Susan F. (scoutmomskf) - , reviewed on 3/25/2018 + 2620 more book reviews

Short, sweet, and a little bit sexy, this is the story of Rory and Max. Rory works for Willa (see The Trouble with Mistletoe), who rescued Rory from a bad situation. She has made a good life for herself in San Francisco, but the things she did as a teenager dampen her pride in who she is now. She was the target of a witch of a girl in high school and still ended up being the one in trouble when she fought back. She ran away from home at seventeen and hasn't been back since. Now Rory has finally gathered the courage to go home for Christmas, and her only way to get there is to ride with Max - her high school crush.

Max knew Rory in high school but has resented her for something she did that threw his plans into turmoil. Now he works for a security firm in the same building. He has a crush on her that is unaffected by their past. He uses his dog Carl as a bridge and takes him to the groomer's shop every week so that he can see Rory. He leaps at the chance to give Rory a ride home for Christmas.

I liked seeing the relationship between Rory and Max. The beginning of the trip is really awkward, with Max still carrying a grudge over what happened in high school, and Rory feeling the tension but not knowing why. Plus, she still has this overpowering attraction to him. Though normally the trip to Tahoe is pretty short, the weather has turned nasty and progress is slow. Trapped in the truck together, along with lovable dog Carl, Rory and Max finally have a chance to clear the air between them. Both of them discover that there was more to the story of what happened, which changes the way they look at each other.

It was fun to see them each dance around their attraction to each other until they had to take refuge in a motel for the night. I loved seeing Rory take matters into her own hands. It was also sweet to see Max hold off until he was sure that it was what Rory wanted. The heat between them was really intense, and I loved how it brought them even closer together.

I ached for Rory and her nervousness about going home. She was especially nervous because they had been delayed. I wanted to smack her stepfather at first because of his attitude toward her. It was awesome to see Max's protective side come out and show how great she was. He also stepped up and told her how he felt, which helped Rory admit her own feelings. I would have liked a little more of the reunion, but overall it was okay. I hope that we get to see more of Max and Rory in later books.

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