Andrew Beckwith has already devoted his life to one girlâand as far as heâs concerned, sheâs all he needs. The rough-around-the-edges bad boy left his reckless ways behind six years ago when his daughter Bell was born. To the female populationâs dismay, heâs unapologetically single. When Bellâs mother walked out on them years ago, he vowed never to let another woman close enough to hurt them again.Amelia Van Ecken isnât just another woman. Sheâs an independent, smart, and savvy businesswoman who doesnât have time for sex, much less love. In the midst of a drawn-out, bitter divorce, all she wants is to bury herself in work. But when sharp-tongued Amelia and stubborn Andrew cross paths, sparks flyâand burn. Two things are obvious in an instant: they want each other, and theyâre from different worlds. Itâs the perfect formula for an off-the-charts one-night stand. After all, itâs not as if opposites ever attract.
âCancel them.â
She gapes at me. âCancel my plans? Why would I?â
âCome out with me. Sadie says thereâs a place around here with great pizza.â
She laughs, tilting her head and exposing the smooth column of her throat. âFirst, I donât eat carbs, so thereâs no way youâre getting me to do anything with the promise of pizza. Second, I just told youâI donât date.â
âAnd neither do I.â
âThen why are you asking me out?â she asks.
âBecause despite what you may think, I am a gentleman, and itâs only good manners to buy you dinner first.â
âFirst?â she asks, wrinkling her nose. âWhatâs second?â
We stare at each other. I let her figure it out on her own. Itâs rare to meet a woman like me, someone who truly has no interest in finding a partner. Iâve heard that claim from enough girls to know when theyâre bullshitting me, and unless Amelia is a Grade-A con artist, she definitely isnât looking to get serious.
When she understands, the wrinkles on her forehead ease, and she parts her lips. I answer with a knowing smile. Suggesting sex within half an hour of meeting someone might normally get me slapped, but I get the feeling Amelia appreciates a more direct approach.
âI donât date,â I say, âbut Iâm still a man with eyes.â
She makes no secret of looking me up and down. âYouâre not my type either,â she warns. âI like men who carry a briefcase and see a barber regularly.â
I run my hand through my black hair, which I know is too long. âHowâs that working out for you?â
She narrows her eyes. âFine. Perfect.â
âI have some tattoos too,â I say. âAnd ride a motorcycle. Since thatâs normally how I get most girls, I suppose those are turn-offs for you.â
âThey are,â she says immediately, straightening her shoulders. âIâve never understood the appeal of a bad boy.â
âThen tonight, weâre a match made in heaven, arenât we? It shouldnât be hard for either of us to say goodbye afterward.â
She bats her eyelashes a few times, not because sheâs flirting but because sheâs thinking. Considering. Which means itâs basically a done deal. Iâve never gotten this far with a girl only to have her walk away. âWhy even bother with dinner?â she asks.
I take a moment to study her, her shoulder-length, perfectly coifed blonde hair. Her defined red lips that look like a heart when pursed, which is often. Yeah, based on the fact that Iâm noticing detailsâsomething I try not to do anymoreâI know Iâm feeling her tonight. Most guys would jump at the opportunity to skip the small talk, but that doesnât really appeal to me. I like women, always have. Just because Shana fucked me in the head doesnât mean I donât appreciate them. Doesnât mean I donât want to spend time around themâjust so longâs itâs surface stuff.
I donât want to scare her off by suggesting I might want to have a conversation with her, so I just shrug. âBecause Iâm starving.â
âIâm not hungry.â
âIndulge me then. I need my energy.â
âFor what?â she asks.
I arch an eyebrow at her. Iâll definitely need my energy for a night with her.
4TLOReading Review by DonnaÂ
Stories about single fathers can be one of two things for me the can either be truly great or they can fall flat on there face as they simple get taking over by the parenting side of fatherhood and the loss of the lust and love is evident meaning that the spark and story you look for just simply doesn’t exist
Thankfully Jessica didn’t get bogged down with that element, but managed to find a beautiful balance and managed to show us who Andrew was as a father without out it defining him, it was not all he was. The love he had for Bell and vice a versa was evident but they worked as a family. This story also allowed you to see Andrew as a Man and what a man he was, away from the father figure, a hot blooded sexy as hell man. With that came his need for a woman to love and his issues with that.
Amelia was beautiful and highly independent, I loved this about her, she was not to be defined by a man ! Nothing but her would define her.
Her meeting with Andrew ignited passion and electricity that the two couldn’t get enough of, honestly I think it scared both of them the depth of feelings, the angst, drama and emotion definitely kept you hooked in this book.
Both Andrew and Amelia fought against the growing feelings and finally learning to trust, open up to each other with truths and trusts and learning to love. This book truly had it all. There definitely are lots of moments of push and pull between the two leads and moments of frustration and annoyance, but honestly what relationship doesn’t have this, then throw a child into the mix and even more so sometimes.
Jessica definitely get the elements right and I lived how this book played out. I loved Bell, I loved them all.
4 stars
Donna x
Jessica Hawkins grew up between the purple mountains and under the endless sun of Palm Springs, California. She studied international business at Arizona State University and has also lived in Costa Rica and New York City. To her, the most intriguing fiction is forbidden, and that’s what you’ll find in her stories. Currently, she resides wherever her head lands, which is often the unexpected (but warm) keyboard of her trusty MacBook.
