Entrepreneur Zachary Wilkins doesn’t see himself as a brother to his younger cousins, like they have considered him to be. He feels indebted to his aunt and uncle for adopting him and officially making him a member of their family. When he encounters Shaina Hayes, he wants her just as much as she wants him. Seeing her, for a second time, at his cousin, Aaron’s wedding, stirs emotions in him that he can’t shake and further fuels his desire for her.
Shaina Hayes has had two rules since moving into Bloomfield Township, Ohio; work hard and keep to herself. One night, however, she goes out to celebrate her new job. A tall, handsome man catches her eye and the attraction between them unravels into an explosive night of passion. A night that she relives in her mind and vows to herself to never repeat again.
As Shaina turned around, she took a deep breath and Zachary hooked his arm around hers, the side of her body pressed against his as they sauntered toward the dance floor.
“You didn’t have to come over to my table,” Shaina said through gritted teeth. “Because of you, everyone is staring at us.”
With unmistakable satisfaction and desire flitting through his eyes, Zachary said,
“That’ll pass in a few seconds when the next song comes on,” as he guided her to the beat of the slow tempo song with his arms and feet. She swayed in time with his movements, her bust flattened against his rock hard chest.
Shaina’s breath hitched and shuddered. She felt like the room had become ten degrees warmer despite the cool air conditioning and their measured steps and turns. The last time she’d danced was when she was with her nieces and that was because she couldn’t say no to them. When she was with them, that word seemed to be removed from her vocabulary, and they knew it. Now, though, as her body followed Zachary’s, she calmed.
“I’d like to see that look on your face again,” he whispered with his mouth near her ear and brushed his lips against her cheek before he stood straight again.
“And what look is that?” “Don’t act like you don’t know what I am talking about.”
Shaina rolled her eyes. “So dancing with you isn’t the worst thing in the world. I was enjoying it.”
“You like dancing with me.”
Zachary’s smile sent a jolt of sensation down her spine that tightened low in her belly. She wanted him to be wrong, but she didn’t refute his statement. It hit her that this song would be over in a second.
Separating herself from him, Shaina bobbed her head, admitting that she’d liked dancing with him. She heard Wyatt and some of his other family members call his name and with a regretful lift of his shoulders, Zachary turned his head for a brief second to look at them.
“I loved dancing with you, Shaina, and I’d like one more dance with you before you leave.”
“It’s your forte,” she replied breathlessly, “not mine.” Shaina flicked her eyes to some members of his family, who were huddled together. “Please don’t have them waiting on you.”
Zachary reached his hand out and brushed his fingers along her shoulder and down to her arm. She felt a slight chill and he frowned as he removed his blazer and gestured her to walk over to him. He widened up his blazer so that she could place her arms inside of them.
“I’ll just get my shawl at the table.”
He answered her by sauntering over to her and nodding his head at his blazer. Now everyone in the Wilkins circle was looking at them. Leeza wasn’t too far away from them, her mouth set in a tight line. Yielding, Shaina shoved her arms into the blazer and Zachary drew her into his arms. She felt a little dizzy and the overwhelming need to run her hands down his well muscled back swamped her mind.
“You know how to move your body outside of the bedroom. Commanding my attention is your forte.” He ran his eyes down to her scrunched up chin, and he cupped her jaw. “I lied to my friends about how we’d come to know each other because it’s what you wanted, but I won’t make a habit of it.”
Recovering from her lust-filled thoughts, Shaina shot Zachary a defiant look and they both tilted their heads to Mariah, whose beautiful smile transformed Shaina’s grimace into a face-splitting grin. Mariah came closer to them and Zachary curled his arms around her for a brief hug before he left them alone. Shaina could smell his scent on the jacket she was wearing and she unintentionally held onto the lapels, covering her chest.
I’m in a dilemma as to how I should write a review about this book because there are as much negative thoughts as positive thought I want to include in this review. But then, since I decided to rate a 3 maybe, I’ll just emphasized on the higher aspects of the book that I liked.
I loved Zachary the most. He has once had a normal and happy life but everything crashed down when his parents met an ill-fated demise. He was adopted by his mother’s best friend and since then, he was considered as the eldest child in their family. But he has a different opinion. He doesn’t consider himself a family. Of all the things he did when he was a foolish young kid, he thinks he doesn’t deserve to be a part of the family, but his “siblings” thinks the opposite. He’s an adult now and is being pestered by his aunt to start a family because his younger brothers already has a kid of their own. He isn’t exactly the type of person who will settle anytime soon, but when he’s with a woman, he makes it a commitment. That’s why when the town heard that he’s seeing Shaina, they weren’t exactly forthcoming because they know her reputation.
Shaina went into the town to have an escape over her past mistakes. Mistakes her parents seem to always think about when she’s around. So she made a pact to herself – turn herself into something better and never looked back. Thanks to Mariah, who deemed her reliable enough to be hired in her company. When no one believed her, Mariah was there. So Shaina worked hard to prove her worth to everyone, including her parents. She paid no heed on her previous activities. She concentrated on improving herself and studying everything that she has to learn in the company. And when she was promoted, she felt she deserves a night out and a little action. Her confident persona appeared and, as if the fate conspired, she just saw her prospective boy toy for the evening. It turned out, that the boy toy, had also set his eyes for her.
Theirs was meant to be a one night only. But they both have been thinking about each other after that night. An unexpected encounter happened when Shaina attended the wedding of her boss. Coincidentally, Zachary was the adopted sibling of Mariah. Anyone within a distance can see their sizzling attraction towards each other.
Shaina and Zach continued their relationship, much to the chagrin of the mothers who were eyeing for their single daughters. Shaina proved that she was worth it to be Zach’s girlfriend. She was accepted in his family too.
An Unexpected Encounter doesn’t only deal with romance but it also tells us the value of a having a family. Although, there were chapters that were too wordy for my taste, there were endearing moments those endearing moments especially when Zach shows his sweeter side. He may not admit it but he’s a family man inside. Shai, on the other side, was deeply please and touched when she was also accepted by his family.
1. Goodbye, Apathy-One Republic
2. Won’t Stop –One Republic
3. All We Are-One Republic
4. Fix You-Cold Play
5. I’ll Be- Edwin McCain
6. Are You Ready for Love- Elton John
7. The Taste-Five For Fighting
8. Use Somebody- Kings of Leon
9. Hands All Over- Maroon 5
10. If I Ain’t Got You-Maroon 5
11. Won’t Go Home Without You-Maroon 5
I am Robin Shaw, a hopeless romantic who loves to read and write about romance. Life is filled with enough unhappy endings, so I enjoy penning tales with a HFN or HEA.
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