SINGLE BY SATURDAY is the fourth book in Catherine Bybee's Weekday Brides series and IMHO the best of them all. Which is saying a lot because I have loved every one of them.
This is the story of Karen Jones, who we met briefly in the very first book, Wife by Wednesday, as the director of the care home where Samantha's sister, Jordan was staying. She is also one of the Alliance clients Sam suggested to Blake when he needed a wife. Her role in each subsequent book has increased as her friendship (and eventually working relationship) with Sam, Eliza and Gwen has grown. When the gorgeous superstar action hero Michael (Gardner) Wolfe needed a wife of convenience to protect his status in Hollywood Gwen suggested Karen. She and Michael hit it off, easily came to a mutual understanding with temporary terms, were married, and became the best of friends while they waited until the agreed upon time for their friendly divorce.
I loved Michael! He was kind, thoughtful, caring and a wonderful husband to Karen in many ways. It was obvious in everything he did that he had come to love her very much... as a best friend, nearly as a sister. He treated her like a queen and helped her support the causes that were important to her. She in turn helped him with the Hollywood facade he wanted to present. The one of a successful actor with a beautiful and loving woman at his side supporting him.
Because they both understood their marriage was only temporary they chose not to involve others so no one would be hurt by their split. Including Michael's family. However, he comes from a large and close-knit family so this doesn't sit well with them. They send Michael's older brother, Zach, to investigate Karen and their marriage and then bring them back to Utah so they can all meet her. Unlike with Michael, Karen feels an immediate and overwhelming attraction to his brother, which he feels in return. And so the fun begins!! They all head back to Utah where we meet the rest of the delightful Gardner clan and, of course, they all love Karen. This brings on the guilt feelings for Michael and Karen knowing they will soon split. With the whole family in such tight quarters Zach and Karen are repeatedly thrown together and have to fight their attraction, but it's easy to see they are falling in love despite themselves.
As with all of Ms. Bybee's books, the characters in SbS feel real and down-to-earth, are distinct with well-developed personalities, will sometimes have you laughing out loud at their antics and banter, and other times will frustrate you as only someone you care about can. Because that is one of the things that make Bybee such a great writer, she makes you really care about her characters and their story. I find myself emotionally right in the middle of it all and hanging on every word to see how things could possibly work out for everyone. But she does it. Every. Single. Time. I won't even try to explain the wonder of how she works through her plots and subplots hooking you chapter by chapter with her typical wit, and just enough intrigue and danger to keep you guessing. But I will say I loved Michael, Karen, and Zach regardless of their crazy love triangle and was thrilled with the outcome and ending.