“My life isn’t complete without you in it. I know love is real because of you. I am loved because of you, and most importantly I can love because of you.”
Could there be a better line????
D Kelly brought to life a couple that while they had known each other from being little more than toddlers now all grown up they embodied the whole spirit and intensity of what being loved really means.
Cassidy had a childhood that was upsetting to read, she had endured more than should ever be permitted as she grew up, at the hands of her father, the one man a little girl should always be able to rely upon to protect them, she had suffered not just verbally but physically also.
The fact that her love for her father hadn’t been able to stop what he had done, left her with such deep seated feelings that she was unlovable, that it was a burden that she continued to carry.
His spite and cruelty were almost as if he had infiltrated her soul and infected her with his hate, painfully carving out a niche in her heart and refusing to allow her to see the beauty that she brought to those around her.
While she was growing up she had one constant in her life other than the misery that her family brought and that was the fact that she had two of the best friends a kid could ever dream of – Zack and Rylee Stafford.
Their friendship was formed in what was the bosom of their formative years but the love they developed grew gently over time, over more than a decade and that journey had been far from easy.
But could Zack show this broken little girl that the woman she had become is one that he wants to spend the rest of his life with and would she believe him?
Cassidy’s father’s verbal torrents were what have damaged her more than anything but Zack has been the epitome of patient in trying to instil in her that nothing that he said was true and that to him, she is more than he could have ever dreamed of, her love for him is more than he could ever want and it is her that makes his heart beat each morning … this man could melt butter ladies he is so smooth, so charming, so down right beautiful I wanted to dip right into the page and steal him away for myself!
Cassidy couldn’t quite let go of the niggling monster that kept chipping away at her soul, that unwitting little doubt that she wasn’t what Zack need, that she wasn’t enough for him and that the best thing she could do for him would be to set him free. Really woman, I could have butt kicked her myself at this point… he would have hung stars for her if she asked him too!
So when the day came for Zack to finally get his girl, the day that should have been the happiest day of her life, she did the unthinkable and took off. I was aghast, where did she think he would not look for her – he would drag himself through heaven and hell to get her back and nobody was going to get in his was, not even Cassidy.
I loved to see the fight in his heart, he was hurt, unbelievably so but beyond that, he was downright mad. He was furious that she had taken off, but in a way he understood why, he didn’t like it – in fact it only compounded his anger but he knew what he had to do to make it right, Cassidy was his and what they had was all that mattered. He would make her see that the love they shared was a love that could not be denied, and he would succeed or he’d die trying!
Heading to Hawaii on the trail of his runaway bride, Zack pulls out all the stops and has the support of everyone around him, he is not coming back without her that is for sure.
The story was beautifully written and the characters were completely charming.
Ryan was just glorious, he made my world a little brighter just in the time it took to read the book.
I loved Zack’s twin sister Rylee and while we got a tiny glimpse into what perhaps the next story may hold with her at its core, I must say I would have loved to have spent a little longer with Cassidy and Ryan, actually I can feel a re-read coming on!