ARC Review: His Pregnant Secretary by Joanne Rock (Little Secrets The McNeill Magnates #4)

Title: His Pregnant Secretary

          (Little Secrets; McNeill Magnates)

Author: Joanne Rock

Release Date: December 1, 2017 (ARC)

Publisher: Harlequin ~ Desire

Category: Contemporary Romance

Type: Digital/Paperback

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Joanne Rock Website

Blurb:

The boss’s baby bargain…

Becoming a father was never part of Jager McNeill’s plan, until the heat between him and his luscious assistant turned into searing passion. Now Delia Rickard is carrying his baby. After growing up without a father, Jager’s determined to be there for his child. And marriage would ensure that. But despite their chemistry, Delia’s unwilling to marry for anything less than love.

A trip with Jager to Manhattan could change all that. For in this enchanting city ablaze with Christmas lights, romance begins to blossom. And a kiss under the mistletoe just might turn into lasting love.

By reading any further, you are stating that you are at least 18 years of age.

If you are under the age of 18, please exit this site.

 Favorite Line(s):

She was a confounding, complex and amazing woman.  ~  Jager

Excerpt:

The pregnancy test lay facedown on the white tile countertop beside the sink. She’d left it there while she reread the instructions to be sure she understood. One line meant not pregnant. Two lines—however faint—meant she was going to have a child with Jager McNeill.

She’d read online that high tension and stress could delay a period. That had to be why she was late. So, holding her breath, she closed her eyes. Flipped over the stick on the cool tile.

Two. Lines.

One bright pink. One paler pink.

There was no denying it. And according to the package, this was the most reliable at-home pregnancy detection kit.

“Oh, no. No.”Her legs turned to jelly beneath her. She felt so dizzy she clutched the narrow countertop with both hands to steady herself. The stack of rolled yellow hand towels swayed against the wall as she stared at it.

No, wait. That was her swaying.

She stumbled back to sit on the edge of the garden tub, the last of her bubble bath gurgling down the drain with a sucking swish. Kind of like all the plans she’d had for independence once she had her father more securely settled. Plans to get a college degree one day. To travel somewhere beyond this tiny island where she’d been born.

Plans for a future where she called the shots and dictated her own life. She must not have taken the morning-after medicine soon enough, but at the time, she’d really wanted her doctor’s advice about the pill considering her health history.

Wasn’t it enough that she’d screwed up by nearly marrying a guy who didn’t care about her? Nope. She had to compound her foolishness by succumbing to a moment of passion with a man who would never see her as more than...what? A company employee? A former friend turned sometime lover?

Her child deserved better than that.

That simple truth helped her emotions to level out. Made the dizzy feeling subside a bit. She couldn’t afford to wallow in a pity party for what she’d wanted in life. She was going to be a mother, and that was something tremendously significant.

She might have messed up plenty of times on her own behalf, but Delia Rickard was not going to be the kind of woman who made mistakes where her baby was concerned. That didn’t mean she had a clue what to do next, but she sure planned to take her time and figure it out.

Deep breath in.

Deep breath out.

Before she even finished the exhale, however, a swift, hard knock sounded on the front door of the cottage.

“Delia?”The deep rumble of the familiar voice caused panic to stab through her.

Jager McNeill had come home.

Dialogue Highlight:

“How can you ask me that after what I went through with my engagement?” Delia slid her fingers free of Jager’s hand. Though her skin tingled pleasantly from the contact, her brain rejected his matter-of-fact proposal. She needed time to process all of this. Rushing headlong to make another mistake was not the answer, and she felt like she was hanging on by an emotional thread right now. “I already had one man try to marry me for purely business reasons.”

“Our child is hardly a business reason,” Jager reminded her. She noticed how he was still wearing his travel clothes: dark jeans, white tee and simply cut black jacket.

She would bet he’d driven here directly from the airport. His face was rough with a few days’ whiskers too, making her wonder what his trip chasing Damon around the globe had been like.

“A legal reason then,” she told him flatly. “I believe that’s the very language you used when you tendered the offer. Marriage as a legal channel to raise our child jointly.”

He drew a breath, no doubt to launch a counteroffensive, but she was simply not ready for this conversation tonight. His presence already loomed too big in her small living room, and with his child literally growing inside her, it was simply too much.

“Jager, I’m sorry.” She stepped closer, hoping to appeal to him as a friend. “I’m still reeling from all of this. Since we’ll be spending time together tomorrow to speak to my father and visit the doctor, maybe we could table this discussion for tonight to give us both a chance to get a handle on it?”

“I understand.” He nodded but made no move to leave. His blue gaze skimmed over her. “Will you join me for dinner? We can unwind and relax. No need to talk about anything you don’t wish to discuss.”

