Just This Once
by Mira Lyn Kelly
Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Book #3 in The Wedding Date series
He can't have her. So he moves in with her... What could possibly go wrong?
As heir to a chain of luxury hotels, Sean Wyse III always gets what he wants. So when he sees a freeloading roommate taking advantage of his spunky best friend, Molly Brandt, he doesn't hesitate to step in. He kicks out the roommate...and moves himself in.
Molly loves quality time with Sean, but spending nights with him one wall away threatens to wake the crush she thought she'd gotten over. A crush Sean knows nothing about, which might be a problem...considering how hard Sean's been working never to think of Molly that way.
Genre:
#Interconnected Romance
Triggers:
Unexpected Pregnancy, Family Issues
My thoughts below are full of spoilers. Be warned!
Now this is what I have been expecting from Mira Lyn Kelly, and The Wedding Date series. I really liked May The Best Man Win, and The Wedding Date Bargain was okay, but I found both stories lacking something. Just This Once reminded me why decided to take a chance on this book series, and it was because I loved some of Mira Lyn Kelly's other works.
Just This Once centers around Sean Wyse and Molly Brandt, Max's little sister, and both of them part of the group of friends these books are focused on. It's been hinted at in the last two books that Sean and Molly were closer than the rest of them, and Emily strongly suspected that Molly had feelings for Sean. The whole best friends turn lovers is perhaps cliche, but it's written so well that you forget about that. Some small twists make an overused plot exciting to read.
I loved that Sean moved himself into Molly's apartment without telling her, because she was too nice to kick out the free-loading roommate she had, leading to the roommate wars. They literally tortured each other with sleep deprivation, but neither would the other cave on their stance. Molly, in a moment of weakness, shows her hidden feelings, and plays it off to Sean as her new form of warfare. Flirt with him until he breaks. And it works. He gets freaked out, but also see's Molly in a new light: as a woman.
The sexual tension between the two of them, and chemistry, is off the charts. That the two of them turn to negative reinforcement whenever they have sexual thoughts of one another by watching a knitting program from the 70's is hilarious, as well as them being open about it with their group of friends.
Of course, it does work. A kiss leads to sex, with the promise of it happening just this once. And oh. My. God. The sex is hot in this book. After weeks of denying it, he see's the light, and falls in love with Molly. Although, lets me honest. He always loved her. He admits to himself that he could be himself with her, and he was okay with the idea of an arranged marriage, because he had Molly for everything he would be missing. His fear of ruining his most sacred friendship with Molly, and her brother, kept him from seeing her as his soulmate long before. Despite Molly's reservations, feeling not good enough to be his partner, he convinces her to try.
And they are happy until two snobby bitches ruin it. It doesn't ruin it for him. He knows he wants Molly. He doesn't see her as less than him. She is perfect. But for Molly, its enough to make her question their relationship. His awful mother puts the nail in the coffin by confirming she isn't good enough for him, and Molly breaks his heart.
Which leads me to the twist I was NOT expecting. Molly finding out she is pregnant. With her friends and brother at the table with her. Finding out when she is seeing Sean for the first time since the break up. Usually I cringe a bit when an unexpected pregnancy is thrown into the mix. It didn't make me cringe. It felt right for these two people. Its not like they only knew each other for a short while, and weren't careful. They both are usually very careful when it comes to sex. They trusted each other enough to be a little less careful.
I appreciated that the pregnancy is not what brings them back together, but a gesture from Sean that shows that he loves Molly more than anything ... especially his hotel. Giving her the hotel, and going straight to the media announcing she was the new owner of the Chicago Wyse Hotel, mother of his child, and hopefully future wife, showing Molly he could care less about what his parents and the rest of society thought of them together. It was extreme, but what she needed to see that Sean truly wanted her, more than anything.
The epilogue was short and sweet, in Brody's point of view. Molly and Sean getting married two weeks later is so ... them. I loved that with all the money they have, they still choose a small ceremony on the beach, with just their friends, their chosen family. The lead in to the next book is a mystery, much like Brody himself. Three books in, and we don't know much about him, other than the fact that he owns Belfast, and used to have a thing for Molly himself. It will be interesting to see if Brody's book will be just as good as this one, or lackluster as the past two. 4/5
Sean: "What is that, coconut?"
Molly: "Yeah, I just got it. Smells good, right?"
Sean: "It smells like one of those candy cocktails we were drinking down in Mexico."
Molly: "I'm intoxicating."
Sean: "Watch out, men. She comes across sweet, but she'll knock you on your ass if you aren't looking."
Molly: "Hells to the yeah."
Molly: "Sean, you are such a cock blocker. Seriously, you're cramping my style. People are going to think we're together."
Sean: "Cock blocking? Moll, you know I love it when you talk like you have a pair, but I'm pretty sure there's nothing for me to block."
Molly: "Wow,, and that teaspoon of inadvertent honesty sprinkled on this mountain of deceit is actually supposed to make me feel better?"
Molly: "Janice, I know you don't have a lot of love to spare for Sean, but if you'd seen his stomach when he leaned back into the counter -"
Janice: "Uh-uh-uh. I don't want to hear about his washboard abs or happy trail or the magic V that makes smart women stupid on that guy.
