Years ago she promised me her hand in marriage. Now I’m here to collect.
When I close my eyes, there’s only one face I see.
Nicola– the girl I was forbidden from having.
She’s the daughter of my best friend. When she was nearly 18, she confessed she had a crush on me. I knew better than to pretend I wanted her, so I ignored her heartfelt confession.
With tears in her eyes, she promised she’d … save herself for me.
Only me.
Afraid of wrecking my friendship with her father, I left town.
But after years of a brooding bachelor life, of trying to find someone or something to fill the hole in my heart, I’m done pretending I don’t want Nicola.
The problem?
Her father is now her boss, and she isn’t about to risk her career for a life with me.
That’s too bad… because I’m determined to put a ring on her finger.
A promise is a promise.
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An intriguing age gap, a second chance romance, and tons of heat. Forbidden Bride checks off all the boxes and leaves you reeling until the very last page. The chemistry between our two main characters is spicy from the jump, and it is hard not to root for them. The taboo older man trope is one of my favorites, and Penny Wylder is also my go-to when I want a quick, steamy read.
I liked this story. It was entertaining. The characters were interesting and well developed.
Tristan has moved home to collect on a promise of marriage from a few years ago. He has tried to forget his best friend’s daughter Nicola since she told him she was in love with him. She told him that she’d save herself for him and only him. Moving away to keep from messing up his relationship with her dad and from giving into Nicola was the only thing that Tristan could think of. Now Tristan is ready for everything that Nicola promised him and nothing is going to stand in his way of putting a ring on her finger.
Nicola being in love with Tristan for so long was the only reason why I didn’t want to smack her for not making him grovel. I felt like Tristan should have done some major groveling but his reason did make sense when we got to hear it. I liked that Tristan was willing to fulfill Nicola’s fantasies and vice versa. I liked the way it ended, but I wish there was an epilogue further out as well. I recommend reading this book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
It takes two to get the right flavor combination for Orange Basil ice cream
Nicola Thompson has loved Tristan Swallows since she was a young teenager. The only problem is that Tristan is her father Bruce’s best friend and he has seen her grow up. But the night of her eighteenth birthday at the party her parents throw at their house she waits for him in the darkness of the kitchen. When he comes in for a beer from the fridge she lets him know she has been waiting for him and then holy moly she “tells him some things”. Tristan begins to get carried away on the feelings, as he has feelings for Nicola but he is not sure what they are quite yet. When he finally realizes that they can’t and pulls away she tells him she will wait for him as she is his. The next morning Tristan leaves town without telling anyone.
It is now four years later and Tristan has come back to Leighton City to collect on Nicola’s promise that she will wait for him. But he also knows that he loves her and wants her in all ways, to be her first in everything. During the four years Nicola has goes to culinary school and then went to work for her family company, Thompson Ice Cream, as their flavor creator. She has not dated during this time as no one compares to Tristan. So when he comes back she is not sure what to think, as he left her before. Luckily for Tristan Bruce offers him the job as head of marketing as the person left and went to a competitor. This is a perfect job for Tristan as marketing is his specialty and it will also put him close to Nicola, as they will have to work together.
The story of Nicola and Tristan is really about destiny. No matter how hard they tried to fight it they are destined to be together. But things may not go quite as smoothly as they would both hope once her parents find out?
I really enjoyed this book and was engaged in the story-line. Nicola and Tristan are well written with depth and emotion, not to mention all of the sizzling hot chemistry and adult play times they have. This is a sweet, low angst, romantic and sexy story with a great epilogue that set my Kindle on fire.
It may just be me, but this one had way more sex than story to it.
I really wanted to get to know Nicola the way Tristan seemed to know her so well.
I also really wanted to see some groveling. Tristan after all did just walk away from Nicola for 4 years after she confessed her love and promised herself to him. But nope, we have a slutty female who fall for him hook-line-and sinker all because she loves what he can do with her body.
Now when I say there was too much sex in this story, I really feel this way because I wanted to see how these two progress together in a relationship that wasn’t solely about the sex. But unfortunately that’s all we got to see in this one.