Cherish This Moment by Sandra Canfield (HQN Superromance, 5/86)

Senator Cole Damon isn’t a cop or a pilot or a Navy S.E.A.L. His life isn’t in physical danger, and neither is the heroine’s. Until he meets the heroine, his biggest concern is keeping his job. Nonetheless, he’s an irresistible chief.

STATS: A divorced Congressman with only one goal in mind—being reelected Senator—until he meets a woman he can’t resist.

THE LOOK:

Handsome—a “handsomeness qualified by too square a chin and altogether too prominent cheekbones, but a handsomeness underscored by a perfect nose, a pair of friendly, sensual lips and laugh lines carelessly left behind by the years. Jet-black hair, angled back in a short, casual, no-fuss style, framed his face, and his eyes pierced life with a sharp yet sensitive awareness.”

LEADING LADY:

Tracy Kent, a reporter who fights her attraction to Cole, first because she’s afraid of it, and then because she doesn’t want her past to compromise Cole’s political career.

What makes Cole so irresistible?

His patience and determination to help Tracy Kent overcome her fears so that they can be together. And his aggressive, but always loving sexuality once he has her.

“Cole stopped her with a tender ‘Shhh.’ He held her hand, while with his other palm he caressed her cheek, smoothing the pad of his thumb against her lips as he stared into her wide, uncertain, even frightened eyes. ‘Whatever you’re running from,’ he whispered, ‘run to me.” “Sigh.” (That last word was me.)

The life philosophy he tries to teach Tracy:

“I don’t have a future, you don’t have a future, none of us do. You can’t live for tomorrow because it always shows up in the form of a today. What’s going to happen will happen…I’m not offering you tomorrow. It’s not mine to offer. What I’m offering you is today. Every today I have for the rest of my life.”

BOTTOM LINE:

Sandra Canfield (AKA Karen Keast) is one of my favorite authors. I was so saddened when I learned she’d passed away. Her stories aren’t fancy—but they are so richly characterized and beautifully written. This book was an introductory copy for the Harlequin Superromance line, so it’s hard to find, but if you can find it, don’t pass it by. Cole’s and Tracy’s relationship imitates a roller coaster ride in this novel, sheer moments of happiness interrupted by one roadblock after another. Cole cries more than once in this book, but it in no way dispels from his manliness. To the contrary, he’s the perfect blend of emotion and take-charge gutsiness. He handles those who would interfere with his personal life with calm and swift finality. Yet, he has the ability to be compassionate with others—even those who have hurt him. His greatest quality? He doesn’t stop until he wins the one thing he wants most in the world—Tracy.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:

Do you think crying is a sign of weakness or sensitivity in a man?