These are the words which have haunted Melanie Erickson for six years. When she walked out of the house Xavier Ross bought as their forever home, she thought she was closing that door permanently, but fate had other plans.
Xavier Ross tried to keep everyone at a distance until Melanie came into his life. The more he tried to fight his feelings for her, the more he fell in love. One rash decision fractured the trust that was essential to their relationship.
Six years later, she is the last person he expects to see walk through his front door. Will Xavier and Mel be able to learn to trust one another again so they can fulfill a dying woman’s wish?
4 Heartfelt Stars!
Review by Allison East
I really enjoyed this book, and I think anyone who has read Sloan Johnson's stories, will feel the same way. My favorite Sloan book is Unexpected Angel- and boy was it a hot one! Fragile Bonds I loved for totally different reasons. And while it's a love story, to me it was so much more than that. It seemed like a second chance romance from the blurb, and those are my favorite kinds of books. But it ended up being that and then some.
Melanie has only ever loved one man in her life, and he broke her damn heart into a million pieces, and she walked away from him. Xavier and Melanie were in love, but it was complicated-he was her Dom. But some crazy things happened and a brash decision ended their relationship. Melanie is a nurse and she devotes her life to caring for the terminally ill- little did she know many years after she and Xavier parted ways, that she would be the nurse caring for his wife, Alyssa, in her final days.
Melanie was confronted with working in the home that she lived in years ago, with her first love and his dying wife. And the whole time she was surrounded by memories of all the time they spent together, and the possibilities on their future. I have no clue how Melanie did that. How she didn't just walk in to see Alyssa and Xavier- and their son, and then immediately walk back out. I have never actually read a book with a story line like this, and to say I was intrigued was an understatement.
Then there was Xavier, with the two women he had loved in his life- one whom he never seemed to really get over, and one he had learned to love, but was dying. He was a good man, and although this sounds bad, it was never a love triangle to me, there was never any cheating- because he loved them both in different ways. After the downward spiral of emotion he went on, after Melanie left him; he could say that the love of his life was gone.
"There was a time when Melanie was the most important person in my life. She was my world. And then everything we shared crumbled. Deep in my heart, I know that there will always be a place where Melanie resides, but I can't allow that to come to the surface because Alyssa and Jacob are my life now. The bond that will never be severed with Melanie has to remain a secret because I will never do anything that will hurt them."
And finally there was Alyssa- what a strong character! Trying to live with a terminal illness, and making sure her family was going to heal after she was gone. All the parts of this story with her in it, had me crying. I went into the book, when I met Alyssa, hating her, simply on the fact that I felt like Melanie belonged with Xavier. But I totally enjoyed her! Damn Sloan for making me love all the characters!
And Jacob? Their son? He was only four and too young to understand what was happening to his mother. But he was still aware that something was going on.
And Jacob? Their son? He was only four and too young to understand what was happening to his mother. But he was still aware that something was going on.
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