Worked Up

by Tessa Bailey

Duke Crawford is a man of few words and even fewer wants, in fact all he actually wants is a quiet life looking after what’s his (namely, four sisters, all divorced and who now all lived with him!) and watching Sportscenter in peace with a beer in his hand. And while all this may seem like an easy ask for this gentle giant, in truth it was far from it.

So having escaped the mayhem of home in a bid to watch the game at the bar, Duke’s peace was short lived when Samantha Waverly pushed the door open and made herself comfortable at the furthest end, not that he was looking for a hook up or anything, not in the slightest, a committed, commitment-phobe, he just wanted to watch the game but when he spies her being  harangued by a few of the guys from the factory, he just had to step up, that and the fact that his curiosity was killing him, she had been scribbling away on her sketchpad for what seemed like an age and this gave him the perfect opportunity to sneak a peek.

Sam (Samantha) was biding her time until she had to meet up with her brother, shame his business ventures meant that we would be in arriving until Monday and now she had the whole weekend to kill. Making a decision to stay put in Hook and wait it out until her brother arrived she had one thing on her mind before heading to his house, she need feeding! Hence her current location.

From that initial meeting, they just never looked back…. or did they and I say that because the author surprised me later in the book when the path they were on took a turn that I really hadn’t expected and didn’t particularly like… you are a cruel woman Ms Bailey, I was desperate for them to get over the hiccup you planted in their path, it consumed me but I was able to breathe easy when the story was complete so all is forgiven!

Once Duke Crawford puts his mind to something nothing is going to get in his way, so when Sam explains her reason for being in Hook, the fact that she has called time on her relationship and the consequences that, that action are going to have he has a solution but can he convince her that it is a good one – I mean they have only just met!

I know you are wondering what the heck I am banging on about but while I wasn’t sure that two people so fervently opposed to commitment could possibly get together, I was also sure that they were right for each other, they were the perfect fit.

Duke was not your typical book boyfriend but he was everything you would want in real life, he was a good man, with a heart of gold, a working guy who just wanted to be there for Sam, he was so bashful in many ways that I wanted him for myself, Samantha was a very lucky woman because while he may have lacked the social airs and graces that someone like her ex did , he had one thing going for him that was priceless, he had a dirty mouth and a dominant streak that liked to just waggle its finger every now and then!

A spritely read, one that didn’t dither and never held back on it incessant drive to get them where they both needed to be. Full of super characters and some wonderful descriptive notes that encouraged my imagination – the thought of Duke sorting out his sisters and reminding them to schedule their use of their hairdryers to prevent the power going out will live long in my memory and continue to bring a smile to my face!

This was an all’s well that ends well story and I finished it happy in that knowledge