Presley and Haden have been married for four years and are having typical marriage problems. Haden wants more sex, but Presley is tired and overwhelmed with taking care of their home, their son, and her career. Haden now runs a branch of Lantern Publishing in California where Presley is Editor. They have to maintain a business relationship every day at work as well as home.
They experience normal ups and downs in their relationship until Presley gets pregnant. She has told Haden many times that she is not ready for another child. She wants to focus on the child they have and moving her career forward, and another child is something she's ready for now. However, Haden has wanted another child and he's ecstatic when he finds out Presley is pregnant again. Shortly after Haden finds out about the pregnancy Presley experiences a miscarriage. Haden is devastated, but Presley appears unaffected by it. She makes sure to tell herself and others several times just how much with a very c'est-la-vie attitude towards the situation.
Presley pulls away from Haden and the rest of her family and friends while getting closer to an old friend from college, Cassandra. She further turns Presley against everyone in her life and manipulates her. Presley goes on a trip to New York with Cassandra to get away from her life as mother and wife for a little while. While at the hotel in New York, Cassandra tries to kiss Presley and convince her to leave Haden. She uses every bad thing Presley has confided in Cassandra about to try to drive a wedge between Haden and Presley. This finally knocks some sense into Presley for her to realize she loves Haden and wants to fight for them. Haden very shortly after shows up in New York to try to get his wife back. Haden and Presley realize what is most important despite petty arguments and disagreements and Presley is able to release her real emotions about the miscarriage.
Masen, their son, is adorable! He thinks the world of his dad and doesn't always listen to his mama. Haden is such a good dad albeit sometimes too committed to his work instead of facing the not-so-nice sides of parenthood, like taking care of his son when he's sick.
Presley and Haden's marriage was sooo relatable. It was really hard for me to read Presley's avoidance of her emotions over her miscarriage, even though I understood why she was acting in such a way. And it was hard to read about her pushing everyone away and turning to someone she hadn't seen in a decade, and who clearly did not have her best interests in mind. I was very happy to reach the resolution and have Presley come back to her senses!
This one wasn't really about the romance between Haden and Presley, at least in your typical sense of a romance novel. Haden was a lot more likable as a husband who wants another child, enjoys sex with his wife, and staying completely committed to her after years of marriage. A big change from the previous Haden featured in #Jerk. I did enjoy Presley and Haden's story spanning both #Jerk and this novel.