Just a Little Tempted (Sterling Family Crossover #3)

Carly Phillips, Erika Wilde

Blurb:

I never meant to fall for my boss.

When I was hired to be Simon’s assistant, everyone warned me he was impossible—brilliant, demanding, and obsessed with control. But after surviving two months of his rules and grumpy attitude, I’ve learned how to manage my boss. Maybe it’s my chaotic upbringing or the fact that I desperately need this job, but I can’t ignore the moments when his guarded edges soften… even if he pretends they don’t.

Then one nervous slip in front of a major client turns into a fake relationship neither of us can back out of. Now I’m Simon’s “girlfriend,” attending dinners, traveling for meetings, and sharing far too much close proximity with the man I’m not supposed to want. Pretending to belong to him shouldn’t feel real—but it does. And the hardest part isn’t keeping up the lie. It’s realizing I’m falling for him for real.

Themes: Contemporary

Rating: 4.25 stars

Heat Rating:

Review:

The more a story makes you want to reach for a tissue, the greater that story inherently just has to have been and I can honestly say the tissues were for sure needed in this one. I thought going into this one that I’d be getting a cozy and sexy read to get me through my long holiday weekend, ushering in August and letting me return to the Sterling family world before the next full length Carly Phillips novel—but leave it to Carly and Erika Wilde to leave be sobbing for two chapters and then sniffling in the end. The story begins with grumpy boss Simon, having fired another assistant, reluctantly agreeing to hire his best friend’s little sister, Raina, who was fired and blackballed by her last boss because she refused to compromise her ethics. It doesn’t take long for Simon to not only start to rely on Raina, but he has to resist the attraction between them because her personality brings brightness to her life that has been greatly missing. When Simon takes her with him to a business function, hoping as his plus one she can support their goals of acquiring a new business deal, things get out of hand when she blurts that they are dating. Soon the fake dating becomes all too real because Simon decides there is no reason to continue to fight his attraction to her. But dating the boss is always a dangerous proposition, but falling in love with him might just be even more dangerous, especially when something goes awry on a big day and all of his old fears come to the forefront making him push her away. Can Simon get past his pain and fear enough to trust in Raina and their relationship, or will she walk away leaving him without his sunshine forever? I loved seeing Simon finally come out of his shell and find his softer side as Raina showed him that business is not the only thing, or even the more important thing in life. Raina knows that she is worth any effort and will not allow Simon to take advantage of her, but she loves him enough to allow him to make mistakes and then prove his love for her. Together they are a powerhouse in their business dealings, but more importantly they show a beautiful relationship can be found even with two people that have been hurt in the past if you are willing to open your heart again and tear down your walls to allow in those that are worth the risk. I am not sure if this series will continue but if it does I will put in my request now for Wren to get her own story because she seems like the perfect kind of character to get to know more. But either way, whatever Erika and Carly come up with next I know it will be magic and I’ll be the first in line to read it!

*eARC provided by author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review. No compensation was provided.