ARC Review: Worth The Wait by Traci Douglass

Title: Worth the Wait

Author: Traci Douglass

Release Date: March 9, 2019 (ARC Version)

Published By: Entangled Bliss

Category: Contemporary – Romance – Clean

Type: Digital – Paperback

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Traci Douglass Website

Blurb: 

Mandy Reynolds needs a reset on life in so many ways. Her acting career isn’t exactly where she’d hoped it to be. She can’t even get a job as a germ for a commercial. When she inherits half a house she sees it as a sign and heads home to Heavenly Falls, Illinois. She’ll sell the house, and use the money to take her career to the next level in Los Angeles. That is if she can convince her hard-headed––and stupidly gorgeous–– ex-stepbrother, Alex Noonan, to sell fast.

The last time Alex saw Mandy, she was a gangly teen, who followed him around like a sad puppy. But she’s grown into a smart and funny woman, who is as frustrating as she is beautiful. The fact that they have to live in the house––together––while they fix it up, is one temptation he doesn’t need. And while he’s having fun spending time with her, she’s moving on soon, and he needs time to heal.

Plus, she has no idea he’s got a secret that could put a monkey wrench in all of her plans...

 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 Lines:

“You said excess wood.”  ~  Mandy

Think positive. Better things are just around the corner.  ~  Mandy’s Mom

This was exactly why he hated getting his emotions involved. Life in black and white was fine of you never saw color. But once you did, you couldn’t go back.  ~  Alex

Excerpt:

          He should’ve left well enough alone, but he couldn’t. Not where she was concerned. If he didn’t know better, he’d say he enjoyed their banter, but that was impossible. He didn’t want to want Mandy that way. Didn’t want to open himself up again and make himself vulnerable. Didn’t want any of those strange complications in his already screwed-up life. He needed to put a quick kibosh on this, right now, before it went any further. “Not a challenge. A warning. Don’t go poking into dark corners. Remember what happened with the spiders upstairs?”
          She blinked at him, the color draining from her cheeks. It was a low blow, he knew that, but dammit. She needed to stop trying to psychoanalyze him and his situation. He’d gotten more than enough of that in the hospital. Besides, he wasn’t hers to fix. He was probably beyond fixing, anyway, at this point. He just wanted to be left alone. He had too much at stake here—the house, his future—to risk it all by opening up to a woman who’d be gone soon anyway. 
          They watched each other, the air between them sizzling with daring, anger, something more. 
          “Fine. But don’t think your rejection hurts. Believe me, I’m used to it from you by now.”
          He scrunched his nose, taking that in. I rejected her? When? 
         Thirteen years was a long time ago. They’d seen each other only when he’d been home on breaks from Northwestern. Mandy had still been in high school, and she’d had a major crush on him. Alex had tried to ignore it, hoping it would go away. He couldn’t remember any instances when he’d turned her down, except for that one time when she’d asked him to some dance at her school—homecoming, maybe—but…
          Nah. That couldn’t be what she was talking about, could it?
          He’d forgotten all about it until now, but the look she was giving him said she hadn’t. 
          Well, crap. He didn’t like the idea that he’d hurt her, but what was he supposed to say now, all these years later? He stirred around the pile of fried rice, avoiding her gaze. 
          “Don’t worry about it,” she said at last, meaning he should definitely worry about it. 
          “You’re right. We should keep to ourselves. None of this will matter anyway when I go to Hollywood.”
          He nodded, expecting to feel better about that than he did. He moved on to safer topics, ignoring the tightness in his chest. “So, you want to get into movies, then?”
          “Yep. I’ve got several contacts from school in the business now. I’m hoping one of them comes through.”She devoured another few bites of noodles and shrimp. “A girl I graduated with from Chicago University just landed a major role in the new Super-Twins franchise.”
          “Wow.”Comic book heroes were really not his thing. His taste in movies ran more to the classic 80s stuff—John Hughes, Ridley Scott, Spielberg. “What about local theater? Heavenly Falls has an improv group that meets once a month, I think. My friend Mark used to be in one for a while. Maybe he could tell you about it.”
          “Nah. I won’t have time.”She wiped her mouth then closed up her empty container. “Between waitressing at the diner and getting this place back in shape and the new job I’m applying for on Monday, my schedule should be pretty full.”
          “New job?”
          “Yeah, just something part-time. To help supplement my income. L.A.’s an expensive place to live. Why?”
          “No reason.” He pushed to his feet and threw his own trash away. If she wanted to get another job, good for her. It would mean even less time they’d have to spend together around the house. He should be overjoyed. Ecstatic. Heaviness weighted down his gut beyond the Chinese food he’d just eaten. “Don’t forget the proceeds from when I buy out your half of this place.”
          “Hmm.” She moved in beside him at the counter. “You really think you’ll have the money to do that anytime soon?”
          “Yep.”He forced a confidence he didn’t quiet feel. One hundred grand was a lot of cash to come up with, but he’d find a way. “We’ll get the value reassessed after the renovations.”
          “There’s just so much to do around here,” she said, sighing. “It’s overwhelming.”
          “Nah. I can’t wait to dig in.”A bit of his old energy returned at the thought of all the painting and building and buffing. “I’ll do as much of the work myself as possible. Mark and Jack said they’ll help, too. I know what I’m doing. I’ll make sure it’s up to code.”
          Mandy nodded, rubbing her arms, her gaze lowered. “Guess that’s it, then. You sure you’re okay staying here tonight? I’m calling an Uber back to Gina’s place. I can drop you at the hotel again if you want.”
          “No, I’m good.”He followed her back to the front of the house while she used her phone, then waited with her in the foyer until a driver pulled up to the curb a few minutes later. They walked out onto the porch together. 
          “Well, thanks for dinner.”She jogged down the front steps then turned back to him. “I’ll be by tomorrow to drop off some of my stuff.”
          Alex gave a curt nod, waiting until her Uber pulled away before going back inside and locking the door. After working hard all day, he should’ve been exhausted, but his mind kept circling back to Mandy. She couldn’t wait to escape this place and follow her dreams to La La Land, but he already loved the house. It was his way to prove to himself and the world that he was still capable, that he could still handle things, that he was more than a guy with a limp who’d been at the wrong place at the wrong time. 
          He stood in the hall, staring at the wainscoting again before shutting off the lights. 
          Maybe in restoring this place, he could restore a little of his soul, too.

