Revealing his past…
is a risk worth taking!
Dr. Dom di Rossi's world literally crashes through the ER doors when his father, the king of Isola Verde, is involved in a car crash. Until now, Dom's royal connection has been carefully guarded. But when Dr. Emilia Featherstone, his old medical school rival, recognizes a previously unseen vulnerability behind his delicious eyes, she unintentionally becomes the keeper of his secret -- and his heart!
Good slow-burn romance. It wasn't quite enemies-to-lovers, nor was it friends-to-lovers but somewhere in between. Dom and Emilia first met in medical school, where they were fiercely competitive with each other. Since then, they have ended up at the same hospital, where Dom is the head of Emergency Medicine and Emilia, a talented orthopedic surgeon. Their working relationship is one of mutual respect accompanied by the same teasing banter that got them through med school.
I liked both Dom and Emilia. Emilia is determined to be the best at what she does, driven by the memories of her upbringing. Her focus is on her career, especially after her last relationship crashed and burned. Dom is also driven to be the best, especially since he feels that he is on borrowed time. Nobody around him knows that he is the Crown Prince of a small Mediterranean country and will eventually have to return home to take up his responsibilities. That day arrives sooner than Dom anticipated when his father and sister end up in his ER after a car crash.
I loved the development of the romance between Dom and Emilia. Though she doesn't know why Emilia knows Dom well enough to see that these two patients particularly shake him. When she catches him at a vulnerable moment, Dom confesses the truth to her. Initially angry and hurt at being lied to for all those years, Emilia soon understands his reasons. As Dom deals with his father's recovery, it is a great relief to him that Emilia knows the truth. For the first time in years, he can be entirely himself with someone. This creates a shift in their relationship, and they find themselves growing closer. There are some sweet scenes of the two of them together and the slow building of the sparks between them. Neither believes anything can come of it.
I ached for Dom, who dreads giving up the career he loves for a role he doesn't want. He'd rather stay in Seattle and see where things might go with Emilia. Emilia, who has no family of her own, reminds him that family is everything. I also hurt for Emilia. She realizes that she loves him, and has for a long time, but believes a woman with her background is not the type of woman he needs. I wondered how they would overcome those obstacles. Advice came from an unexpected source, and I loved seeing Dom embrace it. His big moment with Emilia was sweet and romantic. I can't wait to read the rest of the series and hope to see more of them.
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