Product Description

Jesse Keyes has done some serious growing up. With a steady job and a vibrant four-year-old son, Gabe, she's in a far better place than when she left Seattle five years ago…pregnant and misunderstood by almost everyone in her life.

Now it's time to go home and face her demons. But her sisters, Claire and Nicole, aren't exactly impressed with the new and improved Jesse. And then there's Matt, Gabe's father, who makes it clear that he never wants to see her again despite the lust that still smolders between them.

Jesse doesn't know if she can make up for all the mistakes of her past. But the promise of sweet nights with Matt might just give her the extra incentive she needs to make it worth the trouble.…

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17553 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 384 pages

From Publishers Weekly
This sticky-sweet conclusion to the Bakery Sisters trilogy (after 2008's Sweet Spot) wraps up the story of Jesse Keyes, the younger sister of fraternal twins Claire, a celebrated pianist, and Nicole, a Seattle baker. Jesse returns to Seattle five years after her self-imposed exile, bringing her four-year-old son, Gabe. Jesse knows Gabe's father is her ex-boyfriend, Matt, but both Matt and Nicole think Jesse had an affair with Nicole's then-husband. Matt acknowledges his son after a DNA test, but as Jesse yearns for him (inexplicably, given his curt mannerisms and reprehensible behavior), he's secretly planning to hurt her by getting custody of Gabe. Nicole and Jesse squabble over the past, but when tragedy strikes, the sisters must pull together and Matt must make a decision. Mallery provides the standard mix of romantic angst and sibling melodrama, leading to a heartfelt if predictable ending. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author
Susan Mallery is the New York Times bestselling author of more than eighty romance novels, including her acclaimed Marcelli series, her Buchanan family series, and most recently, her first foray into women's fiction, Sunset Bay. The winner of the National Readers Choice Award, she has a Masters degree in Writing Popular Fiction. Susan makes her home in Washington with her husband and an assortment of pets. Visit her website at www.SusanMallery.com.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
"They're calling you a ruthless bastard," Diane said as she scanned the article in the business magazine. "You must be happy."

Matthew Fenner looked at his secretary, but didn't speak. Eventually she glanced up and smiled.

"You like being called a ruthless bastard," she reminded him.

"I like respect," he corrected.

"Or fear."

He nodded. "Fear works."

Diana dropped the open magazine on his desk. "Don't you ever want someone to think you're nice?" she asked.

"No."

Being the nice guy meant getting screwed. He'd learned that a long time ago. He picked up one of the messages by his phone. Ironically, the woman who had taught him every aspect of that lesson had just called.

His secretary sighed. "I worry about you."

"You're wasting your time."

"Don't panic. I only do it on my off hours."

He scowled at his fifty-something assistant, but she ignored him. While he would never admit it, the fact that he didn't intimidate her was one of the reasons she'd lasted so long. Although he had a reputation for being the kind of businessman who left his competition bleeding on the side of the road, he didn't enjoy watching his staff cower. At least not all the time.

"Did you have anything else?" he asked, then looked pointedly at the door.

She rose. "Jesse called again. That makes three calls in three days. Are you calling her back?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes. If you're going to continue to ignore her, I'd like to just tell her and put her out of her misery." Diane frowned. "You're usually more clear with your BGFs. They rarely phone after you dump them."

"I've asked you not to call them that."

Diane blinked innocently. "Have you? I'm sorry. I keep forgetting."

She was lying, but he didn't call her on it. Referring to the women he dated as BGFs—short for bimbo girlfriends—was her way of showing disapproval. She complained his women were interchangeable—like fashion dolls. All physically similar, unnaturally beautiful and lacking in heart and brains. She wasn't wrong.

What Diane couldn't bring herself to believe was that he dated them on purpose. He wasn't looking for more.

"She's someone I used to know," he said, then wished he hadn't. Diane didn't need the information. That part of his life had ended a long time ago.

