I didn’t choose the role of single dad...it chose me. I’ve been picking up the broken pieces my wife left when she walked out on my daughter and me. The last thing I’m looking for is a relationship.
Then a spunky blonde with a career filled with instability starts making rounds, making me question if I can trust another woman. My daughter isn’t the only one curious about the country star. I’m not a blind man despite how scarred my heart is. She’s gorgeous, kind, and loves my child. What more can a man ask for?
As I get to know her, she adds sunshine into my grey life, and being with her reminds me of the man I once was. Our lives are destined to take different paths, though, and I’ll do whatever it takes to protect my daughter from the spotlight, even if it means giving up my second chance. (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads)
It’s always good to be back in Everton. This is my fifth trip back—somehow I missed reading the third book in this series, a serious mishap on my part! And while all of Francisco’s books can be read as standalones, they’re all so good that it’s worth reading every single one!
Then I Met You proved to be deep and all encompassing, a more unique storyline for both Gavin and Sutton. It’s not often we get to see a single dad’s point of view, but we get that with Gavin, and there is a real sense of just how much he adores his daughter, Penny, and how important it is that he be the best dad he can be for her. He chooses not to let others in, particularly where potential romantic relationships are concerned. Having been a single mother, I could really identify with how he feels and where he is coming from. Really, anyone who wants to pursue a relationship with Gavin would need to see that it’s a package deal where his daughter is concerned, and add to that the pain he still feels from his past relationship with Penny’s mother. It’s a lot.
Sutton was the quintessential ray of sunshine, a sweet spot who lights up a room and makes it nearly impossible for Gavin not to feel drawn to her. I appreciated the back and forth between the two characters, the hesitancy, the “will they or won’t they” dynamic. It made for a nice build up to what we all had hoped might happen, that they’d eventually get together. It was also sweet to see the relationship that forms between Sutton and Penny, one of the bigger hurdles for Gavin. He doesn’t want to let just anyone into their family, and I could totally understand his caution with that.
The largest obstacle is Sutton’s profession. She’s on the rise to becoming a country music sensation, and given she’s in the spotlight and others are starting to know who she is, it makes it hard for Gavin to live a quiet, simple life. The last thing he’d ever want is to suddenly become everyone else’s business, and that includes Penny, too. How can he live a peaceful existence with someone who has chosen a job that will be anything but? What I really loved is the realism behind that, learning to compromise and give and get a little, and wondering if two completely different personalities could learn to work through all of it and stay together. I really enjoyed Then I Met You, and I’m making plans to go back and read the third book too, so I’m completely caught up on all of it!
Thanks to Bare Naked Words for the book in exchange for an honest review.
Trope: Single Dad/ Small Town Series: Love in Everton, 6 (standalone)
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