Haven’t all fans of this series been waiting for Levi to get his head out of his ass and see the amazing woman right in front of him? Tara has been in love with Levi her whole life, or so it seems. And while Levi’s little girl, Joey, is Tara’s niece, there’s never been a real relationship between daughter and mother. Tara is much more of a mother figure than an aunt to Joey. As Levi notes at one point, he never realized there was a hole in their lives because Tara has always been there for them.

There is such wonderful restraint between Levi and Tara while Levi is feeling things out. He doesn’t want to make a move or talk to Tara about his feelings without having some idea of where she stands. He’s afraid of ruining the wonderful friendship they have and the phenomenal relationship she has with young Joey. But man, the dude can be dense. To everyone else, their feelings are obvious. Levi and Tara are much more cautious because they have the most to lose. Once Levi finally drops his guard and makes his move, the gloves come off. These two are an inferno!

This couple doesn’t need to start from square one. Quite frankly, they’ve been in a relationship this whole time without the added benefits. Other than keeping things on the down low for Joey’s sake, they jump in with both feet. In fact, Levi seems to be making up for lost time. As much as they know about each other, there are things Tara has kept from him. As the truth of how her sister and mom treated her behind closed doors unfolds, Levi proves himself to be the man she needs in her life.

I’m so pleased with how the story of Tara, Levi, and Joey played out. While I believe everyone deserves an HEA, I’ve been rooting for this little family for a long time.

Note: This story is published under a different publisher than the related Silver Harbor series and, for some reason, the other publisher has things on a different timeline. The author always writes her books so they can be read as standalone stories, but if you want to know where this falls in the timeline it actually comes before the first Silver Harbor book, Maybe We Will.

You can find more of my reviews at All In Good Time.

This small town single dad romance features Levi, who was a young father to Joey because her mother Amelia, wanted nothing to do with being a mother to her. They have made their way pretty well so far because they are surrounded with people who love them. This includes Tara, who is Amelia's sister, but much more proud of being Joey's aunt and a friend to Levi. For years Tara has carried a torch for Levi but she's made a resolution that she's going to try and move past him. But Levi has a recent realization as well: he's really into Tara, so much that he finally tells her he wants to pursue a relationship with her. They embark on a relationship, but of course things aren't smooth sailing. Almost everyone is happy for them, except Tara's mother, who is seldom happy with her about everything. And of course there's the matter of Amelia.

This is really a sweet story, but the dirty talk between Levi and Tara is hot and spicy. I also loved how he would build her up whenever he felt she needed it. They may have only been friends but they were certainly cued in on each other and so once they were together, it was just meant to be.