The Real Thing by Melissa Foster
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
THE REAL THING is book one in Melissa Foster’s Sugar Lake series and is a brother’s best friend/friends to lovers/second chance/swoon worthy contemporary romance (whew). If you’re looking for any of these tropes, I can’t recommend Melissa Foster enough! What should I say about Zane? Is he the perfect character? NOPE! He’s kind of arrogant and definitely a flirt but he’s also sticky sweet, funny, loving and dreamy. Willow is no push over, she’s spunky and smart with a soft spot for Zane’s brand of charm. Together, Willow and Zane are gooey globs of deliciousness (and sexy too). Not only are the characters awesome, but the storyline is flirty and romantic, light and amusing. Plus, Ms. Foster’s vibrant words created a delightful world that made me want to jump into the book and live there (sounds cheesy, I know)! This is the perfect blend of spicy and sweet and I can’t wait for book two in the series. Told from dual POVs with a happy ever after. I received, read and voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
This sassy, spirited baker is fine with heat
but is her fake fiancé too hot to handle?
reputation as player. He’s arrogant, and he’s definitely not boyfriend material. Sure, he did Willow a favor by agreeing to take her virginity before college, but is that reason enough to go along with a fake engagement a decade later even if it comes with a real diamond ring?
the perfect PR move . . . provided no one gets hurt.
“Are you listening to me?” she asked as they walked down the hall.
“Yes. I just got confirmation. You’re catering breakfasts for the set. Cool?”
“Yes, perfect. But did you hear what I said?”
She had almost backed out of their deal twice since she’d accepted. First when she’d seen the king-size bed, which really drove home their situation, and again when Zane had whipped off his shirt to change and her sex-starved body had buzzed to life. She was still a little nervous about the whole thing, mostly due to that second issue, but she felt a certain obligation to help him. Regardless of how arrogant he was, she’d never forget how tender he’d been with her when shed given her almost-eighteen-year-old self over to him, and he was a true friend, even if they had a weird friendship. The truth was, even if he hadn’t done her that favor before college, she would have agreed to his plan. She liked him despite his insatiable appetite for women. He was everything she loved in a person and more. He was confident and funny, direct and thoughtful, and honest when it counted. Painfully honest. The exposure for Sweetie Pie Bakery was just the icing on the fake-fiancée cake. What a difference national exposure could make.
Zane shoved his phone in his pocket. “Yes. Sleeping on the couch. Got it. But you cant blame a guy for trying.”
She laid her best damn-right-I-can stare on him and pushed the button for the elevator.
“Fine. I’ll behave. Jesus, Wills, you’re never this uptight when I visit.”
“You mean that five minutes twice a year?” Willow remembered how happy he’d been when he’d finally left town to pursue his dream of being an actor. He’d been bursting at the seams for a bigger life. But her five minutes comment wasn’t really fair. He never missed Bens birthday, and he almost always made it back for a few days over the holidays, even though his parents had moved to Florida right after he’d graduated from high school and left town. He’d been back a few other times when he was filming nearby. Even though she rarely saw him, their texts and the fact that he was her first real love, even if he didn’t know it had kept him in the forefront of her mind. Unfortunately, it also kept her heartbreak pretty close to the surface, no matter how deep she tried to bury it.
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