The Plan

Kayla Barton

May 3, 20225 min read

The Plan

by Karla Sorensen

Have you ever fake dated your bodyguard? I don't recommend it.

Especially if he's anything like Erik Wilder: former football player, world class know-it-all and unapologetic grump.

To be clear, I didn't want a bodyguard (hence the fake dating idea). Most days, I can’t figure out why he wants the job either. We drive each other insane, probably because we’re as opposite as two people can be.

He’s suspicious, never talks about his past and has the comfort skills of a cactus. I’m a happily ever after kinda girl who knows exactly what she wants out of life.

Erik’s words might say that the lines have to stay firm between us, but those dark eyes of his? They tell another story when he looks at me.

He’s just as stubborn as I am, but when our fake dating plan starts to feel a lot more real, it's only a matter of time before his professional walls come crashing down.

I just have to hope my heart doesn't get buried in the rubble.

Spice Level: 3/6

Story Score: 7.5/10

Rating: 4.5/5

Uh, I love Karla Soresen. I love the Washington Wolves books. I didn’t even realize this was one, lol. I thought this was a bodyguard story - although, obviously there is a football play sheet on the cover. Whatever. So I’ve read the Bombshell Effect, and I liked it a lot. This girl is their daughter. I will have you know that I now want to go back and read it again because this one made me love Allie and Luke so much more. Dear God, Luke is a good dad. I think I was more turned on by him in this book than Erik, and I loved Erik. Lol.

So Lydia is a social media star/model and the paparazzi caused her to have a car accident trying to get photos of her. She has some PTSD after the incident and Luke hired Erik to drive her around and act as her bodyguard. Erik is a former Washington Wolves football player that retired suddenly after an injury that is doing security work to fill his time. Erik expects Lydia to be a shallow, dumb, snooty, rude socialite and he is thrown for a GIANT loop when she isn’t. He helps her work through her PTSD, figuring out what is really triggering her and getting to know her. She falls for him pretty easily but he’s pretty stuck on the age gap between them (9-ish years) and he has some severe emotional trauma going on himself. They fake date for one of her modeling events to help her through it. Then they fake date for a weekend trip to his parents because he is ridiculous, lol. Ok, there’s more of a story to it, but that’s more of a spoiler. That weekend, they get busy, but he hurts her and she leaves. Make-up, HEA.

First, Lydia is incredible. I’ve listened to two back-to-back stories with strong, beautiful, kind women and I am so in love with them as much as the men in the stories. Lydia should be a spoiled brat. Afterall, her dad was a famous quarterback and her mom owns the Washington Wolves. She was raised with anything she wanted. Still, she isn’t. Lydia is so giving and sincere. She’s willing and kind. She’s caring and supportive. She isn’t prone to temper tantrums or anything else. She’s also smart, driven, and happy (even if a little lost). She’s also funny. I loved this girl. LOVED HER.

Erik is…well, Erik is definitely the grumpy in this grumpy/sunshine trope, lol. He’s quiet and stern and troubled. Nonetheless, he’s patient and he’s perceptive and he’s a FANTASTIC brother. He’s protective and bossy.

This book is a SLOW BURN though. There are two sexy scenes in the whole thing, both within the last hour of the story. They are NOT descriptive in a way that smutty books are. She uses much more broad terminology and it’s barely above a fade to black situation. That is my complaint. I’m not sure what the reason was for it. I’m sad about it. But it’s the ONLY thing I’m sad about because i loved this book!

-SPOILERS-

First, this break up scene gutted me. I was all in the feels with this book and when he hurt her, he hurt me. Gosh, he hurt me. Lydia, being as fucking graceful as she is, handled it so well while I was laying in a puddle of my emotions. This may be my favorite break up scene. IT HURT. I think it hurt me so badly because she doesn’t get mean to him. He’s stabbing at her and she’s just laying herself and the truth at his feet. He lashes out and she doesn’t reciprocate.

So the break up scene is like within an hour of the end of the story as well, and that had me so scared. Normally when the build up is that long and then you have that little left for the make up, the author just makes the make up shitty and bland. This one was going to be quick and I always think that the author should make the screw-er-upper grovel way more than they do. In this one though: it makes sense that Lydia doesn’t make it too hard on him. She has SUCH A BIG HEART and he comes to her, holding all the pieces of his in his hands, and it made sense for her to not punish him more. Lydia’s personality made that work. Not to mention the pieces of his heart were painful.

When his wife cheated on him and caused their divorce, he not only lost her, but he lost a baby that he’d dreamed about because that baby wasn’t his. All Erik wanted was to have a family - he was that guy - and she broke him for it. Lydia never could’ve made him suffer more for that. She was sitting there crying for him.

I’m curious as fuck about Ian. That guy is a grump and a half and I want to know more. Obviously, I’m betting that’s going to be a mommy-issue book which makes me sad, but man, he was a tool. I loved the family dynamics in this book. Faith and Lydia. Lydia and her parents. The four of them. Dominic (which now I have to go back and read the story about) and the sisters. Adeline, Greer, and all the brothers. Everyone in this book was just wonderful and I love being a part of this world every time that I read a new piece of it.

Lydia being a badass at that family football game was awesome. I fucking lost my shit laughing at the nose boop. I lost my heart during their dance. Gah. I loved it.

Book #2 in a spinoff series with the Washington Wolves

320 Pages

Trope Challenge:

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