Highlight:

          Forty-five minutes later, Alex eyed Mandy from across the kitchen table, trying to decide if she was bluffing. He hadn’t played poker since college, and his skills were a bit rusty. Not to mention his ability to read people these days was wonky. Ever since the shooting, he hadn’t been able to trust his instincts. They’d failed him that day, what’s to say it wouldn’t happen again. 

          She tapped a finger against her full bottom lip. “I’ll see your bet and raise you a nickel.”

          A knock at the front door kept Alex from making a bad gamble. 

          “Food’s here.”He laid his cards facedown on the table then stood and pulled his wallet from his back pocket. “Be right back.”

          “Make sure they gave us extra soy sauce,”she said from behind him. He glanced back at her, his gaze dropping to the sun on the front of her shirt, smiling at him from atop her breasts. He quickly looked away again, warmth flooding his system. 

          “Already asked for it when I ordered,”Alex called back as he reached the foyer, his words stumbling slightly. He cleared his throat then faced the delivery guy, paying him fast then grabbing the paper bags from his hands before shutting the door. 

          By the time he got back to the kitchen, Mandy had cleared away their card game. 

          He started pulling out their food and setting it in the middle of the table, including two bottles of soda. “They gave us plastic silverware and chopsticks, too.”

          “Great.” Mandy tried to move past him at the same moment he turned to toss the empty bag on the counter, and they collided. Without thinking, he grabbed her shoulder to steady her, and a tingling rush of awareness zipped through his bloodstream, hot and bright and dangerous. Alex pulled away as if burned. “Sorry.”

          “No, no.” Mandy backed up several steps, looking anywhere but at him. “My fault.”

          Alex slumped into his chair and busied himself by mixing his rice into his kung pao chicken, his fingertips still abuzz from their brief, unexpected contact. 

          Mandy took the chair across from him and picked up a packet of chopsticks with one hand and her carton of shrimp lo mien with the other. “Guess I’m still in your way. Just like when we were kids. Hopefully it won’t be a problem, though, once we both get moved in. I plan to take a room on the second floor, to give us each some space and, you know…”

          “You’re not in my way,”Alex said, hiding his wince at the lie. No, that wasn’t true. Until they settled the estate and he bought her out, she was most definitely in his way. And unfortunately, he did know. Things were difficult enough with people treating him differently since the shooting, thinking he was weak because he walked with a limp. The last thing he needed was more pity, especially from Mandy. “And stay where you want. I don’t care.”

