Wrapped in Love

(The Boys of Jackson Harbor #4)

A one-night stand with the boss was never in her plans. Neither was falling in love . . . 

The rumors are true. I am a hot mess with an awful track record at love. Single mom. Down on her luck. Yeah, I’m bad news. 

So if the hardest part of moving back home to Jackson Harbor was going to be people talking? I’d be fine. I’ve kept my chin up through worse than their decade-old gossip. 

I was wrong. The hardest part is resisting my boss. Brayden Jackson is the very picture of tall-dark-and-handsome. And thanks to an ill-advised one-night stand we had seven months ago, I know exactly what I’m missing when I turn him down. Every. Single. Delicious. Inch. 

But I have my son to care for and my job to keep, so I’ll keep on saying no. 

Until my string of bad luck continues, and suddenly my precious four-year old and I find ourselves with nowhere to live. At Christmas, no less. It’s for my son that I accept Brayden’s offer to stay at his place. One by one, my defenses are falling, as fast as I am. If Brayden was smart, he’d run, because it’s only a matter of time before he realizes he deserves better than what a girl like me can offer. 

Unless, for once, my bad luck is leading me exactly where I need to be.

Brayden  is the serious, intense, work-a-holic of the Jackson clan. Molly is a single mom with a bad reputation in Jackson Harbor and survived some difficult situations. She has worked for the Jacksons in New York. She and Brayden had a one night stand and she has kept him at arm's length ever since. But now she is now transferring  back home for a new position in the company and they will be working closely together.

She is a hard worker and determined to give her son the best life she can. Her return and the secrets exposed caused some issues in the family, but she has since been finding her place and acceptance. But she lacks self worth and always feels like she cannot escape her past and reputation.

When she finds herself in need of a place to live, she begrudgingly ends up staying with Brayden. But she is very clear about rules and boundaries. Both have secretly longed for more, but she has so many fears and insecurities that she does not feel like she deserves someone as good as Brayden. Not to mention he is her boss. And he is not sure what to do with his feelings and risk spooking her, and the fact she is an important employee.

So there is plenty of back and forth with these two due to communication issues, fears, and imposed rules and restrictions. And as the rules start to change, it gets even more complicated. This installment is angsty, emotional, sexy, and sweet. Brayden is a wonderful hero. He is so protective, caring, and loyal, but also sexy and intense. Molly is fiercely independent and hates to be pitied or judged, so she could be prickly and resistant at times. But she is also a caring woman that craves unconditional love even if she is afraid to reach for it.  They have good chemistry and make a good team. But they are both stubborn and see things differently. He wants it all. She does not think she is worthy. Can she let go of the past in order to look towards a future? Can he convince her to give him a real chance?

I loved getting more with his brothers and their significant others. They have a diverse group of family and friends that both support and tease each other. And this family is the heart and soul of the series. I am looking forward to Carter's book and hopefully their sister, Shay as well in the future.

Brayden is a bit of a workaholic. His focus is on making the family’s business as successful as he can. But he is a bit distracted by his assistant and head of the new event center.

Molly left Jackson Harbor and had no plans to return until her boss offered her a promotion she couldn’t refuse. Now that she’s back, she is paying for decisions she made long before she left town in the first place. Weeks before Christmas she finds herself needing a new place to live, when she didn’t want to act the way people remember her acting, and she has nowhere to turn but to Brayden so her son doesn’t have to spend Christmas in a hotel.

These two had a one night thing before Molly moved back to Jackson Harbor that neither one has been able to forget. They try to ignore that there is chemistry, but working together daily makes it nearly impossible. When Molly needs a place to live and Brayden finds himself offering, it becomes even more of an impossible task to ignore the sparks that fly whenever they are in the same room.

I hated that most people in town hadn’t forgotten or gotten over the choices Molly made when she was younger, making her pay for choice she now regretted and didn’t want to make again. The way she pays for her past decisions in the present was an emotional pain that hurt to read. But I also love Brayden’s effort to treat Molly for who she is rather than who she was, and his need to help her move past those previous hurts.

These two may be my favorite Jackson Harbor couple. Molly had held in so many secrets from her childhood in Jackson Harbor that people remember the persona she showed rather than who she was in the moment. I loved watching as they fought to ignore what was between them, and then again as they maneuvered testing the waters in secret.

Returning to Jackson Harbor and the rest of the Jackson family is always a warm return. The entire family rallies around each other, and is always welcoming to anyone important to one of their own. I loved the influence they each put into pushing Brayden and Molly in the right direction and the way they pulled Noah into the family even before Molly and Brayden had worked things out.

I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.