TWINS UNDER HIS TREE
Join Becca Flannigan and Nick Ciotti as they promise to
love, honor and cherish each other in front of their family and friends…and her
baby bump! The blushing bride-to-be is carrying double duty -- twins -- from
one passionate night with a mysterious bad boy. When Becca lands in the
hospital, who should treat her but Nick? He's the new doc in town, but his
bedside manner is all too familiar…
Becca and Nick begin to bond, but can Dr. Delicious leave
his painful past behind him to create a family of his own? Add in Becca's
worries about her own future, and you've got one apprehensive engagement! With
a little Christmas magic for the bride and groom, this may be the
happiest-ever-after in Celebration!
Very good book. Nick and Becca met when he was in Celebration interviewing for a job at the hospital and she was there because her nephew had been in an accident. Becca's sister was being rather nasty to Becca and Nick helped her out with some information. They ran into each other again a short time later at a restaurant and the chemistry between them had Becca indulging in an uncharacteristic one night stand. A short time later she discovered she was pregnant and tried unsuccessfully to find Nick to tell him. A couple months later she lands in the hospital with food poisoning and is treated by Nick, who had just started working there.
That meeting is beyond awkward. Becca is not at her best, and it certainly isn't the way she had expected to tell Nick he was going to be a father. To say that Nick is stunned would be putting it mildly. As the hospital ER is not the place for discussion, they make plans for Nick to visit the next day so they can talk.
I liked Becca. She is a strong and independent woman who, once she gets over the shock, is ready to be the best mother she can be, She does have some family issues, with parents who are wealthy but not the warmest of parents, and a sister with whom she has always had a difficult relationship. She's been reluctant to reveal her pregnancy, not wanting to deal with the drama they would create. When she and Nick connect, she makes it clear that she doesn't expect anything from him, though she will welcome his involvement if he wants it.
I also liked Nick. His kindness to Becca at their first meeting showed that he does have a good heart. He is surprised to find out that she's pregnant and it really throws him. He doesn't believe that he has the ability to be a good father or husband. Due to a tragedy when he was a teenager, his family broke apart. He holds himself responsible for what had happened and as a result doesn't let anyone get close to him. He had been married before, but his workaholic tendencies, developed to protect himself, ended the marriage. He tells Becca that he will provide financially, but not to expect anything else from him.
In spite of what he said, he finds himself wanting to get to know Becca better and pursue the connection that they have thanks to her pregnancy. As they start spending time together, Becca wants Nick to see that he can become part of the Celebration community. I loved watching her introduce him to her friends and get him involved in the small town life. Nick has spent so long avoiding involvement with anyone that being around Becca is sometimes overwhelming, but he can't stay away. I really enjoyed seeing him at her friends' house for the Sunday football game and how he fit right in. I also found it pretty funny that he was jealous of the guy who was flirting with her since he had been telling himself that he wasn't going to get emotionally involved.
I loved seeing him insist on going to her doctor's appointment with her, and how he was there when they found out she was having twins. He gets very protective of her and discovers that he really likes being with her. I loved how he insisted on going with her when she told her parents, and how he stood up to them, especially her mother, when they started being obnoxious. I felt bad for him during the Thanksgiving dinner scene, when it seemed like everyone was ganging up on them. That much family, and opinionated at that, was really overwhelming for him. I liked the way that Becca was able to get him to talk about his past, and how she tried to get him to see that it wasn't his fault. I loved the way she encouraged him to mend the rift with his father. It was sweet to see how Becca's way of letting him adjust to all his new realities on his own terms helped him to see that he wanted the chance to be a family with her and the babies. His big moment at the end was sweet and romantic and perfect for the two of them.