          She looked up at him, a flash of hurt in her blue eyes, and damn if he didn’t feel like he’d just kicked a puppy or something. Okay. Fine. Maybe that had come out harsher than he’d intended, but he just wished the awkwardness between them would go away already. It was going to be weird enough living under the same roof again after all these years. They didn’t need to be walking on eggshells around each other, too. 

          They ate in silence for a while, until Mandy asked, “So, what’s fun to do around Heavenly Falls these days?”

          “I wouldn’t know.”Alex kept his head down as he chewed. “I don’t get out much.”

          The weight of her stare burned a hole through him, and he finally hazarded a glance up. “What?”

          “Jack mentioned earlier that you’re on permanent disability—”

          “Jack says too much.”Alex scowled down at his plate again. “It’s not my leg. I get anxiety attacks.”

          “Oh.”She went back to eating. He expected her to give him some BS platitudes about getting out more and getting over it, like his dad had after the shooting, but Mandy surprised him again. When she responded, her tone sounded matter-of-fact instead of the usual faux consolation he got from some people. “I played a part in college where my character was disabled and never left her apartment. I did a lot of research on the subject of accessibility and ableism.”

          “Lucky me,” Alex said around a mouthful of food. 

          “Hey, I’m just trying to understand, that’s all.”She shoved her fork into her mouth, a drop of soy sauce clinging to the corner of her lips. He did his best to ignore it, but damn. All he could picture now was licking it off with his tongue, and where the hell had that come from? This was Mandy, his ex- kid sister, not a woman he wanted that way. 

          Besides, he was done with love, done with romance. After his ex-fiancée couldn’t handle his PTSD following the shooting, he vowed never to open himself up to that kind of pain again. “Just don’t, okay? It’s better if we each just keep to ourselves for the duration of this…”He gestured between them. “Whatever this is, then go our separate ways.”

          Several seconds passed as they stared at each other across the table. 

          “If you say so,” Mandy said at last, sounding entirely unconvinced. 

          “I do,”he grumbled, stabbing another hunk of spicy chicken with more force than necessary. “Look, I’m not the same guy I used to be. He’s gone and he’s not coming back.”

          “Is that a challenge?”Mandy raised a brow at him, and for some crazy reason her determined expression sent a rush of testosterone whooshing through him like an Olympic bobsled team. He swallowed hard. “Because you know I can’t resist a challenge.”

Review: 

Mandy didn’t exactly have a typical childhood, which ended up influencing many of her decisions in adulthood. Her mother was an incurable romantic and married several times. One of those marriages introduced her to the Noonan family and the best year she had growing up with her new family. But it didn’t last long and before too long, she and her mother were off to another new life. But Alex Noonan, brief step-brother, was gorgeous beyond belief and had Mandy pattering after him everywhere. She never forgot him – and she sure never thought she’d inherit half a house with him, gifted by her mother following her death. Never one to settle down, Mandy is more concerned with helping to push her acting career along and this house just might be the break she needs – once they fix it up and sell it. But the Alex she encounters seems to be a shadow of his former self, guarding dark secrets, with only the slightest of glimpses of the guy he used to be. It doesn’t take long for Mandy to decide that Alex is also a part of her fixer-upper journey. Except when you tangle emotions, unexpected things can happen and it doesn’t take long for Many to suddenly reevaluate her life and the path she is currently set on because the thought of leaving Alex behind suddenly seems like the worst possible scenario.

Alex is ecstatic with his sudden homeownership windfall. Searching for a way to break out of his depressing life and trying to start anew, this house offers him everything he wants … or so he thought. The whimsical and gorgeous Mandy quickly throws a wrench in his plans. First, she plans to sell the house, but as half-owner, he won’t let that happen. Then she goes and worms her way into his heart, reminding him of the carefree days filled with love and laughter they used to share. And the worst thing of all … she sets out to fix him. He’s having none of it. Except her meddling, while seemingly intrusive and boundary testing ultimately does end up helping him. But his anger at uncontrollable events that stole the life he had and anger at feeling things for Mandy that he refused to allow himself to get caught up in causes him to lash out at her – the one person he’s come to depend on and look forward to seeing. When the house suffers an enormous setback and Mandy simultaneously sets off to act for a movie part she landed, Alex is quickly forced to come to grips with all of the mistakes he’s been making. Continue to live in anger and regret and probably die miserably alone, or man up and start making some changes. And then, if he’s luckier than he deserves, he just might get a chance to win Mandy back for good.

