But playboys like him don't go for theatre nerds like me. Especially when the playboy in question is a strong silent type who is my opposite in every way.
I definitely am NOT in love with my best friend's brother. So why do I find myself dreaming/lusting over his broad shoulders and incredible arms? And why did we practically hook up on the dance floor at his sister's wedding? I can't get him out of my mind.
***
Reagan Bennett is not my type. She's happy, artistic, and deserves the real deal. I'm moody and only good for a one night stand. But after our impromptu sleepover, I can't get her out of my head.
She's got legs for miles. She's creative in all the right ways: she knows all the best spots in New York City and she's passionate about everything she does. Plus, her chocolate chip pancakes are killer.
She's everything good. I'm not gonna be the one to bring her down.
But the more time we spend together, the harder it is to keep my hands off her. I want her. Hell, I need her. It might be reckless, but it also might be love.
I received an advanced copy of this book with the promise of an honest review.
So we met Josh and Reagan in the author's previous book, Roommate Romance. Reagan is Allie's coworker and Josh is Allie's brother. After suffering an injury that ended his minor league baseball career, Josh is ready to start over. At he urging of his sister he moves to New York City. Allie, knowing her brother is in a bit of a slump, asks Reagan, unbeknownst to Josh, to befriend him and help him get back to his old self. Reagan is one of those people who see the good in everything and you can't help but like her.
Unfortunately for Josh that means an upbeat Reagan is around when he doesn't want her to be. It's not that he doesn't like Reagan, he's just not ready to stop wallowing. I loved Josh, I really did, but I found him to be so frustrating at times. But once he did get his shit together, he was the sweetest guy. And don't even get me going on his ridiculously adorable relationship with his niece. **SWOON**
For me, Reagan (self-professed theater geeks unite!) is the heart and soul of this story. She has given up a lot to follow her dreams, but she is happier for doing it. She was a smart, tough woman and I found myself cheering her on so many times. She was just full of surprises.
“You!” she gave me a shove. “You arrogant, patronizing asshole!”
It wasn’t a hard shove, but it was for her. I backed up, giving her enough room to come into the apartment and slam the door behind her.
“Hi,” I said, giving her what I intended to be an encouraging and apologetic smile.
“Don’t hi me,” she said, shaking her fist at me. “I just had a conversation with your sister. An extremely awkward conversation. Do you want to know what we talked about?”
I didn’t know what the correct response was, but it didn’t really matter because Reagan powered on without waiting for me to answer.
“I just had a conversation with your sister about my sex life. Or, about my non-existent sex life, because she’s under the impression that I’m so naïve and innocent that I need to be protected from making the mistake of sleeping with you. And apparently you agreed with her!”
“That’s not exactly—” I tried to object, but Reagan wasn’t done talking.
“And apparently, the two of you decided—without consulting me, of course—that the best thing would be for you to leave me alone, because apparently I’m unable to tell the difference between sex and a relationship and I’m so helpless that I need to be removed from the equation before I do something as colossally dangerous as having sex with you.”
“I didn’t say—” I tried again, but Reagan turned on me, her brown eyes flashing. In my surprise, I backed up until my shoulders hit the wall and I realized that she had essentially pinned me to the living room wall with the sheer force of her anger. Anger, which didn’t seem to be dissipating. She got up on her toes and shook her finger in my face.
“I’ll have you know that I am quite capable of making decisions about all aspects of my life. Including my sex life. And if I want to have sex with you, then the only people that need to be involved in that decision making are me. And you.”
Her chest was heaving, her cheeks were flushed and she had never looked more gorgeous. I had to clench my fists to keep from grabbing her and kissing her, which probably would have not been an appropriate response to her righteous tirade.
“I am not some innocent. I’ve had sex. Ok...I haven’t had a lot of sex. And maybe I haven’t had any lately, but I have had sex. And I’ll have it again if I want to. With whoever I want to.”
She took in a gasp of air and some of her anger seemed to fade. She glanced down at my chest, apparently only just then realizing that I wasn’t wearing a shirt. A different kind of flush spread across her cheeks, and she swallowed. Hard.
“That’s all I had to say,” she said, pushing her glasses back on her nose and taking a step backwards. “I’ll go now.”
But before she could, I grabbed her elbow.
“Do I get to respond?” I asked.
“Um.” she looked startled. Apparently, she hadn’t thought past the well-earned speech she had just leveled at me. “I suppose so.”
“You’re right,” I said, pulling her so she was facing me again, my hands on her arms. “And I was wrong. I should have talked to you, not to my sister.”
Her face softened a bit. “Ok, well, now that we agree—”
“So let’s talk now.” I pulled her a little closer, and I could see her pulse beating at the base of her neck.
“Talk?” she stuttered.
“About sex,” I lowered my voice. “About your thoughts on the matter.”
“Um.” Reagan’s lips were parted. Her perfect beautiful lips. “I’m for it?”Yes! You get yours girl! I loved these two so much. They were so good for each other! Of course they have their obstacles to overcome, but that just made their relationship that much stronger.
And now all that's left is Joanna's HEA. I believe that the author has planted a few seeds in this book that will hopefully result in a third book because let me tell you...she has my attention! :-)