"Really? Does she actually have a personality, or—" she waved her hands in front of her face as if to keep from fainting "—a brain? Now that you mention it, she sounded almost normal."

"I didn't mention it."

"Hmm. I'm sure you did. So tell me about your mysterious past with this woman."

"You can leave now."

"Why is she back in Seattle? Is she nice? Would I like her? Do you like her?"

He pointed at the door.

Diane walked across his office. "So you're saying the next time she calls to put her through, right?"

He ignored her and she left.

Matt rose, then crossed to the window. His office was at the top of an Eastside high-rise with an impressive view. His business life defined every aspect of success. He'd made it. He had everything he wanted and more—money, power, respect and no one to answer to.

Slowly, deliberately, he crumpled the note with the message from Jesse and tossed it into the trash.

Despite the promises of several famous poets and a couple of tear-jerker country songs, Jesse Keyes discovered it was possible to go home again, which was just her bad luck. Not that she could blame anyone for her current circumstances—she'd decided to return to Seattle all on her own. Well, okay, maybe she'd had a little help from the cute guy in her life.

She glanced in the rearview mirror and smiled at her four-year-old son.

"Guess what?" she asked.

His dark eyes brightened as he grinned at her. "Are we there yet?"

"We're here!"

Gabe clapped his hands. "I like here."

They were in town for the summer or however long it took to get her past in order and her future set. Give or take a week.

Jesse put the car in Park, then got out and opened the rear passenger seat. She unbuckled Gabe from his car seat and helped him out of the car. He stood next to her and stared at the four-story building.

"We're staying here?" he asked, his voice low with awe. "Really?"

The extended-stay hotel was modest at best—a local place. Jesse didn't have the money for one of those fancy national chains. But the room came with a kitchen and the online reviews had said it was clean, which is what mattered to her. Once she had an idea of how long they were staying, she would look into renting a furnished apartment in the University District. It was summer, which meant empty rooms while the students were away and cheap rent.

But to Gabe, who'd never been in a hotel in his life, their temporary shelter was exciting and new.

"Really," she said, taking his hand. "Want me to get a room on the top floor?"

His eyes widened. "Can we?" he breathed.

It would mean more stairs for her, but she would feel safer up top. "That's what I asked for."

"Cool!"

His new favorite word. He'd picked it up at day care. It was about the four-hundredth time that day she'd heard it and it was starting to get on her nerves. Then she reminded herself that "cool" was a whole lot better than some other words he could have learned.

Thirty minutes later they were testing the bounce in the two double beds as Gabe tried to decide which one he wanted. She unpacked the single suitcase she'd carried up the three flights of stairs. She really had to think about starting to work out again. Her heart was still racing from the climb.

"We're going out for dinner," she said. "How about spaghetti?"

Gabe flung himself at her, wrapping both his arms around her thighs and squeezing as hard as he could. She stroked his soft brown hair.

"Thank you, Mommy," he whispered.

Because eating his favorite food in a restaurant was a rare treat.

Jesse wondered if she should feel guilty for not cooking her first night in Seattle, then decided she would beat herself up later. Right now she was tired. It had been a five-hour drive from Spokane, and she'd worked well past midnight the previous evening, wanting to earn every last tip she could. Money was going to be tight while she was in Seattle.

"You're welcome." She dropped to her knees so she was at eye level with him. "I think you'll really like this place. It's called the Old Spaghetti Factory." A perfect, kid-friendly restaurant. No one would care if Gabe made a mess and she could have a glass of wine and pretend that everything was all right.

"Do I meet my daddy tomorrow?"

Jesse's heart raced again and this time it had nothing to do with taking the stairs. "Probably not tomorrow, but soon."

Gabe bit his lower lip. "I love my daddy."

"I know you do."

Or at least the idea of having a father. Her son was the reason she'd decided to face all the ghosts in her past and come home. He'd started asking questions about his father a year ago. Why didn't he have a daddy? Where was his daddy? Why didn't his daddy want to be with him?

