Burned-out social worker Aaron McCoy is on vacation for the first time in years--boss's orders. Road-tripping to his brother's wedding with his best friend, Tyler, seems a fun way to spend the mandatory two-week leave, and they set out for Kansas--and a difficult homecoming.
Aaron's mother was a drug addict, and his adorable younger brother was quickly adopted, while Aaron spent his childhood in foster care. As Aaron mends fences, Tyler hopes to show him that this time, he won't be left behind to face his problems alone.
Aaron's opening up to how right it feels to be with Tyler and to the possibility of taking the leap from friends to lovers. But along with the wedding celebration comes a painful reminder of the past. Aaron's heart is still breakable. Can he put it in Tyler's hands?
There are all sorts of romance stories to tell. Some are full of over the top romantic gestures from start to finish, some are the classic formula of meet cute, date, fall in love to HEA and some begin as friends and quietly grow over years of friendship and unrequited feelings until the big talk/reveal. This book falls in the latter and it was like a warm cup of soothing tea on a blustery day for this reader.
I adored this book. I love who Aaron has become as a man. That he took his dark childhood in the foster care system to become a social worker who cares so much about the kids assigned to him than even his own well-being. Aaron knows what’s it’s like to be in their shoes and he always wants to make sure they don’t fall through the cracks on his watch. Aaron is also a bit of a workaholic and without his best friend Tyler making him take a break every now and again, Aaron might as well live at his office. It’s not unnoticed by his boss how hard he works and when she notices Aaron spending weekends at work to get his paper work in early, she imposes a two week vacation on Aaron to get him some much needed down time.
That right there sets this story up because when Aaron goes to Tyler’s house to tell him, Tyler reminds Aaron that it’s perfect timing because Aaron’s younger brother is getting married and Aaron was invited. The only thing is; Aaron and his younger brother Zach haven’t seen each other in years since Zach was adopted and Aaron was left to fight alone. Aaron isn’t sure about seeing Zach after all these years nor seeing Zach’s adopted mom Chrissy who at the time, also had Aaron in the house but chose Zach. It’s a tough trip to make but Tyler convinces Aaron it’s one he would regret missing and so we have a road trip to a wedding to take.[…] the intense rush of having exactly what he wanted, exactly as he wanted it. God, it was everything and barely anything, just the start, just the beginning….
I really liked this story. It was bittersweet in a lot of ways learning about how Aaron grew up and how he finally found a family when he was placed with Tyler’s. It makes sense the boys would grow to be friends and stay that way as adults and the attraction as well as the affection between them was obvious from their first time on page together. The only thing you really have to wait for is who would make the first move from friends to more and when it happens, it was slow and sweet just like everything else in this book.
The wedding and everything leading up was interesting. I can’t say that I understand the placement of Owen and his homophobic ass because I think we could have got Zach being okay with Aaron’s sexuality without Owen doing the crap he did at the bachelor party. I don’t regret a drunk Tyler and his speech to Aaron nor the rehearsal and what happens then either, but Owen could have been left out and this story would have survived.
I love stories like this, the friends to lovers and how well they know one another. They know one another as best friends but that learning how to be lovers is something so romantic and in this, pretty freaking hot. I mean, look at the author and you have to know that even in a Dreamspun book, we’re gonna get some hot Cari Z. sex, and it was delivered. I loved being there for their first moments and that epilogue was everything Aaron and Tyler could be. It was definitely perfect for them.
An ARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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