Feel Me (O'Brien Family)

by Cecy Robson

[EBookObsessed]

I’ve been waiting for this story for awhile and I wasn’t disappointed. Sexy, charming Declan meets the one woman who won’t swoon at his feet and they are stunning together.

Wren and Evan’s story, Crave Me, is still my favorite, but Mel and Declan comes in at a very close second.

Declan O’Brien is focused on his success and nothing else. He has his sights on being the youngest D.A., then Mayor of Philly, and then Governor. He has no time for romance or dating and no real interest. He picks women for looks, not substance. He needs a woman to look good on his arm at parties and to keep his bed warm — nothing else. That makes his desire for Melissa Fenske, who happens to be his boss’s daughter, all the more confusing to him. Not only is she not the leggy blonde he is usually drawn to, but she is as intelligent and driven as he is and he doesn’t know what to do with the feelings she evokes in him.

Declan and Mel’s meet-cute back in Once Kissed wasn’t so cute. Declan’s brother bets him that he can’t pick up Mel at a restaurant. Declan approaches Mel while she is having lunch and reading. He is his usual charming self, but when she doesn’t respond, he gets rather rude and asks if she’s deaf? (Really? How rude!) Well, she is deaf and quite offended by Declan from this first meeting, so starts the animosity between the two. While Declan shouldn’t care that Mel doesn’t like him, as long as they can work together when necessary, he does and the harder he tries to charm her, the more she dislikes him.

Once Declan drops his political charm persona and let’s Mel see the man he really is, then she begins to admire Declan and his hard work. She sees more than just the politician grasping for power. She now sees a the man who is trying to make real changes. But she fears that her growing admiration for him will be her downfall. As she strips the wall she built which was keeping her from falling for the charms of the overly handsome A.D.A., she is afraid she will lose her heart to a man who isn’t even attractive to women like her, dark-haired and curvy.

I was surprised that Declan was so against finding a woman and getting married. He might not believe in love and all that rubbish but he has so much political aspiration and having the right social wife to handle your social functions and make you look wholesome and stable seems to be as much a part of being a politician as your stand on issues. He might not have been looking for Mrs. Right, but I am surprised he wasn’t interviewing candidates to fill that space.

Declan tells us that he doesn’t know what love is but we know he he loves his family. How can he not not recognize those feelings and understand that his feelings for Mel puts her into another category from the women he usually spends time with. It takes him too long to work this out in his head and because of this, Mel’s fear escalates leaving her feeling that Declan’s interest in her is only for her and her father’s political connections. This completely screws up all our happy, warm feelings over this couple. Bad Declan!

I was disappointed that Declan doesn’t make more of an effort to learn ASL. He is trying to mend the rift between them but doesn’t make more of an effort to work in her comfort zone or to show he would put in an effort for her. He makes one attempt in Crave Me which fails miserably. His brother knows ASL and communicates with Mel behind Declan’s back. Even if he is too busy to go to a class, he could ask his brother when he sees him for Sunday dinners or just look it up online and make a better attempt, or simply ask Mel to help him once they start dating.

Regardless of small flaws, this is such a great couple and the backdrop of their work together to bring justice to victims strengthens their bonds and makes for an interesting storyline.

While there is only one brother unhitched, you would think Seamus would be next, and he might be, but I am more curious about Angus and his dysfunctional relationship which has lasted years. Years! They are still engaged and don’t seem to have sex anymore. Why are they together? Really? Why are they STILL together? After seeing his siblings getting married and having loving, happy relationships, will they fix their relationship or will they finally admit defeat and more on?