In It Was Only A Kiss by Joss Wood, Jess Sherwood has made a name for herself in the world of marketing. She runs Jess Sherwood Concepts and is known as the person to go to when businesses are in dire need of a new marketing scheme. She owes her success to hard work, smarts, her family’s support…and to Luke Savage for firing her when she interned at his vineyard. After she stormed into to his office demanding he follow her marketing plan, they shared a crazy hot kiss and he fired her. She now knows she needed that humility to teach her how to present 
her ideas to clients. But she still can’t forget that kiss.
“It was a good thing she was sitting down because seeing him, so tall and strong, cut her legs out from under her. He was all chemistry and potency and lust and pheromones and… Why was he still the only man she’d ever met who had the ability to vacuum every thought from her brain? “
Eight years later she finds herself in a position to again offer her advice by presenting a new marketing campaign to Luke for St Sylve. She can’t imagine there could still be any attraction between them. But boy is she wrong. Jess is thrilled to get the opportunity to work at the vineyard again but has no idea what to do with her feelings for Luke. She’s just getting over a bad break up and is in no shape emotionally to go down that road again. She resists Luke’s invitations, saying they should keep things professional, but they both know that won’t last for long. She finally gives in to their undeniable chemistry and finds they connect in every way she had ever dreamed they could. But as Luke pulls back emotionally from her, she hopes it’s not too late for them to make a life together.
“Luke moved away reluctantly and slumped against the wall next to her. This woman was going to be the death of him. He’d be the first person ever to die of sexual frustration.”
Luke Savage is the owner of St Sylve vineyard in Franschoek, South Africa. It has been in his family for generations and is a place that he both loves and hates. He loves the traditions, the beautiful land and the work, but he hates the memories of his childhood there. His father left St Sylve to him after he passed away but he failed to mention the huge debt that also came with the property. Luke was just finding this out when a young Jess Sherwood barged into his career and told him he was going to lose his business if he didn’t make drastic changes. He was dealing with a new business on the verge of bankruptcy and the end of his marriage at the time. He wasn’t in any mood for an intern to tell him what to do. Even if she was incredibly sexy and obviously very smart. And that kiss was a mistake that he still remembers every second of to this very day.
Luke ends up hearing a marketing pitch from Jess years later and can’t deny how beautiful she is and how much he still wants her. He knows it’s a good business decision to work with her as she has a great reputation in the industry, but he also knows it could be catastrophic on a personal level. He’s had a life long dream of having a family of his own but has given up on it at this stage in his life. So now he’s looking for something casual and knows that Jess-the-control-freak doesn’t do casual. Before he knows it, he’s acting jealous and macho around her and realizes maybe too late that Jess just might be the one to put his life into perspective.
Joss Wood has a writing style that is easy to read and will keep you glued to the pages. I read this pretty much all in one sitting…I had to know if Jess and Luke finally put their rocky pasts behind them and learned to trust again. These characters had both been hurt badly in personal relationships, and in Luke’s case, by his family as well. He could be hard to love sometimes during the story but he has a good heart and more than makes up for his macho ways in the ending! I loved the scenes with Jess’s family at the vineyard and the interaction between everyone. It was humorous, loving and certainly eye-opening for Luke.
I think if you like reading sweet and sexy romance without going too much into all the naughty details, you’ll love this story.
Book Info
Publication Date: April 23, 2013 | Series: Harlequin Kiss (Book 16)