In the last story, we saw Lexi Harper (Gage's sister) get used by a guy who was romancing her to get to her brother. She's struggled with her weight, so doesn't have much self-confidence and she has a history of being used for some purpose or another, so when Brett Newcomb starts flirting with her, she's skeptical. But she's livid when she meets him at her father, the mayor's house and learns that he's an architect trying to get a resort built in town (and her father's approval would mean so much). But Brett is a charmer and genuinely seems to be interested in her, despite his ambitions. For his part, he really is interested in Lexi, but he also desperately needs this resort to go through and Lexi is a good bet for getting her father's approval. But Brett doesn't know how much he could hurt Lexi if she ever found out he'd decided to kill two birds with one stone.
I liked Lexi and how, despite her awful past with guys using her, she decides that she's going to take a risk on Brett anyway. I can't decide if it's just really brave or really stupid knowing he already has a possible ulterior motive. She is a hot mess and I like those kinds of heroines. Brett was okay but kinda thick when it comes to how things are perceived. And because of him, this is an example of the trope from the first book done in a way that I don't necessarily like. Here, Brett's interest in Lexi and his desire to get what he wants are very much intertwined. He basically sees it as, they're going to end up in bed anyway (it's pretty much inevitable) so what harm is there in trying to urge her to accept the resort at the same time? He's not pursuing her for that purpose, but he's also still using her to get what he wants. And he can't see how much that's going to hurt Lexi if she finds out. And she even tells him about Brandon (the other guy who used her) and he was all offended on her behalf, but he never stopped to think how he might be like him. I mean, he's lying about the fact that he has a background on her (since his boss wants him to use her) and he's not being 100% honest about why he wants the resort anyway. Well, that spectacularly backfires on him and Lexi does exactly the right thing - sends him packing. But all the while she's hoping he'll come back for her. I like that he does and he's willing to sacrifice it all to prove that he came back to town just for her...but I kinda wish it hadn't all been in public (but I get why it needed to be since they had to put Mrs. Copeland in her place).
This is pretty steamy and the two definitely have plenty of chemistry...and of course since she owns a sweet shop there's a lot of inventive uses of chocolate.