ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

"What could possibly go wrong?" Famous last words. When I read them it made me nervous. Because what could go wrong? Just about everything and anything.

If you've read any of Tessa's books you know that she can write awesome men. She even managed to turn one of her worst characters (See Branson in "Conflagration") into one of my favorites. But Xavier? Good lord, Tessa outdid herself this time. He's a single dad who has committed his life to raising his daughter. SWOON.

The book opens after Kalli and Xavier secretly get married in Vegas. The next morning the rest of the gang finds out, which results in Kalli and Xavier telling the story of how two people who have been holding back their feelings for each other for TEN YEARS (in fairness to Xavier, Kalli was only 16 when the first met), ended up married.

And it is an amazing story. It's a story about relationships. Xavier's relationship with his mother, who dropped everything to help him raise his daughter. It's about his relationship with his daughter Lily. I basically melted every time those two interacted. Kalli's relationship with Lily. And of course his relationship with Kalli. Xavier is the real deal y'all. He's sweet, patient, caring, loyal, passionate, a good friend, and a fantastic father. Oh and also a bit of a dirty talker, which is always good. And when he does it in Spanish...YOWZA!! Towards the end of the book Xavier reflects on his "aha!" moments and I found them to be a very good summary of the man himself:

You know that commercial where people are reliving that “aha!”moment in their lives when everything changed? The sweet epiphany that has the sun looking brighter, the sky bluer, and all your senses heightened?

I’ve been lucky enough to experience two of those moments in my lifetime. The first was when Lily was placed in my arms when she was only minutes old. Staring down into the face of this beautiful, scary, hopeful tiny little being who was counting on me changed my life forever, and it’s been evolving ever since.

The second? The second aha moment of my life was when I finally told the woman of my dreams just how much I love her. It wasn’t enough that I’d admitted it to Kale already. She needed to hear them, and I needed to say them. As soon as the words escaped my lips, it was as if years of pent-up frustration, want, and need melted away, leaving me to wonder why in the hell I’d fought it for as long as I had.

And then a little later in the book:

Until I met Kalli, I wasn’t living. I was only existing. Even though I tried to resist, she came into my life and awoke emotions in me that had been so dormant I had no longer known I’d possessed them. Slowly but surely, she crept in and took hold of my heart, bringing it back to life.

And this is when I have my third aha moment. Sometimes, it’s okay for love to be selfish. Possessive. Mine certainly is when it comes to my wife.

Going back to that original question of "What could possibly go wrong?" Surprisingly, not much. Yes, there was a little hiccup in their relationship, but it was dealt with pretty quickly. Besides that, this book was pretty drama free, which was very refreshing. Yes, I love me an angsty, drama filled story, but it is nice to have a practically drama free read.