A marriage pact, sixteen years in the making.
The vow was simple. If they were single by the time they
made lieutenant colonel, they'd marry. On the day of her promotion, Juliet
Grayson is at Evan Stephens's door to ask him to keep his promise. Juliet only
needs a father figure for her son, but Evan hopes to be so much more. Can he
convince a woman who's been burned before to get close to the flame once again?
Fantastic friends to lovers story. Evan and Juliet were
good friends in college. Both are members of the ROTC and headed off to their
first assignments as new second lieutenants. The night before graduation they
promised each other that if they were still single as lieutenant colonels they
would marry each other. Fast forward sixteen years and Juliet has just been
promoted to lieutenant colonel. She is the single mother of an eleven-year-old
son and has just arrived at the same base where Evan is stationed.
Evan got the shock of his life when Juliet showed up at his office to collect on
that pact. He had no idea she was divorced and had all but given up on
fulfilling the pact. He jumps at the chance to make his dream come true. Juliet
is surprised at his quick agreement, especially considering she and Matthew are
a package deal.
I enjoyed seeing the relationship between Evan and Juliet
develop. Even though they've only seen each other a few times during the
sixteen years, it didn't take long to re-establish their friendship. It quickly
became evident that Juliet hadn't fully thought out all of the details of her
proposal as she realized what being married to Evan meant. Thanks to her
ex-husband, Juliet has lost a lot of confidence in her ability to sustain a
relationship. I loved Evan's patience and understanding, as he is well aware of
the failings of her ex. I felt a little sorry for Evan also because he blames
himself for her miserable marriage. It was sweet to see how much effort Evan
put into getting past Juliet's fears. There was a bit of a hiccup thanks to the
woman Evan was dating before Juliet's arrival. I was impressed by the maturity
of both Evan and Juliet as they talked about it and came out stronger on the
other side. There was one more crisis to get through when Juliet's ex showed up
and tried to make trouble. It was so
satisfying to see him get what was coming to him. This time it was Juliet's
turn to help Evan get past his fears. I loved her comment about him mucking
things up as she made sure he knew how much she loved him.
A big part of the story was Juliet's son Matthew. He has
a rough time of it. He has moved away from all of his friends and is the new
kid at school in the middle of the year. He loves his father, but the man
hasn't bothered to visit him in more than three years. Now there is a new man
in his mother's life (ewww - kissing!) and he doesn't know where that leaves
him. Juliet knows that Matthew needs a dependable male role model in his life
and believes that Evan can be that man. There are some fantastic scenes of Evan
and Matthew together. It isn't easy, as Matthew is suspicious, but Evan is
determined. It is a bit of a rollercoaster ride as they work out their
relationship. I loved the fishing scene, but the one that really won my heart
was the aftermath of the incident at the school. The epilogue was just the
icing on the cake.
One of the things I love best about Caro Carson's books
is her attention to detail when it comes to the military. There's nothing worse
for a reader with a military background than reading a book where the author
screws up the details. This is never a worry with her books, thanks to her
career in the army and being a West Point grad. From the description of the
promotion ceremony to the visual of the MPs making a "hole" for him
to get down the hall at the station, every bit of it felt authentic. The only
thing I have left to say is "GO NAVY!" (Sorry, Caro - couldn't help
it!)
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