"[Griffin is] a budding name in mainstream African American fiction." --Chicago magazine After her father"s death, Emily Yancy agrees to move back to the dead-end town she grew up in. But she"s dreading every minute she"ll have to spend in her mother"s tiny apartment. After all, she"s a forty-three-year-old divorcée who"s been doing just fine on her own. There are some rewards for dutiful daughters, though--like Aaron Merritt, a rich, single doctor with chocolate skin and bedroom eyes. Soon he"s taking Emily to fancy restaurants and inviting her to meet his family. But when the lights go out, something"s missing. Enter Teddy Simms, Emily"s eighth-grade crush. Teddy hasn"t achieved what Aaron has--but she soon learns that he"s picked up a few skills in other areas. Can Emily choose a relationship that doesn"t satisfy her mind--or an easy compatibility that doesn"t quite extend into the bedroom? Or is there some way that she can find the best of both worlds? "Fear and joy practically leap off the pages. A well-written story you will hate to see end." --Romantic Times on Once Upon a Project "A compelling drama about three families striving for the American dream." --Booklist on If These Walls Could Talk