Deep by Kylie Scott

Kylie Scott has previously dished up three belting books in this her Stage Dive series and in this the final instalment it is the big man’s chance to find his happy ever after.

They say the bigger they are the harder they fall, well that adage could very well have been penned for Ben because this giant of a man is brought to his knees by one young woman and her unexpected announcement.

Ben is the only one of the band that continues to live the rock star lifestyle, he likes the ladies and his freedom and with having no little inspiration or knowledge of what a long term relationship let alone marriage should be like, he has absolutely no intension of very getting tied down – this man is the utmost commitment-phobe!

Livvy is off limits to Ben – Mal made that perfectly clear – and he made Ben promise to keep his hands to himself but what Mal was not aware of was the fact that Livvy was dumbstruck by the man.

They formed a friendship that was all they could afford to have in light of what anything more would do to the band.

Mal was as unpredictable as ever but the one thing Ben didn’t want to have to face was letting his friend down and putting an unnecessary strain on the band. They have been shaken before – could they risk that sort of strain again, especially when they are just about to head off on tour.

But one night in Vegas is all it takes and the two of them can’t help but give in to the heat that has been simmering between the two of them over text message.

But as we all know, it only takes once and so when Livvy finally faces up to the inevitable and takes the test that she knows will prove positive, she is then faced with the knowledge that she has to tell Ben. Her plan of how and when to tell the big guy about his impending fatherhood is scuppered and her news is drawn from her under the most unfortunate of circumstances… much to the displeasure of the unpredictable Mal – suffice to say there are punches thrown.

Later when Ben is deposited at her place after trying to drink himself into oblivion, they wake the following morning to face their impending parenthood with fresh( if somewhat bleary) eyes and resolve to be the best friends they can be for their child and Ben promises to be the man that both she and their baby needs.

The situation isn’t the best and Ben isn’t the sharpest tack in the box – he thinks he is trying but honestly he is fairly poor at being an active participant in the whole pregnancy.

But when Livvy joins the band on tour the situation suddenly becomes more immediate, because seeing her day to day and after a none too pleasant chat with Jimmy about just how poor he has been at following up on his promises.The light bulb finally switches on and the big guy sets his stall out to show Livvy that he is more than up for the task and slowly but surely the two of them take tentative steps to forming a relationship that they can make work.

The band go from strength to strength and Ben and Livvy too continue to grow and even when Ben’s sister sticks her oar in they seem to ride the storm but when she finally pushes Livvy’s buttons and breaks her heart, her actions leave Ben speechless because he knows that she has singlehandedly cost him everything he loves.

I felt so sorry for them both at this point, Ben tries to remedy the situation but the damage has been done, but when he left the room that day he never anticipated that Livvy was heading home without him but somehow with her bags packed and her plane ticket booked, she is convinced by the support band lead man Vaughan to make a pit stop on the way to the airport at the gig.

My heart was in my mouth at this point, I wanted Ben to finally make the big statement – to show her that she was worth more than she had gotten from him so far, and dear lord the man did me proud!!

When he took the mike to say his piece and to lay his heart out on the line for her I was so proud of him, the boy did good!!!

The epilogue was fantastic and the birth of their son Gibson was both touching and humorous, fair to say Ben’s sister came in handy… every woman need a bitch to bring out her own inner bitch !!!

A fabulous end to a great series and while Ben may have taken his own sweet time in getting his head with the program I have to say that each and every one of the guys has stepped up to the plate and earned not only their women but their happy ever afters.