Sunday, May 10, 2015

Mommy in the Making - Victoria Pade (HSE #2162 - Jan 2012)

Series: Northbridge Nuptials (Book 17)

MAKESHIFT MOM...TO BLUSHING BRIDE?

High-school teacher Issa McKendrick had plenty of reasons to swear off men. With a baby on the way after a bad breakup, she retreated to her hometown to lick her wounds. Only to have two more men knocking at the door -- her delicious landlord, Hutch Kincaid, and his adorable little boy. What was a gal to do but say come in?

The widowed former football star had wounds of his own, but Hutch was determined to provide a happy home for his son. Then this achingly shy woman changed everything. At least Hutch could teach the flustered mother-to-be a thing or two about parenting. What he didn't realize is that for extra credit, they were both about to get lessons in love that would last a lifetime.

Good story with a sweet romance. Issa moved back home after discovering she was pregnant. She has to wrap her mind around the idea that she is going to be a mother, and she is convinced that she will be terrible at it. Right after she moves in she meets her landlord and his son, two guys that have a huge impact on her.

Mitch is a widower with a two year old son. When his wife died he fell apart, leaving Ash's care to his friends. Once he came out of his grief he was horrified by what he had done and is intent on putting Ash first in his life. He's not looking for romantic involvement, but something about Issa draws him in. 

I enjoyed the way that Issa and Hutch agree to help each other out. Hutch is new to Northbridge, so he offers to give Issa parenting lessons in exchange for her showing him around town and introducing him to people. I liked seeing the way that Hutch brought Issa out of her shy shell, and that she had more confidence around people when she was with him. He had a very sweet way of getting her involved with Ash and supporting her as she did it. He was also great at calming her down when she would panic about something. There were quite a few times when Issa really irritated me with her extreme lack of confidence in herself as a parent. She really was wonderful with Ash when she got past her fears. 

I loved seeing the attraction that was there from the beginning, even though they tried to ignore it at first. Issa was sure that being attracted to a man when she was pregnant with another man's child was a bad thing. It took awhile to convince herself it was okay to see where it would go. Hutch also had to let go of his past to take that look at what could be. I loved his intensity when he told Issa how he felt and felt bad for him when she panicked over all his dreams for their future. Then it was Issa's turn to decide if she was going to let her fears keep her from what she really wanted. I wish there had been an epilogue, as I would have liked to know if the baby was a boy or a girl.

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