Drew Sinclair is tantalizingly close to getting his clothes brand noticed in the industry. He and his business partner, Joy, design individual dresses, while on the side, Drew designs and produces a line of men’s lingerie. He visits Scotland to design dresses for his sister, Jenna, who is marrying Duncan’s best friend at Christmas.
Duncan and Drew have nothing except their Highland upbringing in common, but they say opposites attract, and the attraction is immediate. Is this simply a summer fling, or can two men who live such opposite lives, miles away from each other, find a way to love?
Reader Advisory: This book contains references to homophobia and references to death of a character’s parents.
My Highland Cowboy had so many of my love buttons in it, I don’t even know where to start. I love opposites who attract, but also complement, cowboys, snark, Scotsman, Brits, kilts and a well-earned HEA. Drew, Duncan and I got it all in the Highlands.
Duncan has inherited a ranch that he was able to turn into a successful destination vacation spot. His story is impressive and I couldn’t help but respect the guy for all he’s gone through. It’s not over the top, but I could get how it made him such a determined character from the beginning. He’s pretty shy overall in social situations but he’s got that quiet strength that is something I absolutely LOVE in an MC. Drew shows up at the ranch to stay for a bit as Drew’s sister is marrying Duncan’s BFF. Duncan is a designer from London with a passion for his work and a plethora of charming attitude he’s more than happy to share with everyone.
Duncan finds Drew . . . unsettling. Duncan is fine with his quiet albeit lonely life. He’s never really felt a spark with anyone regardless of their gender and he’s been with both men and women in his past. They were there to scratch an itch though and nothing more. Drew is attracted to Duncan from the get go, because HELLO, he’s a hot, tall, dark and handsome cowboy. The two get to know one another amidst the wedding planning and Drew manages to push a whole mess of Duncan’s buttons.
This is where my favorite, and at the same time, least favorite things happened. Let me babble a bit here. Duncan has complete control over his life and is a successful businessman but his love life is non-existent. Drew has no trouble finding dates and getting himself a little something, but he’s very career driven at this point and his company is on the cusp of making it big. He’s got no time to be someone’s experiment, he’s worked way too hard to get where he is. Drew has the confidence that Duncan doesn’t have in the romance department and he’s not questioning who he is, at all. I kind of figured he’d be driving the bus on this one, but he didn’t. He turned out to be all practical and while he did pursue Duncan, he never pushed too hard and he never begged. I was so frustrated when he left the ranch. I already loved these dudes and I wanted them to be together! Like, right then!
That wasn’t a thing though and reading further on, I’m glad it wasn’t. Duncan had to own this, he had to be the pursuer. It really showed how much personal progress he made and it wasn’t just about Drew. Sure, Drew was the catalyst, but Duncan wanted this happiness too and he had to learn to be comfortable and confident in his own skin before he could attempt to make Drew happy.
So, it wasn’t an easy road to an HEA for these guys, but it wasn’t overly angsty either. Thankfully! The journey and the bit of back and forth made the HEA more believable and while it did evolve pretty quickly once the time came, the compromises were legit for their lifestyles and I was all kinds of happy for them.
**a copy of this story was provided for an honest review**
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