Jesse had debated lying, simply saying that Matt was dead. But five years ago, when she'd left Seattle, she'd vowed to live her life differently. No more lies. No more screwing up. She'd worked hard to grow up, to make a life she was proud of, to raise a son on her own, to be honest, no matter what.

Which meant telling Gabe the truth. That Matt didn't know about him, but maybe it was time to change that.

She didn't allow herself to think about meeting Matt. She couldn't. Not and keep breathing. So for now, there was only her son smiling at her and the love she felt for him. The rest would take care of itself. At least she hoped it would.

Because it wasn't just Matt she had to face. There was Claire, the older sister she'd never really known, and Nicole, the older sister who probably still hated her guts. Talk about a homecoming.

But she would deal with that tomorrow. Tonight there was the promise of spaghetti, then a rousing evening of cartoons and quality time with the best part of her life.

"Are you ready?" she asked as she grabbed her purse, then held out her arms to pick up Gabe.

He jumped into her embrace—loving and trusting—as if she would never hurt him, never let him down. Because she never would—no matter what. At least she'd gotten that part right.

Jesse checked the address on the piece of paper, then glanced at the portable nav system Bill had let her borrow. They matched.

"Someone's been moving on up," she murmured, taking in the long driveway that led to a house on the lake in the very chichi part of Kirkland.

There was a security gate for the property, but it was open. She was grateful she didn't have to explain her presence to whatever staff might be at the house. Not that she could imagine Matt with staff. They would get on his nerves. At least they would have five years ago. No doubt he'd changed. The man she remembered would never have lived in a massive, sprawling estate with a bronze sculpture on the lawn.

She raised her eyebrows at the confounding piece of modern art, then drove past it. She parked near the wide double doors, behind a BMW convertible. As she climbed out, she tried not to think about how shabby her ten-year-old Subaru looked in comparison. Still, her car was dependable and the all-wheel drive meant safer driving in the Spokane snow.

She patted the dashboard in a silent apology for noticing how pretty the BMW looked gleaming in the sunlight, then grabbed her purse and climbed out. Before heading up the stairs to the front door of the huge house, she checked to make sure her most recent pictures of Gabe were in the front pocket of her purse. She had a feeling that seeing Matt was going to make her nervous. She didn't want to have to search for the photos.

The front door seemed to soar to the sky. She would guess it was maybe fifteen or twenty feet high and solid wood. Visigoths would have trouble breaking into this house. She swallowed against the sudden tightness in her body, reminded herself to keep breathing no matter what, then pressed the bell.

Some...

Customer Reviews

Sweet end to the Bakery Sisters series
Jesse Keyes is the ne'er do well sister who left town pregnant under a cloud of suspicion after failing to get her family and boyfriend to believe her when she was suspected of sleeping with her brother in law. It's five years later and little Gabe has been asking about his father, so she decides it's time to return to Seattle to heal old wounds with her sister and with Matt. Only Matt is just as excited now as he was five years ago and suspects Jesse's true motivation is his vast fortune. But one look at Gabe and he sees the resemblance. Rather than blaming himself for not believing her, he instead decides to destroy her, by making her fall for him all over and then getting full custody of Gabe. But when his feelings start to change, he is not sure if he wants his heart ruled by passion or revenge. Her attempts at reconciling with older sister Nicole are met with trepidation at first, particularly when Nicole discovers that Jesse is so grounded - enough so that she wants back into the bakery to prove herself. Armed with a recipe of to die for brownies, she tries to revamp the bakery, despite Nicole's misgivings.

Mallery's final installment in the Bakery sisters trilogy is an interesting story, and would easily be my favorite if it weren't for one thing - the constant flashbacks. I would have preferred a prologue that contained all this material then the jump five years later. All it does it confuse the flow of the story. The character of Matt is kind of a jerk. Jesse really should have made him squirm a bit more. And Nicole, who was so nasty in the first two books has grown and is finally a mother, but still is somewhat bitter, making her still a character you wouldn't want as a friend. But Mallery ends the series on a high note - despite the flaws, it is a sweet and uplifting story, and little Gabe will steal readers hearts.

