After years of choosing safe over satisfying, a weeklong
Paris fling sounds perfect to Wren Heath. And who better to have it with than
Mauricio Romano, a billionaire with a reputation as a first-class heartbreaker.
A few days. Fun, then done. What happens on vacation stays on vacation, right?
Paris was Mauricio’s playground, and love was never part
of the game. Lust? Toujours. Then he meets a sweet woman who wants to be a sex
kitten. He knows how to give her the wildest five days and nights of her life.
No commitments. No strings. But the hotter it gets, the harder it is to
remember his own rules.
What do you do when what happens in Paris stays in your
heart and then shows up at home?
Are these two destined to clash or destined for love?
This was a fun book. It is the second in a series but can
be read as a stand-alone. Characters from the previous book do make an
appearance and are easily explained. That said, the first chapter and another
near the end are told from the point-of-view of Dominic Corisi. For someone
unfamiliar with the Legacy series (I haven't read it) these chapters are puzzling,
as is the name of the series. The brothers in this series so far are Romanos,
not Corisis. By the end of the book, I did have an inkling of the connection so
it will be interesting to see where it goes.
This book is the story of Wren and Mauricio. Mauricio is
a billionaire with a playboy reputation. He was known to be quite wild when he
was younger, though he's been more settled the past few years as he helped with
the family business. Now that his brother is ready to retake the reins,
Mauricio is at a crossroads, looking for what he wants to do next. In the
meantime, he heads to Paris to visit friend and fellow bad-boy Felix.
I enjoyed my first meeting with Mauricio and Felix. Felix
is late to a business meeting with Mauricio, who is losing patience. That
changes when Felix calls to let Mauricio know that he's in the hospital and
won't be released until the next day. The injury seems to be a case of karma,
which I found to be satisfying as I learned more. Felix's misfortune leaves
Mauricio stuck with helping Felix by finding a way to politely boot Felix's
mistress from his apartment before Felix is released.
Wren is in Paris on her first trip to Europe and visiting
her friend Cecile. After a lifetime of being the good girl, she's ready to cut
loose just a little bit. After a slightly embarrassing first encounter, who
better to play with than Felix's friend Mauricio? He's fun and sexy, and what
happens in Paris stays in Paris, right?
I wasn't sure I was going to like the book at first.
There seemed a lot more action in the bedroom than in developing an actual
relationship between Mauricio and Wren. Thankfully it didn't take long for the
"no-strings fling" to morph into something much deeper. Both fought
it hard, but unsuccessfully. Wren won my heart first with her determination to
step outside her comfort zone. She is smart, sassy, and has a terrific sense of
humor. Her mixture of innocence and sexiness was fun to watch as it had an
unexpected effect on Mauricio. Mauricio wasn't far behind as he quickly began
to envision something permanent with Wren.
I loved the development of the relationship between Wren
and Mauricio. The chemistry is off the charts, but they connect on a deeper
level also. The interactions between them were fun. Wren doesn't have much of a
filter, and some of the things she says amuse the heck out of Mauricio. I also enjoyed
seeing Wren's reactions to some of his more outrageous claims and how she keeps
him from being too full of himself. Each falls hard for the other but says
nothing because of their earlier demands of no strings. Just as Mauricio is ready to take the plunge,
Wren gets bad news from home and leaves with no explanation. Mauricio is
devastated and angry, believing that she did not share his feelings, and goes
home to lick his wounds.
Mauricio's family has never met a situation that can't be
helped by pulling together. Earlier advice from his father had helped Mauricio
identify his feelings for Wren, and now his father is invested in seeing Mauricio
happy. Unfortunately, his attempt to bring the two together backfires, with
both Mauricio and Wren blindsided by an unexpected reunion. Mauricio has an
especially boneheaded reaction before realizing how wrong he was. I loved the
help he got to pull off his "cow" moment and the faith he showed in Wren
and her abilities.
The importance of family is a key theme in this book.
There are the bits with Dominic Corisi that have to do with long-standing issues
involving his parents. As an only child, Wren feels responsible for her parents'
happiness and well-being, which in turn has affected the way she leads her life.
It's that love for her family that causes the misunderstanding between her and
Mauricio. I loved his family and the boisterous love they have for each other. I
loved their support of Mauricio and determination to help him win back Wren.
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