Returning to her flooded New Orleans home to face Henry Boudreaux, the man she jilted at the altar, is the hardest thing attorney Sonja Bosco has ever done--even before she discovers she's pregnant. Sonja backed out of the marriage for Henry's sake. He wants to be part of his father's law firm, and his parents will never approve of an interracial marriage. Better to bruise his heart than ruin his life.
Henry can't forgive Sonja, and doubts that he can trust her again. But learning that they're going to be parents means there's no avoiding each other. Springtime on the bayou is already steamy enough...now they're living in the same small space while their damaged house is repaired. And with each passing day they're getting a little more honest. A lot more real. And realizing that nothing--not even New Orleans at Mardi Gras--glows brighter than the desire they're trying to deny...
Good book. This story begins shortly before the end of the first book, Fully Dressed, so there is a little overlapping activity. At the beginning of the first book, Sonja and Henry are just hours away from their wedding. On the day of the wedding, Sonja runs, leaving Henry at the altar. This book takes on the aftermath of that action and the changes in their relationship.
As this book starts, Sonja returns to New Orleans three weeks after her non-wedding and comes face-to-face with Henry. He is understandably angry. He had no idea that Sonja had reservations about their marriage, so her desertion was a total surprise. They exchange some pretty harsh words. Sonja blames herself for the disaster, but she also holds resentment toward Henry for keeping secrets from her. Sonja doesn't have much room to complain, though, because she kept some things from him, too - not the least of which is that she is pregnant.
It is clear from their first meeting that the sparks between Sonja and Henry have not died, and neither one is happy about it. Each would like to cut ties altogether, but Fate decrees otherwise. First, they must work together to fix their flooded home before they can sell it. Because both of them invested everything in the house and the wedding, they are stuck sharing the tiny guest house on the property. Second, Sonja's pregnancy means they must find a way to co-parent their baby. This means they must face their past.
I enjoyed seeing Henry and Sonja work their way back to each other. Both had to take serious looks at their past relationship and admit to their mistakes. The biggest thing was facing the fact that their former relationship was more superficial than either wanted to admit. Everything looked great on the surface, but there were significant underlying issues that they never talked about. One of those issues was that of race. Sonja is black, and Henry is white. It makes no difference to their love for each other, but Henry's parents are not happy and make it obvious. Unfortunately, most of their attitude falls on Sonja when Henry isn't around to witness it. The last straw is their threat to disown Henry if he marries her, and she refuses to ruin his life. Sonja also worries that Henry might have similar attitudes (well-buried) thanks to his upbringing. On his side, Henry neglected to tell Sonja about his ex-fiancée's stalker tendencies, leaving Sonja blindsided when Dierdre confronted her right before the wedding. Both are left with some serious trust issues.
There were a lot of angry words and accusations thrown at each other at the beginning. Dealing with that anger forced Henry and Sonja to talk about things they had avoided before. It was a slow process, but they finally started to reach below the surface of their previous relationship and communicate. It isn't easy, and there is the occasional regression, but they do make progress. Complicating matters is the attraction that still has a tight grip on them. Giving into it adds to the pain and confusion. It takes a while for them to realize that the love they share is still there. There are some sweet scenes of them together as that love grows and matures to the point where they can admit their feelings to each other. I liked the ending as they moved toward a future together.
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