Snowbound with the Boss - Maureen Child (HD #2433 - Mar 2016)

Series: Pregnant by the Boss (Book 3)

Baby on the way? Blame it on the blizzard!

Being stuck in a snowstorm with his disagreeable contractor is hardly gaming tycoon Sean Ryan's idea of a good time. So why does he find himself keeping Kate Wells warm -- and really, really liking it? Luckily, when the snow melts, Sean can return to his California headquarters, leaving their fling behind.

But Kate's left facing a dilemma -- she's pregnant. How can she break her baby news to her unbearable boss? Soon there's an emotional storm brewing that makes the blizzard that stranded them look like child's play!

Very good book and conclusion to the trilogy. This time around it is Sean's turn to be in charge of turning a hotel into a theme location matching one of their video games. This hotel is located in the wilds of Wyoming, bad enough for the California surfer boy, but his initial visit to meet with the contractor is in the dead of winter. Sean is definitely not a cold weather fan, and the hard-headed contractor isn't making his visit any more pleasant. Things go from bad to worse when they are trapped together for several days by a blizzard.

I loved the initial scenes of the book, as Sean complains to his brother Mike about the weather and the contrary Kate. What he doesn't confess is how attracted to her he is. Kate is just as frustrated with Sean, who argues with her over every objection she has to his plans, when she's the one who knows what is physically possible to do. Being trapped with him is the last thing she wants, as he is stirring desires in her she thought had died with her husband. When the sparks between them burst into flames, the heat could melt all the snow in the state. They have several days together before Sean can go back to California and leave the fling behind.

But it turns out not to be so easy to do. Sean finds himself unable to stop thinking about her. Previously known as quite the player, suddenly he has lost interest in the brainless women he used to date, and lives for their video chats about the hotel and its progress. Finally he decides it's time for another on-site visit and a chance to see Kate again, but he's in for quite a shock. Kate is pregnant, and hadn't bothered to tell him.

Kate has been widowed for two years and hasn't really recovered from the loss of her husband. She has closed herself off from getting involved with another man, never wanting to go through that pain again. Her biggest regret was the loss of her dreams of home and family, and finding herself pregnant is like a dream come true. As she believed that Sean has no interest in marriage or family, she assumed he wouldn't want to know about her pregnancy. When he arrives unexpectedly, she learns just how wrong she was.

Sean had avoided entanglements because of something that had happened in his past. His actions when he was a young man and his girlfriend became pregnant and subsequently lost the baby, were quite selfish. He has lived with those memories for ten years and has avoided any thought of love ever since. Kate's pregnancy brings those memories back, along with a determination to do it right this time.

I enjoyed seeing the development of their relationship. Both of them are very stubborn and determined to have their own way. Kate sees herself as a contractor on the low side of the social scale, rooted in Wyoming. She feels that Sean, multi-millionaire playboy and California native is way out of her league. She realizes she was wrong not to tell him about the baby, but that doesn't mean she's going to let him tell her what to do now. Sean is stunned, but determined to do the right thing. He just has to convince Kate that they can have a life together and to sell her on the idea. Both are resistant to believing that their feelings are involved. When Sean manages to get Kate to come to California "for business", he also tries to show her the life they could have together. I loved seeing how easily she became part of his life, and how hard he had to work to pretend that his feelings were not involved. Kate came to realize her feelings more quickly, but can't face a relationship with someone who doesn't feel the same.

Stubbornness on both sides separates them once again, each returning to their own lives. But nothing is the same and I loved seeing them both, especially Sean, wallow in their misery. It was especially fun to see Mike (A Baby for the Boss) and Brady (Having Her Boss's Baby) give him such a hard time over his blindness. It  was so satisfying to see him finally see the truth and what he did about it. His big moment at the end was really pretty sweet and romantic. The epilogue was hilarious, especially Sean's panic.