be embarrassed or if Ford will think she's stalking him.

THREE LITTLE WORDS takes up where 'Two of a Kind' left off, in this popular Fool's Gold series. The security firm in town provides corporate team building sessions, local self defence classes and occasional close protection for outside clients, and Ford is a partner. He's also renting the only self-contained apartment going, over Isabel's parents' home. Since Isabel is just through a divorce the two discuss their lives over a barbecue, and resolve matters amicably. Ford has to suffer his bossy mother's trying to marry him off, and there's also the sticky issue of Isabel's sister being happily married to the guy who came between her and Ford. Felicia, who was featured in the previous book, is running town festivals, helpfully telling Isabel about research on the value of an interim relationship. However Isabel just sees a fading wedding dress shop in a small town, and since her parents intend to sell it, she'll be off soon back to open her dream shop, a high fashion store in New York. So there is no point in her starting anything with Ford, as she's not sticking around... but it's just possible that Ford has other ideas.

Interwoven is the story of Consuela, a martial arts specialist, who handles self-defence classes for all ages. However this sensei finds herself intimidated by the college maths teacher's education and normality, neither having been part of her tough upbringing. This strong- minded and talented beauty provides a good counterpoint to all the male returned soldiers in town.

Fans of Susan Mallery will have no trouble jumping in to everyone's life, but there is a natural soap-opera element to a long-running sequence which may make this a little harder for a new reader. Mallery's writing is vivid and friendly in style, much like her town. Her characters come across as very human and each is an individual, from all ages and walks of life. There's also a lot of humour and supportive friendship, making THREE LITTLE WORDS a very enjoyable adult romantic read.