Susan F. (scoutmomskf) -
This was a fun friends to lovers story. When I read the prequel novella The Matchmaker's Mistletoe Mission, I got the feeling that things were a little off in Erin and Owen's engagement. As this book opens, the wedding is two days away, Erin is up to her neck in last-minute details, and she gets a break-up email from Owen. Shock doesn't begin to cover her reaction and angry would be an understatement. But she refuses to look pitiful in front of their friends, so she insists on holding the reception anyway. It's there that she decides the best revenge would be a fling with her best friend, Jason, who was also Owen's best man.
Unfortunately for Erin, Jason is not cooperative. It's not that he doesn't want to sleep with her. He does. But he wants more than that. Jason has been in love with Erin for years but lost out to Owen because he didn't want to risk their friendship. Now he has a second chance, but he wants to be careful about it. Rather than take Erin up on her offer while she is vulnerable, Jason goes the friendship route first.
I loved watching the relationship between Erin and Jason develop. Erin is hot to carry out her revenge right away and isn't too pleased when Jason resists. Instead, Jason finds ways for them to spend time together doing other things until he can be sure she isn't quite so vulnerable. Because they have been friends for so long, they are very comfortable with each other. Jason didn't hold out very long against Erin's advances, just long enough for her to convince him that she knew what she was doing. I ached for Jason because he knew that he was risking heartbreak giving in to her, but he loves her too much not to help her. Erin goes into the whole thing only wanting a short fling, then going back to friends as usual. But the more time they spend together, the more her feelings start to change. This freaks her out, and she does everything she can to resist admitting to those feelings. She also has trouble believing that what she feels is real. After all, she thought she had loved Owen, and look where that ended up.
Lingering in the background is Erin's knowledge that she is going to have to face Owen sooner or later. Something that comes up time and again is that Owen's actions were completely out of character for him. More than one person wonders what was going through his mind. When he came back and contacted Erin, I wasn't terribly surprised at the reasons he gave. He handled it badly, causing more heartache than there would have been if he'd been honest to start with. I was frustrated by Erin's actions afterward because she wasn't thinking of the effect on Jason, who was left wondering where he stood. Her kick in the pants came from an unexpected source. I liked that she saw the error of her ways and took immediate steps to fix it. The ending was sweet.
Unfortunately for Erin, Jason is not cooperative. It's not that he doesn't want to sleep with her. He does. But he wants more than that. Jason has been in love with Erin for years but lost out to Owen because he didn't want to risk their friendship. Now he has a second chance, but he wants to be careful about it. Rather than take Erin up on her offer while she is vulnerable, Jason goes the friendship route first.
I loved watching the relationship between Erin and Jason develop. Erin is hot to carry out her revenge right away and isn't too pleased when Jason resists. Instead, Jason finds ways for them to spend time together doing other things until he can be sure she isn't quite so vulnerable. Because they have been friends for so long, they are very comfortable with each other. Jason didn't hold out very long against Erin's advances, just long enough for her to convince him that she knew what she was doing. I ached for Jason because he knew that he was risking heartbreak giving in to her, but he loves her too much not to help her. Erin goes into the whole thing only wanting a short fling, then going back to friends as usual. But the more time they spend together, the more her feelings start to change. This freaks her out, and she does everything she can to resist admitting to those feelings. She also has trouble believing that what she feels is real. After all, she thought she had loved Owen, and look where that ended up.
Lingering in the background is Erin's knowledge that she is going to have to face Owen sooner or later. Something that comes up time and again is that Owen's actions were completely out of character for him. More than one person wonders what was going through his mind. When he came back and contacted Erin, I wasn't terribly surprised at the reasons he gave. He handled it badly, causing more heartache than there would have been if he'd been honest to start with. I was frustrated by Erin's actions afterward because she wasn't thinking of the effect on Jason, who was left wondering where he stood. Her kick in the pants came from an unexpected source. I liked that she saw the error of her ways and took immediate steps to fix it. The ending was sweet.
