Returning home for her father’s wedding was never going to be easy for Adele. If being sent away at eighteen hadn’t been bad enough, the mess she left behind when she made a pass at her dad’s business partner sure was.
Fifteen years older than her, Pete had been her crush for as long as she could remember. But she’d misread the situation—confusing friendliness for undying love. Awkward. Add her father to the misunderstanding, and Pete had been left with a broken nose and a business on the edge of ruin. The man had to be just as glad as everyone else when she left town.
Seven years on, things are different. Adele is no longer a kid, but a fully grown adult more than capable of getting through the wedding and being polite. But all it takes is seeing him again to bring back all those old feelings.
Sometimes first loves are the truest.
The book is a roller coaster of emotions for two broken characters and I enjoyed their journey.
Set in Australia, it has a very coastal feel. The beach plays into the story a fair amount and I enjoyed the feel of it. The geography plays a part too as Adele has hidden in Sydney for the last seven years and now is being forced to return home to South East Queensland's north coast, for her father's wedding. A good twelve hour drive that definitely plays into the story too.
This story is about coming to terms with your first love. That can be messy but the humor in this one has the pages flying. Adele is fifteen years younger than Pete who's now forty. Seven years ago, when she was last home, she'd been eighteen and so much in love with her best friend that she took a risk. A risk that cost her. Now she's trying to pick up the pieces and find some maturity to deal with a few days around Pete.
Pete is not over it. But really he has his own issues. Lots of them. He doesn't behave the way I expected him to. He's broken inside for a different reason and he keeps women at a distance to protect himself. Their story is not a smooth ride. It's rough and full of mistakes on both sides.
The romance and the conflict have a different feel than most books I've read by this author. The book starts in conflict as we see the present and then flip back seven years to see what caused it. But really the issues here had more to do with Pete and his closed off nature than the fact that Adele fell in love with him as a teen.
That conflict comes and goes a lot in the story. It's not a typical whirlwind romance where they break-up and a grand gesture brings them back together. This story felt more real with it's ups and downs. And I really wasn't sure what to think about the ending. Part of me thought it was genuine and part of me wasn't convinced. I was cheering for them and I'm glad for them.
I read this book straight through in an evening, choosing it over sleep. Adele's humor played a part in that but I also wanted to understand some issues so I kept reading. It's different from what I've read from this author before. It tackles a huge age gap and a lot of up and downs but's it's a good read.
It was meant to be
a soft kiss. A chaste one, even.
The minute my lips
touched his, however, everything changed. Callused hands grabbed the sides of
my face and my mouth opened on a gasp. His tongue swept inside, taking me over.
Holy hell. Shoes and purse hit the
floor, forgotten. Nothing about this kiss was slow or easy. The man devoured
me. Every ounce of emotion poured into that kiss, all of the anger and
frustration between us. His tongue was teasing and tasting, driving me wild.
Then he drew back to suck and nip at my bottom lip. One hand slid around the
back of my neck, the other over my hip to grab at my ass. His hold was firm, a
little rough even. He treated my body like it belonged to him and I wasn’t
gentle either.
Apparently
experience mattered. Because all I could do was try and keep up.
I held on tight to
his open shirt, straining against him, trying to get closer. I’d have crawled
inside the man if I could. Turned out that under certain circumstances, the
taste of scotch worked for me in a big way. Against my hip, his cock hardened,
digging into me. And oh my God, I’d done that to him. Me. How amazing!
Meanwhile, my body felt liquid, core aching and empty. I needed him inside of
me and it seemed like I’d already been waiting forever.
“Pete. Please.”
“Fuck,” he
muttered, breath hot against my ear.
I fumbled at the
remaining buttons on his shirt. My damn fingers didn’t seem to be working.
Easier to just push the whole thing upward. Luckily, the man decided to help,
tearing the shirt off over his head. More skin was good. And he was so hot and
smooth, a thrill to the touch. The solid flesh of his pecs and the flat plane
of his stomach.
He tore at the
zipper on the back of my dress, dragging fabric down over my shoulders. A growl
came from the back of his throat, a noise of frustration, impatience. I’m
reasonably certain I heard the silk rip. I didn’t care. His hands and mouth
seemed to cover every bit of skin revealed, touching and tasting me everywhere.
The dress got stuck on my hips. Out of the way enough for now.
He didn’t even
bother undoing my bra, simply peeling down one of the lace cups to free my
flesh. My breast filled his hot palm as it took the weight. Fingers plumped me,
his thumb flicking over my hard nipple. The sting of pain followed by the heat
of his kiss made my head spin and my body ache. There was no room for thought
as he fed me deep, wet kisses. Slowly, he took us to the floor. No time for
anything else. Just the urgent need to have him inside me.
The hardness of
the polished wood was cool against my back. My legs were spread, his body
between them. And with his broad chest above me, his weight taken on one arm,
he was all I could see. I swear even the insides of my thighs were wet, I was
so ready. It would have been embarrassing with anybody else. But this man, he
had to know, he had to understand. It had always been him.
“Pete, I need—”
“I know,” he said,
voice harsh and low.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kylie is a New
York Times and USA Today best-selling author. She was voted Australian Romance
Writer of the year, 2013 & 2014, by the Australian Romance Writer’s
Association and her books have been translated into eleven different languages.
She is a long time fan of romance, rock music, and B-grade horror films. Based
in Queensland, Australia with her two children and husband, she reads, writes
and never dithers around on the internet. You can learn more about Kylie from http://www.kylie-scott.com/
Links:
FACEBOOK FAN
GROUP: https://www.facebook.com/groups/599197093487040/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/KylieScottbooks
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/kylie_scott_books/
No comments:
Post a Comment