Have you ever read a book and wondered what made you pick it up in the first place? I chose Just a Little White Lie to review but by the end of the first chapter, I was already regretting my choice although the story did improve after the overwrought, melodramatic beginning.

Talk about one hell of a wedding day. Heiress Lucinda Darling finds her fiancé, Donald Kimball, and his ex-girlfriend going at it in the church right before their ceremony. Years of conditioning and reinforcing that Darlings don’t make exhibitions immediately cease to exist as she confronts him on the steps of the church. Of course, it is no surprise that her father defends Donald. He has his own issues with fidelity and marriage as indicated by his fourth marriage to a woman named Peaches, three years younger than Lucinda, and he has always wanted a son. Finding out that her father had to promise Donald a share of the business to complete the marriage deal is like pouring salt on her open wounds. With escape her only thought, she jumps into her Porsche Carrera and starts driving. It doesn’t matter where she goes as long as she gets away from this fiasco.

Jake Parker is returning home to Pride, Georgia with a heavy heart. Not only is his beloved grandmother Hattie ill, but her dying wish is to see him safely married with a great grandbaby on the way. There is no doubt that he would do anything for her, but marriage? If only he had a plan because he knows that the minute he shows up in town, his ex-girlfriend will be on him like white on rice. Then he sees a gorgeous redhead pulled over on the shoulder, kicking the tires of her sports car. She is even dressed in a wedding gown. Talk about an answer to his prayers.

Lucinda eyes Jake with a healthy dose of trepidation since both her car and her cell phone are dead. However, Jake seems trustworthy. Since the tow truck is out on another call, when he offers to take her to the nearest town, she agrees. If he had a car she probably would have said no, but his motorcycle seems safe and open somehow. Of course a crystal-sequined strapless designer dress is not the best thing to be wearing while riding a bike. But that is easily taken care of. When a stranger at the rest-area confides that she would love a dress like that to marry her soldier boyfriend, Lucinda takes the dress off and gives it to her.

When they reach Charity, Georgia, they discover that the town is overrun with tourist for the Peach Festival weekend, leaving only one room available. Lucinda is ready to walk, but Jake convinces her to let him take care of her. After spending a miserable night being a gentleman, with Lucinda wrapped around him like Saran Wrap, Jake reaches the conclusion that Lucinda has no idea that her father’s business practices are sucking the lifeblood out of the shrimpers and fisherman in the Gulf region.

At breakfast the morning, Jake tells her he has a proposition for her and asks that she pretend to be engaged for his grandmother’s sake. Having just gotten rid of one fiancé acquiring another is not high on her priority list, so she refuses. But Jake pulls out the big guns, showing her a picture of Hattie. Reluctantly Lucinda agrees, since it only supposed to be a couple of days.

I am sure that I don’t have to tell you the rest of the story since most of us have read this type of scenario before. While the story incorporates competent writing, the hero and heroine are admirable. and there are plenty of unconventional down-home characters, there is nothing that makes this book stand out from the crowd. It seems like a list of popular plot devices with cad ex- boyfriend, gorgeous heroine and hero, story twist to throw the heroine and hero together, and town with only one hotel room. Check, check, check, and check.

This book is missing that comedic timing that makes the characters seem larger than life or the dialogue that makes you laugh or cry. With no surprises, no unique characters or plot devices, this isn’t a book I recommend, especially since other writers have been able make this story uniquely theirs.