Series:
Brands of Montana (Book 15)
She's always been by his side
But this year, he hopes to make her his Christmas bride!
When his ex's mother ends up in the hospital, Marine
captain Noah Brand suddenly finds himself back in his hometown and looking
after a little girl -- who could be his daughter! The only person he trusts
with this secret is his best friend, Dr. Shayna Wade. Shayna has always been
the person he could count on, and this Christmas he needs her support more than
ever. As the three of them make holiday magic together, can Noah convince his
best friend that he finally sees her as the woman of his dreams?
Good friends to lovers story. Shayna and Noah have been
best friends since they were children. Unbeknownst to him, Shayna has been in
love with him for nearly as long. The book opens with a prologue where Noah is
headed off to his first duty station as a Marine. He's been stood up by his
long-time girlfriend, Annika, so Shayna is the one who takes him to the
airport.
Seven years later, Noah is back home on emergency leave,
thanks to the news that he is the father of a six-year-old little girl.
Isabella has been chiefly cared for by her grandmother, May, as her mother is
not a very responsible person. When May is injured in a fall, she asks Shayna
to care for Isabella and tells her that Noah is the girl's father. Annika and
her husband have disappeared, so Shayna is all that stands between Isabella and
foster care.
I ached for Noah, who is floored by the idea that he's a
father and angry that Annika kept him from knowing Isabella. His conversation
with May is heartbreaking as he learns what happened. The first meeting between
Noah and Isabella is sweet, even though she has no idea that he is her father.
Even so, there is an instant connection between them. For his part, Noah feels
an instant and overwhelming love for his daughter and knows his life will never
be the same. That doesn't mean he isn't nervous around her and unsure of how to
treat her.
I liked Shayna. She is intelligent, talented, and has a
huge heart. For her to take in the daughter of the woman who held Noah's heart
for so long shows how much she loves Noah. She also knows that Noah doesn't see
her as anything other than a friend and has to decide if she will continue to
hold out hope or put him behind her and move on. When her personal trainer asks
her out, Shayna chooses to give him a chance.
I wanted to shake Noah for being so blind. Not only
doesn't he see that Shayna loves him, but he also doesn't realize that he loves
her. It isn't until he sees her going out with Blake and is jealous that he can
see how much she means to him. Once that light goes on, he is determined to
make her see they belong together. I enjoyed watching him pull out the stops to
win her. Shayna hesitates to believe that Noah truly loves her and blames the
upheaval in his life for making him think he does. I loved that he was
persistent in making her understand his feelings. I loved their first actual
date and his effort to make it memorable.
Just when things look good for them, Annika reappears in
their lives. I didn't like what I knew of her from the early descriptions of
her and her actions. However, I liked seeing that she's made significant
changes in her life, admitting her mistakes and working to improve her life.
Noah has a tough time forgiving her, and it becomes more complicated when
Shayna begins putting distance between them. I liked how Noah confronted her
about it, listened to Shayna's fears, and made sure that she knew that she was
the one who had his heart.
Noah has some decisions to make about his future. Does he
stay in the Marines and face long separations from Shayna and Isabella? Or does
he get out and find something to do that will keep him in Montana? I loved the
solution his commanding officer came up with and the huge difference it made to
Noah and Shayna. There is a sweet bit at the end where they have plans to
attend the Marine Corps Ball together, but something comes up, and it looks
like Noah won't be back in Montana in time. However, he pulls off a fantastic
surprise and makes that dream come true after all. The scene at the Ball is
sweet and romantic and perfectly expresses his love.
There were several things I loved about this book. I
adored Shayna's Christmas enthusiasm and joy in preparing her Christmas
displays. I loved watching her involve Isabella and how it brought them closer.
I liked Noah's realistic struggle with forgiving Annika and adjusting to being
a father. My all-time favorite part was seeing Noah and Shayna at the Ball. As
a Marine wife myself, I have been to the Washington, DC, Ball several times and
can attest to the splendor of it. My only complaint about the book is that the
word Marine was not capitalized as it should be. That is a frequent issue with
Harlequin's editors and doesn't reflect on the story itself.
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