This is my first experience with Ms. Douglass, which was a joy. The story actually contains some pretty serious content, but with the skillful addition of lighthearted banter and charming friends and family members, the book didn’t fall into a dark place as could have easily done. Some of the things addressed include: parental loss both permanent and temporary, anxiety/PTSD from uncontrollable circumstances, grief, fear of commitment – the list is endless with how many issues are dealt with in a small space of time. When the characters need to be serious, they are, but there is generally a bit of cajoling that follows to break out of the heavy and return to the quirky as evidenced in the first of the favorite lines I included. Alex says something about wood and Mandy quickly retorts jokingly with, “You said wood”. There are several instances such as this that keep the reader giggling as well as demonstrating how close Mandy and Alex once were when they were a family, even however brief. Now some might have a serious issue with Alex and Mandy having been step-brother and step-sister for a time. However, as far as I am concerned, given the back story and their brief span of being related, it had no negative impact on my opinion. Their parents were married about a year and with Mandy’s mother flitting from marriage to marriage, she never really stays long enough to create what would be seen as a sibling bond. Basically, she lived with friends for a while and that’s the extent of it. Regardless, she and Alex had a connection and when they are thrust together again, many years later as adults, despite a few bumps along the way they find their way back to that connection. I am also a bit of an 80s brat and declare on a regular basis that the 80s had some of the best music ever belted out, so the references to several of the familiar tunes were fun for me, throwing a bit of reminiscing of my own in with Alex and Mandy. Peter Gabriel and Rick Astley were just a couple of the several tossed in. Ironically, that small addition actually made Mandy and Alex even more relatable to me. All the cool kids love 80s music, so they could easily have been friends of mine. There was even a brief reference to Frozen which may or may not have been intentional, but whenever anyone says “for the first time in forever”, there is really nothing else to be done except start singing the song.

I did appreciate greatly that Alex is struggling with PTSD following a brutal attack with a gunman. No, he is not a war hero. For this I was grateful. Not that I do not appreciate any books in which our characters have been in service of their country. God bless them all. But the fact that PTSD is a very real condition that isn’t simply an aftereffect associated only with war. What I disliked was that his debilitating reactions to the unfamiliar and, most prevalent loud noises, were referred to as anxiety for a large portion of the book. I kept saying to myself that he was exhibiting what I would call PTSD and that the anxiety was an effect of something he endured. Eventually, it shifts and they start to relate his struggles to PTSD. Maybe it is just that there was too much of the word “anxiety” used in a row and then the shift to “PTSD”. Perhaps if it has toggled s bit more frequently I wouldn’t have even noticed. I also liked that his father really didn’t understand the gravity of what Alex was going through. Not that he doesn’t get it, but that he too is emotional and angry about what happened and the fact that Alex not only lost the life he knew, but he lost his son in a lot of ways as well. So there is a whole dynamic that Alex and his father go through as they come to terms with Alex’s consequential behaviors and an understanding of how to better deal with them.

It’s been a bit since I have read a book published by Entangled, and even longer for one within the Bliss category – but as I recall, the Bliss books are more clean romance. Sexual tension galore, but no sexual content. Instead, we are given to our own imaginations such as ending a scene with “Bet I can think of one thing that would make you happier …” And you know what? That’s perfectly OK. We don’t always need to be assaulted with crazy descriptive erotic content. I am in no way knocking it, but sometimes I hit a point of being almost desensitized, so books like this are perfect for bringing me back down to get my bearings again. For those of you who tend to fall more to the delicate sensibilities side of the spectrum, Entangled Bliss is perfect for you, as is this thoughtful and relevant story of second chances and rallying back from tragedy and loss. I enjoyed my time with Alex and his journey down a difficult path as he came to realize that suffering alone isn’t the best course of action. That having a network of support in the form of friends and family, and of course, love with that special someone is instrumental in healing and moving forward. Mandy, I found to be a fun mixture of all of my beautifully crazy friends from high school. They were always cracking jokes exactly like the wood one and screaming lyrics to the very 80s songs mentioned at the top of their lungs. Except instead of a handful of cherished friends who all had their own little quirks, Mandy somehow encompassed all of them as a single character. My time spent experiencing both Mandy and Alex unfolding themselves out of their old habits and into the amazing people they actually were was a pleasure. It was a joy seeing as they realized just how fundamental each was to the other. My first experience with Ms. Douglass was more than positive and will definitely not be the last. I look forward to discovering more of her imperfectly perfect characters as I continue in my reading obsession.

Kindle version provided by NetGalley/Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest review.