Local Hero by Nora Roberts

It had been a LONG time since I had read this book but I vaguely remember it. It was originally a Harlequin novel in the 80s but held up surprisingly well. I liked the characters of both Mitch and Hester; they were fully-formed humans but were able to grow more with each other. Also a fully-formed human? Hester's son, Radley. He wasn't just a plot moppet but actually contributed to the story in substantive ways.
Hester has been a single mom for almost a decade after her husband disappeared one day. But her son doesn't seem to mind it much. He's the reason she's taken a new job in downtown New York, moving her son across town. He's nervous at first but, upon discovering that comic book artist Mitch Dempsey lives in their building, Radley becomes ecstatic. 
Mitch is intrigued by the woman but falls in love with both her and the kid. For Hester, it takes a little bit longer to trust but she is upfront about all of her feelings and Mitch is persistent without being an asshole.

Three and a half stars

This book came out January 1st, 1988

Borrowed as an ebook from Libby 

Opinions are my own