Book excerpt: Odessa has been in love with Steven for years, ever since she first met him when she was seven, and he was nineteen. But Steven has been best friends with her sister since they were in high school, and even though she's now twenty-three to his thirty-five, Odessa feels like Steven doesn't realize she's grown into a woman. She's wrong of course. After his grandfather died, Steven felt like the only family he has is Sherise and Odessa, and he doesn't want to screw that up for a night in the bed with Odessa. Still, he can't stop wanting her. She's grown into a desirable woman, one who is so beautiful that men are always after her, making Steven want choke every last one. Not until they are thrown together on a beach for their summer vacation are the two able to explore the desire they have for one another, but what's going to happen when the vacation is over, when their lives take separate directions? Will Steven admit that there is more than lust between them, or will he lose the thing he has been trying so hard to hold onto all along? ** interracial romance, multicultural romance, ir, contemporary romance, firefighter