She hesitated. And in the small span of silence, he picked up her hand and slid his thumb across the center of her palm in a touch that was deliberately provocative. Or maybe she was just especially sensitive to his caress.

Either way, it gave her shivers.

“Delia, we were together the last time I was here for a reason.” His voice wound around her senses, drawing her in. “There is no need to deny ourselves a connection we couldn’t resist then either.”

She swayed in limbo, hovering between wanting to lose herself in his touch, and wanting to set new parameters for a relationship grown way too complicated. In the end, she wasn’t ready to do either. Taking a deep breath, she extricated her fingers from his.

“That connection caused me to make a reckless decision that I’m unwilling to repeat.”

Yet.

She knew resisting the pull of Jager McNeill was going to be a Herculean task, but for the sake of their child, she needed to sort out her feelings and make a plan before she ran headlong into another unwise decision.

“Very well.” He tipped his head in the barest concession of her point. “I’ll wait to hear from you in the morning. Let me know what time to pick you up.”

“Thank you. I’ll text you.” She knew tomorrow she’d face the same temptations all over again—to simply fall back into a heated relationship with Jager and indulge herself. But maybe after a good night’s sleep, she’d feel stronger. More ready to think about what kind of preparations she needed to make for her child’s future.

“Until then, I hope you bear in mind that I’m sleeping close by and I’m here for you, Delia.” He reached out and ran his finger along a damp strand of hair, tucking it behind her ear. Then, lowering his voice, he brushed the back of his knuckles along her cheek. “Day or night.”

Review:

Delia Rickard met Jager when she nearly crashed a stolen jet ski into him after discovering her finance’s dastardly plans on her wedding day. The two become fast friends and before Delia knew it, she was working for Jager and running his property and marina. Cut to 2 years later – the attraction has grown and they can’t deny it any longer. Except there is a consequence to their one night of passion. And now Delia has to decide if a life with Jager is truly what she wants because there is going to be a baby either way and she refuses to marry him if it isn’t for love.

Jager McNeill has wanted Delia since the day they met. And now they are having a baby together. He doesn’t have much time to convince her how great they will be together, but she won’t settle for anything less than love and Jager isn’t quite there yet. He knows she needs her job and working for him will be a complication, so he has his brother take over and solves that dilemma. But Jager is used to getting his way and his strong hand in the decisions of their unborn child might push Delia away if he doesn’t get a grip and learn what a true partnership consists of. He finally comes up with a plan to sway Delia on Christmas. If his plan fails, he will be sharing custody of his child with Delia, instead of sharing his life.

I have read a few books by Ms. Rock, but never a Harlequin Desire, so I wanted to try this one out. And I wasn’t disappointed. Ok, slightly disappointed, but only because I have never met the McNeill’s before now, An oversight that can be easily corrected. I was a little thrown off by both the title and the cover because this all takes place within the first 8 weeks or so of the pregnancy. Added with the fact that Delia isn’t really Jager’s secretary. She’s more of a manager at a property that he isn’t based out of, so their face-to-face interactions aren’t all that often. However, the obvious attraction is undeniable. I enjoyed getting to know Delia and Jager while they struggled to find a balance to this new and unexpected dynamic within their relationship. Both are suited well to one another, but so completely opposite in other areas. They end up having to decide if they are going to work together better as friends or a family. Or possibly friends with benefits and a child? Who knows – except that the burning hot attraction between them is almost tangible. These scenes were also a pleasure to read with just the right amount of description; not the sweet non-existent, but neither the over-the-top pornographic either.

There was quite a lot going on within the pages of this extremely quick read. You have Delia’s back story, Jager’s brothers and extended family (nearly a story on its own within this story), plus Delia and Jager fumbling along as up and coming parents. As much as this book had going on, Ms. Rock did an excellent job of writing so that everything flowed seamlessly while keeping the reader intrigued and engaged. This book was an excellent read, that I polished off quickly. The Christmas-theme was a nice touch given the current time of year, but I would have enjoyed this book no matter what time of year I read it. I will definitely be visiting this series again both before this book and after. There is so much I don’t know enough about that was hinted at and so much more left to unfold. While much was told, I did not feel that any of the fleeting information, or wonderful characters we were introduced to takes anything vital away from the other books. If anything, you will walk away more curious about the rest of the McNeills. That said, this book can be read with no issue as a standalone, but I feel that reading in order might make the experience that much more enjoyable. Treat yourself this holiday and just buy the whole series. 😊 I know I will be.

Kindle version provided by Alpha Literary Services/Author in exchange for an honest review.