A family wedding……
An unexpected reunion
Twelve years ago Arabella Pemberton and Burke Phillips
were in a life-changing car accident. Though Burke escaped with surface wounds,
successful businesswoman Bella still carries the physical and emotional scars
of that night. When they're reunited at a wedding in Italy, old feelings
reignite, and Bella realizes that Burke is the one person she can truly share
herself with, the one person who can show her what she's been missing…
Good second chance story. Bella and Burke knew each other
as teenagers until a tragic car accident set them on separate paths. Twelve
years later, they meet again at her brother's wedding, and the unspoken teenage
crushes turn to more adult feelings. But both Bella and Burke carry scars from
that day long ago, scars that hold them back from living life.
Bella was badly scarred on her chest and arms by broken
glass. Since then, she hides her scars under her clothes, afraid to let others
see that she is less than perfect. That same fear prevents her from allowing anyone
other than her family to get close to her. Even in the family business, she
tends to stay in the background, allowing others to shine. Since the accident,
she worked hard to avoid seeing Burke again because of guilty feelings about
what happened. When her brother asks Burke to be his best man, Bella knows
avoidance is no longer possible, though she tries.
Burke survived the accident with only a broken arm as a
physical injury but a deep sense of guilt for not preventing it.
Though he wasn't the driver, he blames himself for allowing his friend to get
behind the wheel. His inability to help at the scene drove him to a career in
medicine. Now his career is the center of his life, with no room for
relationships. Seeing Bella again stirred up feelings he thought were long
gone.
I enjoyed seeing the relationship develop between Bella
and Burke. When he accidentally sees Bella's scars, Burke is heartbroken and
blames himself for Bella's hiding. He makes it clear that it is the effect of
the scars that bother him, not the scars themselves. Strangely enough, Bella
realizes that she trusts him to be honest with her. When a medical crisis with
her mother forces Bella to return to London, Burke is there every step of the
way. I loved Burke's kindness and understanding and his efforts to ease Bella's
worries. It is easy to see the growing connection between them. It was sweet to
see Burke show Bella his favorite place in London, and I enjoyed seeing how she
relaxed under his nonjudgmental attentions. At the same time, the sparks of
attraction continued to grow until they could no longer resist them.
But the depth of that connection worried Burke. Bella
crept past his walls, but he feels he doesn't deserve the chance for happiness
that she represents. So he pushes her away with words about his unwillingness
for commitments, the importance of his career, and the distance between their
lives (him in London, Bella in Paris). Bella, who admitted to herself that she
was falling for him, was left with a broken heart but a new determination to
begin living her life. I loved seeing the new confidence in herself and the
strength it gave her to come out of hiding. I loved seeing Burke's pride in her
actions and his need to see her again. But when the story of the accident
becomes public, Burke makes the boneheaded mistake of blaming Bella for it and
walks away again. I wanted to shake him for being so selfish. I had to laugh
when he realized what he'd done and went to his mom for advice. Instead of
commiserating, she told him he was a coward and that "my love and support
comes in the form of kicking your a**."
I loved the effect that advice had on Burke. After a long
look at himself and his options, he finally went to see Bella. I laughed a
little to see that he was intimidated by seeing where she worked and understanding
her responsibilities. His nervousness when he finally saw her was sweet. I
liked that he understood when she made him work for her forgiveness. I also
liked that Bella admitted that the blame wasn't all his and that she also made
her share of mistakes. But the vital part was embracing their love for each
other and being willing to work to keep it strong. The epilogue was great and
gave a hint of who is next in the family to fall. 
No comments:
Post a Comment