© Tracy Vest, September 2008

Great final of the "Sweet" series
I normally love Susan Mallerys series and don't worry the new "Sweet" series is another favourite of mine.
Book 3 in the series is called "Sweet Trouble" and is about Jesse finally coming back after she left Seatlle pregnant 5 years ago because of trouble with her sister Nicole and her boyfriend Matt.
But she's not coming home alone, with her is her adorable little boy Gabe who's actually the reason for her return because he wants to meet his father Matt.
Ok, Jesse was kind of a bad girl in the first two books, "Sweet talk" and "Sweet spot", but even more was she a young woman not too sure about herself and her surroundings and on the search to find her place. Ok, she made some stupid mistakes but when reading the book you understand why she did them.
Actually Jesse is my favourite sister because she is so human and managed to make the best out of her situation. She is a great mother to Gabe, way more self-confident than she was 5 years ago and finally ready to be a full member of the bakery.
Matt is still bitter because he thinks Jesse cheated on him and he manages to stay bitter through nearly the whole book (dumb, but hey he's a man, what do you expect). He nearly destroys his chance of a Happy Ending with Jesse and Matt but thankfully he comes to his senses before its too late.
At the end it's up to Jesse to decide if she trusts the new/old Matt and especially herself to take a another chance with him.
All in all I loved this book and can recommend the "Sweet" series to anyone who loves romances and a little sister interaction.
Next up is the "Lone Star Series" and I'm sure Susan Mallery produced another hit with this.
Enjoy.
S.M.

4.5 Bookmarks from Wild on Books!
Some say you can't ever go home again. That might be true but bad girl turned single mom Jesse Keyes is going to test that theory.
Jesse Keyes left Seattle years ago with her tail tucked between her legs. The sister she lived with hated her and the man she was in love with, Matthew Fenner, didn't want anything to do with her. He didn't even care that she was pregnant with his baby. Of course, at the time he didn't actually believe that the baby was his, despite Jesse's protestations to the contrary. Now, years later, Jesse has come back home to the town in which she grew up in order to put to rest some ghosts of her past and possibly make new memories.

Jesse has spent the last five years of her life working to overcome her reputation and be a mom to Gabriel. Gabe has been asking questions about his father and because of this, Jesse decides to return to Seattle so that her son might know his father. She knows that her return will be tough but she doesn't count on the animosity she encounters. Her sister still hasn't forgiven her for sleeping with her now ex-brother-in-law which is funny since Jesse didn't sleep with him. Meeting Matt after so long takes a toll on Jesse's psyche as well, he is livid she has kept his son from him and with his anger comes action. The plan? Matt intends to make Jesse pay dearly for not telling him about his son.

I anticipated SWEET TROUBLE like no other after having read SWEET SPOT. Since Susan Mallery wrote SWEET TROUBLE, I knew I would be in for an emotional roller coaster ride. There is a thin line between love and hate because more than once I found myself hating Matt Fenner. I became angry at him for being unrealistic and hateful to Jesse, notwithstanding the fact that she did not tell him that he had a son. Then, he would do something so sweet for Jesse that I would love him again. Jesse's character was so realistically written she could be anyone who ever made mistakes and tried to pick up the pieces of their life and succeed. The romance and sexual tension between Matt and Jesse was oftentimes heady and explosive. I wanted so much for Matt to love Jesse like she deserved and while he did, finally, I got teary-eyed more than once at the emotion turmoil both characters faced.

Susan Mallery never fails to deliver a highly poignant and ultimately satisfying read. Immersing myself in SWEET TROUBLE for an entire afternoon, I hated to see Matt and Jesse's story come to an end. As with every book she has ever written, Susan Mallery's SWEET TROUBLE is definitely a keeper! ***Natalie S. for Wild on Books***