Review: Cute story, but problematic for this reviewer
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 31, 2011
WARNING: Spoiler alert!Carina Fiore has lived in Fool's Gold all her life. Working as a pet groomer for veterinarian Cameron McKenzie, Rina has become obsessed with the single father and his adorable eight-year-old daughter. She longs to tell Cameron she's in love with him but hesitates until spurred on by her friend Beth.Cameron is happy with his life. He loves his practice, is devoted to his daughter and counts himself lucky to have a good friend in Rina. Not only does she work with him, she also helps get his daughter dressed for school and cooks dinner for them. Even though he has fleeting moments when he'd like to be more than a friend, he isn't about to spoil the relationship he has. After all, his experience with loving a woman resulted in that woman walking out on him and his newborn daughter.But when Rina declares her feelings, Cameron is blind sided. He cannot risk losing her so he says he wants only friendship. That's not enough for Rina and she begins the painful process of moving on.I wanted to like this story more than I did. Ms. Mallery is a wonderful writer and I've loved other Fool's Gold stories, however, I couldn't buy Cameron's excuse for keeping Rina at arm's length, and I bought even less his abrupt change of heart. Only Us is a charming story with likable characters (even Cameron, despite my desire to hit him over the head to knock some sense into him). The pacing is great for a novella and Mallery's skills are evident. I just couldn't accept the "I only want a friend...no, wait, I love her" ending.