Series: Royal Babies (Book 3)THE RELUCTANT ROYAL
Ever-practical Maxwell Carter was used to designing highways and streets for VIP motorcades-not waving from the head limo! So when he discovered he was actually a prince of Chantaine by birth, he wasn't impressed-or interested in getting to know his royal family. But his assistant, Sophie Taylor, insisted he give the royals a chance-and Sophie was usually right!
As soon as she stepped into paradise and into the hands of Maxwell's matchmaking half sisters, staid Sophie became sexy Sophie. It wasn't long before a strictly business relationship became personal...as personal as another royal-baby-to-be! Would Maxwell's sense of duty doom their new love from the start, or could this reluctant prince fling caution to the wind and give his heart to his Cinderella?
I liked this book even better than the last one. Max wasn't at all impressed by his newly discovered royal heritage. Nor was he particularly interested in getting to know his new family, but his assistant Sophie wasn't going to give him a moment's peace until he made an effort. Once he was there he found himself getting involved, offering to help build a new road on part of the island. Sophie's arrival made his life easier and harder all at the same time. Easier because she was a miracle worker of an assistant and didn't seem to mind working the same long hours he did. Harder because as she got more involved in life on Chantaine he became more aware of her as a woman.
I really liked both Sophie and Max. Sophie was a hard worker who was very happy with her job. A large part of that happiness was because she was working with Max. She had been attracted to him from the time she was hired but he never seemed to notice her that way. So she worked the way she did so she could be close to him. When she arrived on Chantaine she continued the way she had been until his royal half sisters got into the act. Suddenly she found herself dressing up and going on dates with a charming man who wasn't Max. She thought maybe that would help her realize that nothing would ever happen with him. Then suddenly Max was paying attention to her in a whole new way. She knew that he was unlikely to want anything permanent but she couldn't stop herself from hoping. When she found herself pregnant, Max wanted to do the right thing for the sake of the baby, but Sophie wanted him to want her for herself.
Max was an intriguing guy. Because his adoptive parents had had a volatile marriage he had a very cynical view of love and kept himself closed off emotionally. He made sure that any woman he got involved with knew that he didn't do commitments. He appreciated Sophie for the outstanding assistant that she was but refused to even think about going any further than that. When she nagged him into meeting his new siblings he wasn't expecting to like them at all, but found he couldn't help it. He was impressed with the way that they cared about their people and how hard they worked to improve things. He wasn't real happy when his sisters started dragging Sophie away from work and encouraging her to date. He started to realize how important she was to him and he began to take things to a personal level. He still tried to convince himself that he wasn't capable of anything permanent. I really liked the way that he got involved with the local charity and how obvious it was that he was capable of great caring. He tried very hard to make his proposal sound like a business merger rather than an expression of their love. His fears nearly split them apart forever, but he came through in a fantastic way.
I really liked seeing Max interact with his royal siblings and how he learned that they were people too. There were a lot of similarities between them and him. I especially loved it when Sophie told Max that his sister Bridget was a female version of him which just showed more how he was part of the family whether he wanted to be or not. There are some other really great moments with Max and the rest of the family I can't wait for the next one!
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