Friday, September 11, 2015

The Baby Contract - Barbara Dunlop (HD #2396 - Sept 2015)

Series: Billionaires and Babies (Book 61)

Troy Keiser won't hire a woman, no matter how skilled -- or beautiful -- for the dangerous work of his elite security firm. Plus, there's no way he could keep his hands off Mila Stern! But when his sister and infant nephew need protection, Troy offers Mila a job…as a caretaker for them both.

Mila doesn't know much about kids, but she'll learn if it means Troy hiring her for more than this assignment. But as she falls for the baby -- and her sexy boss! -- she uncovers a secret about the boy in her care that could change everything… 

Good book. Mila is a very determined woman and she wants a job at Troy's security firm. Troy is equally insistent that he will hire no women. Mila has just managed to get a face to face meeting with Troy when his sister and her infant charge appear. She is being stalked and wants to stay with Troy for awhile. Seeing her opportunity, Mila talks Troy into letting her protect Kassidy and Drake on a temporary basis, hoping to show him what she can do.

I loved Mila. She was smart, she was determined, and she wasn't going to give up. I loved the way that she took on everything that Troy threw at her. He kept telling her that she didn't have what it takes to work for him and would give her the same tests he gave the male applicants. And she kept passing them. The only one she had trouble with was the obstacle course, and she refused to give up on it. In the meantime, she was doing everything she could to find out who Kassidy's stalker was. I loved seeing the way she earned the respect of the other security guys.

Troy was a rather frustrating man. Because he had lost a woman agent early on in the business, he has refused to hire another one. He won't accept that it wasn't his fault, and that it could just as easily been one of the men. The problem that he is running into is that she is earning his respect, but he can't get past his fears that something could happen to her.

Mila and Troy were also fighting an irresistible attraction to each other. Nearly every time they got close to each other they ended up in each other's arms. Both knew that sex would be a bad idea because it would blur the lines between boss and employee, but they ended up giving in several times. For Troy especially, it just made him more determined to protect her. Mila knows that she is falling for him, and still has hope that she can overcome his protectiveness and show him that she can do the job. But in the end, Troy refuses to take the chance, and Mila won't accept anything less that what she deserves. I loved the ending, with Mila still determined to conquer the obstacle course, the rest of the guys invested in helping her do it, and the way they all stood up to Troy to show him that he was wrong. Seeing him finally get it was very satisfying.

I really enjoyed the stalker story line, something that is very different for the Desire line. I liked the way it brought Kassidy and Troy back together, after years of not getting along well at all. It was interesting to see how Troy's opinion of his sister changed throughout the book, from believing that she was like a kid playing at being a rock star and mother, to actually seeing the talented young woman that she was. I also loved seeing him go from being very wary around little Drake to comfortable and loving with the little boy. The only thing I found hard to believe was that he didn't take the stalker thing seriously from the start. He was convinced that it was simply an overzealous fan, while Mila was certain that there was something truly creepy going on. Even once Troy was convinced, he was certain it had to do with him (conceited much?) and not Kassidy. I loved the way it was Mila that really had a handle on the whole thing. When the final confrontation came, it was Mila and being a woman that gave them the advantage, which was really satisfying. There was also a twist that I really didn't see coming when it came to Drake's true parents. I'd like to see Kassidy get her own story - maybe with Vegas?

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