Another great story by Lynn Kurland. Samantha has come to England for the summer to housesit for friends of her brother. When she is asked to run an errand for one of them she doesn't expect to be caught in the middle of a search for stolen goods. Derrick's job is to find the piece of stolen lace and get it back to its rightful owner. He doesn't expect to be intrigued by the woman he thinks is the thief and then fall for her too.

I really liked both Samantha and Derrick. Samantha is the youngest of the family and has been stuck in her life with her parents. They are both pretty controlling, especially her mother, and Samantha longs to break free. When she is offered the chance to housesit in England she leaps at the chance, planning to squeeze in as much living as she can before going home. Shortly after her arrival in England her boss asks her to deliver a package to London. On the trip she is followed and while trying to escape briefly ends up in Elizabethan England, though she doesn't realize it at the time. She is rescued by Derrick, who thinks she is one of the thieves. She is attracted to him but doesn't trust him at first. When she hears his time travel story she thinks he is nuts, but goes along with him because he seems more trustworthy than her other options. She finds herself caught up in the chase for the lace, then trying to figure out why someone is still after her. I loved seeing Samantha bloom now that she is out from under her parents' thumbs. She is pretty naive at the beginning, not expecting the trouble that comes her way. She is basically a nice person so doesn't get into making scenes when weird things start happening to her. I loved her interactions with Derrick right from the beginning. While she is naive she isn't stupid and her questions and statements to Derrick show that. She doubts his sanity at the beginning when he talks about the time travel, but soon becomes a believer. As she deals with these events she begins to grow as a person and soon learns to stand up for herself and her own needs and wants. She also begins to care for Derrick and gets closer to him as she nurses him after he is wounded helping her. I loved seeing her care about him in ways that no one else has and the way that it aids in her own maturity. I loved the ending and seeing her really become the woman she was meant to be.

Derrick was a bit obnoxious at first but quickly turned around. He has been doing a lot of time travel over the last year as he goes on adventures with Jamie, but also works at his business of retrieving stole goods. He's feeling a bit jaded at the start of this one and doesn't so his usual research and as a result doesn't realize that Samantha isn't the thief but just an unknowing courier. He begins to think that some things just aren't adding up as he saves and then confronts Samantha. Once he understands the truth he gets Samantha to join forces with him to recover and return the lace. The more time they spend together, the more she gets under his skin. He doesn't want to be attracted to her or like her that much but he can't help it. I loved the way that he watches out for her after the lace recovery and discovers that she's still in danger. I also loved the way that he helped her gain confidence during their time together and didn't try to control her the way her parents did. I especially loved the ending when he gave her the gift of the experiences she had missed out on. I also loved learning more about Derrick and his secrets and the way they influenced his life. I really enjoyed seeing him thumb his nose at his brother. I loved the interactions with various members of his family and how they all were there for each other even while trading insults.

I really liked the appearances of the ghosts and characters from earlier books such at Robert and Sunny. I loved Derrick's coworkers, Oliver, Rufus and Peter and how totally unflappable they seemed to be. The romance itself was sweet and gentle and perfect for Derrick and Samantha. I'm looking forward to seeing who gets the next story. ( )

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