Safeguard (Speakeasy Taproom #7)by Stephanie Rose
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Synopsis:
Jilted. Living in a glorified closet. The world’s worst bar waitress. I just need to keep a roof over my head and make tuition payments until I can finish graduate school. Then my real life will start. But right now, long nights at the Speakeasy have me burning the candle at both ends and the wax melting all over my fingers.
When a bar manager offers me a job taking care of his adorable five-year-old daughter, it seems like the perfect solution. I get a quiet place to study. Matteo gets a reliable sitter.
There should be no complications. Except that I like my new boss a little too much. His gorgeous dark eyes humble me, and the long talks we share fill me up inside. I can’t possibly fall for him.
But the undeniable pull between us leads to a scorching kiss I can’t ignore or forget, and suddenly I’ve fallen for them both, father and daughter.
And now three hearts are at stake.
Review
From the very SECOND that single-dad Matteo was mentioned in Touchstone I KNEW that I needed this story. I’m so glad it was the last one in the series because I really felt it rounded everything out perfectly. Everything about this book was beyond what I could have hoped for.
Matteo himself? Perfect.
Matteo’s relationship with his daughter, Lauren? Perfect.
Melanie and how seamlessly she transitioned into their lives? PERFECT.
I have come to realize that there are certain tropes or situations in romances that I cannot handle. One of those is what I dub “the pointless miscommunication.” Although miscommunications are a HUGE part of romances and relationships in general, there is a line I draw when it’s just thrown into the plot to bring about a point of drama. Heck, even when it does make sense, I’m just not often in the mood for that anymore. I was worried I was going to see that here actually when a certain character came back to town but it was a non-issue and I rejoiced.
Even though I haven’t read a ton of books where there’s a single parent with a kid/kids, I just assume that things are bound to get messy because honestly, how couldn’t they?! Introducing a partner to kids can be a huge point of contention, especially if they are old enough to know what is going on. With Lauren, the situation was unique because she had never known her mom and Matteo was such a great dad/parent, that there wasn’t even really a hole there for her. That being said, I don’t think that was fully the reason that she was okay with Melanie so fast. No, I think that’s all on Melanie being the kind and special person she was. I loved every single one of their interactions and honestly just tearing up thinking about those two getting married and becoming a family and maybe even giving Lauren some siblings some day *cries*. HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS ENTIRE SERIES!
Huge thanks to Heart Eyes Press for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review!&hearts
