Good slow-burn romance with an unusual hero. Ailani is a pediatric nurse from Hawaii who did a job swap with a nurse from Boston. She's always wanted to experience a white Christmas, so she jumped at the opportunity. One of the first people she met was Javi, one of the pediatricians. She is attracted to him, but when she learns he is recently divorced from his husband, she figures he is out of her reach. Not that it really matters, as she is only there for three months and has no intention of getting involved in a fling.

Javi is a pansexual divorced single dad of an adorable little girl. He's feeling a bit disillusioned about life in general, with the only bright spot being little Mabel. He's tired of being looked at with pity by his coworkers but hasn't been able to do anything about it. Then, sunny Hawaiian nurse Ailani bursts into his life.

I enjoyed the development of the relationship between Ailani and Javi. Because she believes Javi is gay, Ailani first looks at him as a friend. I loved how well they worked together; that comradeship bled over into their developing friendship. Then, they bonded over Mabel, who quickly grew attached to Ailani. Ailani worked hard to bury her attraction to Javi, believing it was useless. At the same time, Javi discovers he is attracted to Ailani. But he fears history repeating itself, so he denies his growing feelings.

When he finally admits those feelings, he makes a boneheaded move that makes Ailani feel that her desires and needs aren't important. This disregard drives her away from Javi. I liked the self-examination that opened his eyes to how he let his past dictate the future. Once he saw that, he realized he was ready to change. I loved seeing him go to Ailani and explain what happened and promise to keep the lines of communication open if she'd give them a second chance.

The epilogue was terrific and showed what a difference a year makes.

#netgallley ( )