This is awesome! Will have to bump this up. This is the second in 3 book series? Do they need to be read in order?

Not really, in book one (this is the second in series) a secondary couple got together and the woman is friends with the heroine featured in this story and they come back and make a smallish appearance in this one. It would help for context in their relationship and the overall townspeople relationship but not absolutely necessary.
The first book was really good too though, so I recommend reading it anyway :)

I have a few (3 or 4) Lerner books on my NOOK that I picked up during sales. I need to get cracking on those.