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Most Likely to Doubt Love
*** Previously published as Most Likely to... Doubt Love (2022) by Mary Waterford. This Second Edition has been extensively revised and expanded from the original novella. ***
Cam Rockford is the definition of grumpy. He eats cereal from the box, glares at his lawn like it personally offended him, and has perfected the art of one word answers.
He's also a devoted single dad, and my frustratingly gorgeous neighbor who just fixed my flat tire without being asked.Now I owe him. That debt turns into babysitting his two adorable daughters while he works late.
It's supposed to be temporary. Professional. A bit of extra cash to pay for my art classes.
Except he keeps looking at me like I'm the answer to a question he's too afraid to ask.
And when he catches me at my lowest, when I'm shattered and gasping for air, he doesn't run. He holds me together with
those rough, capable hands and whispers that he's got me.
When Cam Rockford falls, he falls hard, and he's determined to show me that I'm worthy of a love that doesn't flinch.
But can a former beauty queen with a traumatic past really build a future with the grumpy single dad next door?
Narcissistic parenting and past self-harm (scarring) by FMC
Cam Rockford is the definition of grumpy. He eats cereal from the box, glares at his lawn like it personally offended him, and has perfected the art of one word answers.
He's also a devoted single dad, and my frustratingly gorgeous neighbor who just fixed my flat tire without being asked.Now I owe him. That debt turns into babysitting his two adorable daughters while he works late.
It's supposed to be temporary. Professional. A bit of extra cash to pay for my art classes.
Except he keeps looking at me like I'm the answer to a question he's too afraid to ask.
And when he catches me at my lowest, when I'm shattered and gasping for air, he doesn't run. He holds me together with
those rough, capable hands and whispers that he's got me.
When Cam Rockford falls, he falls hard, and he's determined to show me that I'm worthy of a love that doesn't flinch.
But can a former beauty queen with a traumatic past really build a future with the grumpy single dad next door?
Narcissistic parenting and past self-harm (scarring) by FMC
409 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 22, 2026
147 people are currently reading
109 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
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January 29, 2026SPOILER WARNING!!!!!
I don't like the single-parent trope but I somehow found myself going in blind without reading the blurb (LOL) so it wasn't surprising that this would not be my cup of tea, but nevertheless I stumbled through it.
Anyway, this is a story about a rich divorced ML with 2 little girls raising them in a plain suburban town & home next door to FL who is a 28 year old part time Assistant and part time Artist/painter- wannabe with trauma issues.
ML's family is in the moving-home industry. He had married a gorgeous & business savvy online influencer OW and they were happy for several years until the kids came along and he no longer wanted to live the high life but raise them in a normal home like he & his siblings were raised which made OW unhappy and their marriage crash & burn so they now share custody and he is not looking at starting up another relationship due to his failed marriage.
FL has trauma & parents issues because her Mother forced her to attend beauty contests when she was a child and she did not have a normal childhood growing up. When she did not win or do as she was told, her Mother would punish her by locking her up in the Shed with no food or water for hours and would monitor her diet, etc. So when she was a teen, depression sunk in and she one day slashed herself in the chest and torso with a knife as a cry for help. This left her with scars on her body that a former BF was repulsed by and now she has intimacy issues because of it.
Anyway, there is not much angst here other than FL pushing ML away constantly for a good portion of the story because she is insecure about her body & afraid of getting rejected again. When they finally do cross the line, it's sex scene after sex scene as filler pages.
The kids play a major role in this as they are in every chapter and have a sweet relationship with FL. The OW is not a problem as she only shows up once or twice and has not anything bad to say to or about FL. The ML is supportive & patient but FL tested my patience with her hot & cold attitude and pulling away. The "trauma" was also glanced over quickly with no true resolution or satisfaction.
So all in all, it wasn't a bad read but it wasn't anything good either that kept my interest. Plus, as I mentioned, I loathe fictional romances that have kids that are not with the main MCs that we are reading about but with OP. In this case, it felt more like ML had his big love and all his firsts with the OW and just settled for the FL.
SAFETY:
No cheating
NO OW/OM drama or intimate scenes
FL said she had one sexual relationship when she was 21 and celibate since then
ML was married and no info about any others.
HEA with epilogue of proposal
I don't like the single-parent trope but I somehow found myself going in blind without reading the blurb (LOL) so it wasn't surprising that this would not be my cup of tea, but nevertheless I stumbled through it.
Anyway, this is a story about a rich divorced ML with 2 little girls raising them in a plain suburban town & home next door to FL who is a 28 year old part time Assistant and part time Artist/painter- wannabe with trauma issues.
ML's family is in the moving-home industry. He had married a gorgeous & business savvy online influencer OW and they were happy for several years until the kids came along and he no longer wanted to live the high life but raise them in a normal home like he & his siblings were raised which made OW unhappy and their marriage crash & burn so they now share custody and he is not looking at starting up another relationship due to his failed marriage.
FL has trauma & parents issues because her Mother forced her to attend beauty contests when she was a child and she did not have a normal childhood growing up. When she did not win or do as she was told, her Mother would punish her by locking her up in the Shed with no food or water for hours and would monitor her diet, etc. So when she was a teen, depression sunk in and she one day slashed herself in the chest and torso with a knife as a cry for help. This left her with scars on her body that a former BF was repulsed by and now she has intimacy issues because of it.