Molly: "The magic V, Janice."
Janice: "Congratulations, Molly, I just threw up in my mouth."
Molly: "Fine. It's totally my fault. I was pissed at Sean for moving into my apartment and kicking my old roommate out without talking to me about it first. And I did something stupid, okay? I tried to get him to move out by flirting with him, because I knew how uncomfortable it would make him. But the total ween wouldn't go, so I kept trying and trying, except then he got a boner, and it touched me, and now it's all weird and uncomfortable, which is why Sean's sitting there looking like he'd rather be anywhere else."
Sean: "You're texting?"
Brody: "Yeah. Just letting Max know your dirty dog bone touched his sister."
Max calls Sean.
Sean: "Hey, Max, how's the honeymoon?"
Max: "What in the fuck is your dick doing anywhere near my little sister?"
"Sorry, Moll." He laughed, fighting her off. "It's for the greater good. Drastic times, drastic measures and all that."
Squirming, she stuffed her bare foot into his armpit and wiggled her toes. "You sound like a girl," she taunted at his shocked squeak. "I will not watch this knitting show. I work three jobs, Sean. My downtime is precious."
"All the better," he countered, dropping the remote behind the couch to catch her foot. "Every time we get a case of the wayward thoughts, we turn this shit on as punishment. Pretty soon, we'll be safely back in the land of Platonica."
Molly shuddered and withdrew her foot as Sean eased off her forehead. "God, I hate you."
Clinking his beer to hers, he eased back into the cushions, a smug smile stretching his lips. "See? It's working already."
"Your boner's gone?" she asked, forcing herself to watch the camera pan across the yarn. They were going to need more beer, she though, taking a long swallow.
"Not even close," Sean replied casually, causing beer to snort out of her nose. He shook his head. "Damn, not even now."
Molly" "Okay. You're trying to figure out if Sean nailed me."
Sean: "Way to cheapen it."
Molly: "Sorry. I meant that Em was trying to figure out if you made sweet, sweet love to me."
Jase: "I told you they were idiots."
Emily: "So after the boner incident, you guys are suffering from a case of mutual attraction? And instead of say ... giving in to it ... you're watching ... knitting?"
Both shrug
Emily: "Thats the most asinine thing I've ever heard. What's the matter with you two?"
Sean: "You fit into my plans, Moll. I can't imagine my future without you being a part of it. But I'm pretty sure the kind of marriage you're looking for isn't the kind just as easily referred to as an arrangement. You're more than that, Moll. Not less. That's why we're watching yard porn. Because what Moll and I have together, our friendship, is too important to risk screwing up with ... screwing."
Molly: "You say the sweetest things."
Molly: "Max, you're on your honeymoon for another two days. Pay attention to your bride before she decides to stamp Return to Sender on your ass and lets one of those saucy scuba guides give her a few buddy breathing lessons."
Jill: "So here's the deal. When you want something -say, like a doughnut - and you keep telling yourself you can't have it, not to even think about it, that doughnut starts taking over your world. You can't function right because it's there, dripping warm chocolate over your every thought."
Molly: "Yeah. What do you do to get the doughnut out of your head?"
Jill: "Simple. Eat it."
Molly: "Do you ever really wish you could have a doughnut, but you know you shouldn't? Like you're trying to cut back on bad carbs or processed sugar, or maybe they were just out of doughnuts when you went to the stand and you figured you'd just wait until you could one another day, but then all day you think about the doughnut, because you didn't just have it when you wanted it, so when you finally, finally see a chance to get the doughnut again, you make a really bad decision and buy, like, all the doughnuts they have and eat and eat and eat until you're sick to your stomach and filled with regret?"
Sean: "No. I bust my ass at the gym so I don't worry about carbs and sugar, and when I want a doughnut, I get one. I mean, this sounds pretty obnoxious, but if I really want a doughnut and the stand doesn't have one, I call down to Jerry, and I've got one in the next twenty minutes."
Molly: "Say it's a special doughnut and -"
Sean: "I'm more of a bagel guy."
Molly: "You're the doughnut, Sean! You are the doughnut I'm craving. The one I keep thinking about when I'm supposed to be thinking of other things. You. And all I was saying is that maybe what we need to do is give in just a little. Have a taste to curb the craving ... Before we crack and wake up surrounded by shredded Dunkin' Donut bags and a bed filled with crumbs."
Sean: "I never let myself think about what it would be like to have your hands on me. But now that I know, I'm afraid I'll never be able to stop."
Sean: "I put out, twice. I earned the cuddle."
Max: "Just what the fuck was your dirty fucking dick doing anywhere near Molly?"
Max: "So, what are you saying? You got a bone to one-up her?"
Sean: "No, I got a bone because she crawled into my lap, and she's fucking beautiful."
Sean: What I'm talking about - asking you for - is you and me, together. Giving more than friends a chance, because this is the first time in my life that I'm not waiting for what feels right. I've found it. It's you ... Damn it, Molly, it's this."
Molly: "You're spoiling me."
Sean: "I'm worshiping you."
Sean: "So you love love me?"
Molly: "Yes, I do. Kind of desperately and hopelessly, and I'm pretty sure for the rest of my life."
Check out the first two books, and the final book, or The Wedding Date Series
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