Air Force pilot turned electrician Brandon Anderson never thought he’d have money or security, so the inheritance he and his brothers receive from his billionaire uncle seems too good to be true. Brandon can’t help but wonder if there are strings attached. After all, his uncle loves to meddle…
Working alongside his brothers to build a new veterans center, Brandon just wants to get the job done. That all changes when his uncle asks Chloe—the beautiful and confident daughter of a famous chef and food critic—to design the center’s kitchen. Brandon and Chloe have a steamy chemistry, but he struggles with allowing himself happiness, and Chloe is a perfectionist determined never to be in a long-term relationship. Now Brandon has to convince her to finish this job with him.
Brandon and Chloe are used to putting work first, but as they grow closer, they’ll learn that even a real-life love story can have a fairy-tale ending.
Good story of love, friendship, and family. This is the seventeenth overall in the Anderson Billionaires series and the third in the subset of these brothers. I haven't read any of the other books in the series, but I never felt lost. The author did an excellent job of filling in the backstory without bogging down the story. The book starts with Brandon's Uncle Joseph, patriarch of the Anderson family, and self-confessed meddler, plotting to bring Brandon and Chloe together. He has a reputation within the family, so he has to be devious in his machinations. He plans to use the veteran's center to further his plans.
Chloe is the chef and owner of a local café. As the daughter of a food critic (mom) and a famous chef (dad), Chloe was raised to expect perfection from herself. She frequently feels that she doesn't live up to expectation - theirs or hers - but she loves what she does. Chloe avoids relationships, preferring to concentrate on growing her business. She also believes that relationships are "messy," especially when they inevitably end.
Brandon and his four brothers grew up poor and only recently discovered that they were part of "that" Anderson family. He likes being part of the veterans center project, which is important to him, but looks forward to its being done. In his Air Force days, Brandon had a playboy reputation, with no interest in settling down. But with two of his brothers now married, he finds himself thinking more of the future.
Joseph wants Chloe to design the center's kitchen. She is reluctant because she knows it means working with Brandon. They had a steamy night together a couple of years earlier, and neither has forgotten it. Chloe prefers to pretend it never happened, while Brandon wants more. I loved how Brandon never gives up on Chloe. He starts slowly, using their need to work together on the center, to get his foot in the door. Brandon knows Chloe well enough not to push too hard, or he could push her away. Instead, he uses the things they have in common to chip away at her walls. Helping his goal is the attraction that burns so hot between them. Chloe works hard to convince herself that it is casual while Brandon knows that he's fallen hard for her. There were several times when I wanted to shake Chloe for being so darn stubborn and thought that Brandon had the patience of a saint to wait her out. I loved it when she finally realized that she couldn't fight her feelings any longer and allowed herself to admit her love for Brandon. I loved Brandon's big moment at the end, and the epilogue was great.
Two important themes in this book were friendship and family. A big part of Chloe's life is her friendship with Brooke and Sarah. They have supported each other through big and small problems. Chloe was there for them during their romances with Brandon's brothers, and now it is her turn. I loved their determination that nothing would come between them, even if her relationship with Brandon didn't work out. They could also see the truth of Chloe's feelings for him and didn't back off from pointing out what they'd observed. They gave her the kick in the pants she needed to overcome her fears.
I also liked the importance of family. Joseph's search
for and inclusion of the "lost" Andersons shows his dedication to his
family. While his meddling isn't usually appreciated, it is fun to see how well
he knows those family members he "helps." I liked the respect they
all had for each other and their abilities and loved how they came together to
build the veterans center. Chloe had a
complicated relationship with her parents. She never doubted their love for her
or hers for them, but she frequently feels that she has disappointed them with
her choices. There were a couple of awkward encounters with both her mom and
her dad early on. As the story went on and Chloe opened her heart to Brandon,
she also found her relationship with her parents changing. I enjoyed her mom's
later visits and the effect they had on Chloe. I loved the surprise they had
for her at the end of the book.
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