One Night Stand: Back to You by Priscilla Glenn

AMAZON | KINDLE

Back to You by Priscilla Glenn
Contemporary
Priscilla Glenn (October 20, 2012)

Rating: B+
Heat: Warm

Heroine: Lauren Monroe – Girl Next Door, Daycare Teacher 
Hero: Michael Delaney – Bad Boy, Father 
Setting: USA

Synopsis:

When Lauren Monroe first laid eyes on Michael Delaney back in high school, she had every reason to stay away from him; within minutes of their first encounter, his volatile actions confirmed his notorious reputation. But Lauren saw something in him that caused her to question his bad-boy persona, and against her better judgment, she took a chance. She had no way of knowing that the unlikely friendship they formed would become so important to her.

Or that it would end so painfully.

Eight years later, when Lauren begins her new job at Learn and Grow Day Care, Michael is the last person she expects to see. Refusing to revisit the hurt and confusion of their past, Lauren vows to keep her distance from him. But staying away from Michael proves to be more difficult than she thought, despite her lingering grief and her instincts for self-preservation.

As Lauren and Michael recall the friendship that changed them forever and the events that tore them apart, will they finally be able to heal? Or will the ghosts of Michael’s past prove to be too much to overcome?

Review:

“I never stopped loving you. Not for one second.”

It's almost been nine years since Lauren has seen Michael. After deciding to go back to school to get her Masters in child psychology, she decides to work at Learn and Grow daycare to tie her over until she graduates. She wasn't prepared to run into her once best friend, the boy she never got over, Michael, as he was dropping off his little girl at the same daycare. Both shocked to see one another again, they are barely able to say hello. But being that his daughter goes to the same daycare she works at, this short meet and greet will not be the end of them seeing one another again. And what they thought was left in the past, is far from over.

She was one of the most genuine people he’d ever met, and he knew at that moment that if he did nothing else in his life, he wanted to be friends with Lauren Monroe.

Michael was the bad boy in high school everyone was afraid of and the girls flocked to for a good time. The rumors of his life have dictated how his classmates have viewed him: Fatherless, dead brother, alcoholic mother. All his life he has paid for his families mistakes. Since his brother's death, he's been lost with no direction in his life. He’s angry at the world - a broken soul. No one knows who Michael is, and he likes it that way until he meets Lauren. The straight A student, goal oriented, good girl. This girl, who Michael thinks is way too good for him, accepts him, and sees beyond his flaws. Michael is stunned that someone like Lauren could care about him, not be afraid of him, or judge him the way the other students in high school do. She becomes his rock. His savior. And he would do anything to keep her from being hurt by anyone. But Michael is young, confused, broken, and he makes a bad decision that tears these two apart. He was the one person who could hurt her most, and he did.

Now that Michael is older, he's changed. He's learned to move on from his demons. He's a single father, raising a sweet, adorable daughter. He has paid over and over for his mistakes. Now he wants to make amends with the one mistake he completely and utterly regrets - hurting Lauren. Lauren is the one girl, now woman, who has always given Michael her heart and soul, and never taken from him. Can he atone for what he did? He must find a way to earn her trust again. To show her that he has changed and he's not going anywhere. Make her understand his intentions were good.

Lauren is a wonderful heroine. As a teenager, she never cared what people thought of her friendship with Michael. She knew the Michael that he never showed anyone: kind, caring, fun-loving. He’s a boy who needed a little bit of TLC. The way she never judged Michael and just accepted him for who he was, completely took my breath away. Lauren is one of those characters that I would've liked to be best friends with in high school. She's a genuine person with a huge heart.

Lauren is still the same smart, considerate woman after all these years. But in other ways, she has changed. When she sees Michael again, all those feelings she's repressed for years, comes rushing back to her. Knowing Michael could hurt her again, she does her best to remain distant from him. But Michael has always been that one person that ignites the fire inside her where she feels empty. Not only does she struggle with her feelings for Michael, but she falls in love with his amazing little girl, Erin. My heart melted during the parts with Erin.

"I think she's really a princess, but she just forgets to wear her crown."

My favorite parts of this book are the flashbacks with Michael and Lauren. These two are completely different, opposites, but the kind of friendship they form is rare and genuine. He would've done anything for her. And she would've done the same. When things were bad with Michael, Lauren is the one person who knew how to reach out to him, talk him down when he would be angry. They each needed one another in their own way. When it came to each other, they were self-less, giving. What these two shared together is simply beautiful.

Back to You is a touching coming of age story where two very different people form an unlikely strong friendship. I really enjoyed following along Lauren and Michael's journey as they find each other first as teenagers, and then again as adults. You not only get to fall in love with Michael once, but twice! The emotions this book churned inside me caused me to cry my ever-loving eyes out! I strongly recommend this romantic, extremely well written story.

 

Thoughts While Reading:

24.0% - "I'm all choked up, crying, and I"m at work...my mascara is running down my face...did I mention I'm crying at work?! Sigh. This book is wonderful."