Anyway, there is not much angst here other than FL pushing ML away constantly for a good portion of the story because she is insecure about her body & afraid of getting rejected again. When they finally do cross the line, it's sex scene after sex scene as filler pages.
The kids play a major role in this as they are in every chapter and have a sweet relationship with FL. The OW is not a problem as she only shows up once or twice and has not anything bad to say to or about FL. The ML is supportive & patient but FL tested my patience with her hot & cold attitude and pulling away. The "trauma" was also glanced over quickly with no true resolution or satisfaction.
So all in all, it wasn't a bad read but it wasn't anything good either that kept my interest. Plus, as I mentioned, I loathe fictional romances that have kids that are not with the main MCs that we are reading about but with OP. In this case, it felt more like ML had his big love and all his firsts with the OW and just settled for the FL.
SAFETY:
No cheating
NO OW/OM drama or intimate scenes
FL said she had one sexual relationship when she was 21 and celibate since then
ML was married and no info about any others.
HEA with epilogue of proposal
January 27, 2026
2.5 stars. Did I miss something? This book jumped into the story in a way that felt like chapters were missing. Then chapters would continue where others left off, and then others would jump forward in a way that didn't make it clear.
I liked Cam, Audrey, and Alice. I did not live Emily (FMC) which made it super hard to get into the story. Also, I'm all for ropes but am I really supposed to believe someone with Emily's trauma would be into that?
Overall, this book felt disjointed and didn't flow well, and while I loved Cam, I didn't love Emily and I didn't really love them together.
As always, YMMV.
I liked Cam, Audrey, and Alice. I did not live Emily (FMC) which made it super hard to get into the story. Also, I'm all for ropes but am I really supposed to believe someone with Emily's trauma would be into that?
Overall, this book felt disjointed and didn't flow well, and while I loved Cam, I didn't love Emily and I didn't really love them together.
As always, YMMV.
January 28, 2026
oh my
This book! I have laughed, cried, been so worried and extremely happy all in the day it took me to read this because I absolutely could not put it down. I had to obsessively read every word today! I loved this book and these characters so much - Emily with her history and anxiety, Cam for his patience, Audrey and Alice for being such sweet girls! Also, can’t forget all the friends and Cam’s family and how great they all are. There is definitely some trauma in this book so maybe check on that before you read it but I highly recommend it.
This book! I have laughed, cried, been so worried and extremely happy all in the day it took me to read this because I absolutely could not put it down. I had to obsessively read every word today! I loved this book and these characters so much - Emily with her history and anxiety, Cam for his patience, Audrey and Alice for being such sweet girls! Also, can’t forget all the friends and Cam’s family and how great they all are. There is definitely some trauma in this book so maybe check on that before you read it but I highly recommend it.
February 1, 2026
Perfection.
Emily, a wannabe artist has struggled all her life to be what her mother wanted and never met up to her expectations. She’s the best type of main female character… strong through the emotional damage, funny, caring and beautiful inside and out.
Cam, the broody single dad next door is struggling to make sure his daughters are raised happy and emotionally healthy. He’s strong and sweet and a dirty talker.
Loved everything about this book. The story, the characters and the spice were all perfect.
Emily, a wannabe artist has struggled all her life to be what her mother wanted and never met up to her expectations. She’s the best type of main female character… strong through the emotional damage, funny, caring and beautiful inside and out.
Cam, the broody single dad next door is struggling to make sure his daughters are raised happy and emotionally healthy. He’s strong and sweet and a dirty talker.
Loved everything about this book. The story, the characters and the spice were all perfect.
January 29, 2026
Completely worth the read
As a person who reads quite a few books you know that they can become fairly formulaic or even a bit tropy but this one was quite lovely. And I will have to say that once the FMC reaches her breaking point and says what she needs to say to the crappy people in her life It is one of the best come to Jesus moments I have read in a long time. Maybe it's the cussing but it really did it for me. 💜
As a person who reads quite a few books you know that they can become fairly formulaic or even a bit tropy but this one was quite lovely. And I will have to say that once the FMC reaches her breaking point and says what she needs to say to the crappy people in her life It is one of the best come to Jesus moments I have read in a long time. Maybe it's the cussing but it really did it for me. 💜
January 30, 2026
This series 🥰
Sweet baby Jesus! I have to say Emily’s and Cam’s love story might just be my favorite. All 3 books are a must read but just make sure you have some tissues around. Can’t wait for the next book
Sweet baby Jesus! I have to say Emily’s and Cam’s love story might just be my favorite. All 3 books are a must read but just make sure you have some tissues around. Can’t wait for the next book
January 25, 2026
Loved it
This series is just good. Sweet and delightful. If you are looking for a feel good, swoony MMC, these are a great pick!
This series is just good. Sweet and delightful. If you are looking for a feel good, swoony MMC, these are a great pick!
January 27, 2026
Amazing!
This book was exceptionally well written! It touched on a very tough subject and handled it with such grace and understanding
This book was exceptionally well written! It touched on a very tough subject and handled it with such grace and understanding
January 28, 2026
So heartfelt and raw
Such a good read. It was such a good contrast of mental health and stability. I loved this so much
Such a good read. It was such a good contrast of mental health and stability. I loved this so much
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews