HE WANTED HIS BABY....
When he learned Charlotte Masters was pregnant with his
child, Rafe Connelly moved mountains to find her -- one step ahead of the
killers who'd put a bounty on her head. Despite her protests, Rafe needed to
keep Charlotte safe. For the sake of his unborn child, he'd do anything...even
marry the woman who'd betrayed his family.
SHE WANTED HIM....
Oozing confidence and masculinity, Rafe was irresistible.
Charlotte knew she could deny him nothing. Hadn't she already shed her prim
facade and satisfied his every desire in a torrid night of pure pleasure? But
she couldn't accept his proposal, for to a woman with secrets, Rafe was as
dangerous as the killers at her heels....
Good book. It has been a very long time since I read any
of the Connelly books, so the details of the overarching mystery were very
fuzzy. There was enough information in this book that I never felt lost and
found it easy to become invested in what happened.
Charlotte used to be the personal assistant to Grant
Connelly, the family patriarch and head of the business. She disappeared a few
months earlier, after being blackmailed into helping a crime family hack into
the company's computers. Shortly after she disappeared, Charlotte discovered
she was pregnant with Rafe's baby after a one-night passionate encounter. She
went into hiding after an attempt on her life, and before telling Rafe he was
going to be a father.
Rafe is the computer genius of the family and a man who
works hard and plays hard. He was attracted to Charlotte from the moment he met
her, but she didn't seem interested. That is until one night when he drove her
home from his parents' house and discovered a passionate woman under the prim
and proper façade. When he found out she was pregnant with his baby, he did
everything he could to find her.
The book started when Charlotte was five months pregnant
and working as a waitress in a hole-in-the-wall restaurant and bar. The sense
of danger is there right from the beginning as Charlotte narrowly escapes being
the victim of a hit-and-run accident. Her evening continues to go downhill when
Rafe suddenly appears and drags her out of there, insisting that she isn't
safe. Rafe is furious that she has put herself in danger, and is determined to
keep her safe. He is also determined to do the right thing and marry her.
Independent to a fault, Charlotte has no intention of accepting his "proposal"
for myriad reasons of her own.
I liked both Charlotte and Rafe. Charlotte is smart and
independent and loyal to those she cares for. She is wracked with guilt over
what she did but had had no choice. She is feisty and mouthy and has no trouble
standing up for herself. Rafe is brilliant and intense and comes off as being a
bit arrogant at the beginning. He is also very protective of Charlotte.
I enjoyed the development of their relationship. Rafe
hasn't been able to forget the night they spent together. It freaked him out at
first, which is why he snuck out of her apartment and didn't try to contact her
for a long time. By the time he did, she wasn't interested in talking to him.
Then she disappeared, and Rafe went into overdrive trying to find her. I loved how
he surprised himself with his happiness at his impending fatherhood and that he
wanted to be a full-time father. However, he wasn't exactly smooth in
presenting his case to Charlotte, and she dug in her heels. Charlotte has
reasons that she won't marry Rafe, not the least of which are a couple of
secrets from her past that she feels make it impossible. It was charming to see
how hard Rafe worked to show Charlotte how much he wanted her in his life. There
were terrific scenes of the thoughtful things he did and emotional ones when
his fears for her would explode over some foolish thing she did. Charlotte does
her best to resist him, but it doesn't take long before he starts to wear her
down. She fights against her feelings for him, as her belief that she's not
good enough for him keeps her from believing they have a future together. But
her heart cannot be denied. I loved the scene where she's looking for the perfect
birthday present for him, but her issues keep getting in the way. I laughed out
loud at her conversation with Dix and what it led to. The ending was terrific,
and the epilogue a good wrap-up to this book and lead-in to the next one.
The suspense of the story was excellent and kept me
hooked through the whole book. A big part of it was trying to find out what the
bad guys were after when they attempted to hack into the Connelly computer
system. Because of her role in it, there were some major trust issues between
Charlotte and Rafe that had to be overcome. Rafe was torn because he couldn't
believe that she would purposely betray the family and company that way, but
the evidence was there. But there was also the undeniable fact that someone was
out to kill her, and there had to be a reason. It was interesting to get a few
instances from the bad guy's point of view, something that sheds a little light
on the motivations. I loved it when Rafe finally decided to trust Charlotte and
get her involved in helping find the truth. It was quite satisfying that she
was the one who did. Just when it seemed that everything was going to be
alright, the killer made his move. There were some very intense moments there
that had me on the edge of my seat until it was over. Help came from an
unexpected source and proved to be exactly what was needed. The finish was very
satisfying.
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