CONTROLLED BURN: BOSTON FIRE #2

CONTROLLED BURN:BOSTON FIRE#2    SHANNON STACEY

Rick Gullotti lives the good life. He fights fires, dates beautiful women—though none long enough so they cast wistful glances at jewelry stores—and has great friends. And thanks to helping out the elderly couple who own his building, his rent is low. But when concerns about their health lead him to contact their only son, his life starts getting away from him.

Jessica Broussard has no interest in leaving sunny San Diego or her cushy corner office for Boston, but her father—who happens to be her boss—dispatches her to deal with the grandparents she's never met. She's unprepared for the frigid winter, loving relatives who aren't the monsters she's been led to believe, and the hot, scruffy firefighter who lives upstairs.

At first, Jessica is determined to get back to her comfortable life as quickly as possible. All she has to do is talk her grandparents into selling their monstrosity of a house and moving to a retirement community. But she underestimates Rick's dedication—and his considerable charm. Nobody's taking advantage of his friends on his watch, even if that makes the tempting southern California girl with the long legs his adversary. Unfortunately for them both, the only thing more urgent than the matter at hand is their sizzling chemistry, and it's quickly becoming too strong to resist.
MY REVIEW:

     This author always seems to provide all the things I love in a good romance family saga.  What I like most is she seems to include the township into the conflict adding to the comedy and the pain that keeps this saga moving.

     What is heart breaking about this story is Jessica Broussard is in her mid-thirties and has never been married.  That’s not the sad part.  The sad part is she has never really had a mother’s love or her dad’s for that matter.  You see her mother ran out on them when she was three (still have questions about that one.)  Her father has been emotionally unavailable the rest of the time.

     She was made to believe she had no one but him.  Now this is the sad part…he told her his parents were not good people and alcoholics.  Not worth their time.  So, her whole life he has groomed her to take over his financial management company of which she is V.P. but due to his 4^th divorce it is now in her hands.

     Due to the fact that a call comes in for him concerning his father from the emergency room in Boston and they wouldn’t discuss it with her she calls him.  Before she can say what she needs he says handle it.  So, she does.  She delegates at the office and goes remote and takes off to Boston to meet and check on these so called grandparents in California.  Her plan: move them to a retirement home, sell their home, and get out of town.  But as soon as she arrives she meets Rick Gullotti. 

     Rick tells her he is a renter on the third floor but she can tell by how guarded he is that he is much more to her grandparents.  Once she explains who she is he takes her in.  Needless to say it was a shock to them all because her grandparents had no idea they had a granddaughter at all.  They ask her to tell them about herself and she does.

     Rick doesn’t hear anything to suspect she is there to hurt the people he has come to love like family but something doesn’t feel right.  He knows he can’t let his attraction for her stir him in the wrong direction.  Even if her lips are the kind that look so inviting.  It’s when he brings in her bags and things that he sees the note pad with house comps for the surrounding neighborhoods that his feathers go up and he knows he needs to watch Joe and Marie’s back even from their sexy as hell granddaughter.

     Now they are having to not only give each other room to see if each other is truly trustworthy but they have to get to know each other’s through Joe and Marie’s eyes as well and vice a versa.  Davy is an alcoholic with nothing but hate for his parents and it seems like nothing but total manipulation when it comes to his daughter.  Who can Jessica believe?

     I totally enjoyed this story but wished there had been an epilogue.  I feel it left so many things up in the air.  Did they get married?  Did they buy the house?  Did the father make peace with his parents?  Otherwise, the relationship she forged with her grandparents was so nice and the father well…I love the firehouse and the firefighters within.  I give this 4 stars.  Provided by netgalley.com. 

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