seriously romantic: until the sun sets by tara wyatt

the third grayson novella, until the sun sets, focuses on dean grayson, cousin to luke and matt and playboy extraordinaire. when luke requests that he bring a date to his and callie's upcoming wedding because they want to avoid drama with single bridesmaids, dean is horrified to realize that he's developed a reputation.

it's not that he's kept his exploits a secret. but he also can control himself. at least he's pretty sure he can control himself. but it's so insulting that he cousins think he can't. and he's not quite sure what to do about this. when he talks to his friend, and employee, carly, she's just getting over being dumped for someone younger and more respectable. when dean invites her to mexico with him, he does it to cheer her up. fun in the sun is the perfect salve for a broken heart.

except it turns out carly's ex is at the wedding. and when she runs into him she foolishly blurts out that she's there with her new boyfriend. dean goes along with it and thinks that actually, it's a ruse worth continuing if it will get his family off his back about being a manwhore.

the thing is, carly has always liked dean. he's just never signaled any interest. besides she knows his commitment issues, so she's never pursued anything. and it's not that dean wasn't interested. it's more like he had put her in this untouchable box. she was his employee, his friend, something he couldn't mess up. so he left it alone. but when they make the decision to pretend to be dating it's like all bets are off. the rules that they had adhered to don't seem to apply. and the insane chemistry between them suddenly explodes.

but dean doesn't do commitment. he's scared of hurting someone. he's scared of being hurt. so in order to get things on the right path he needs to make a choice. it takes him a while, but eventually, he realizes what he needs to do to make things right. this is a quick, enjoyable read. although i have to say that the scene where luke and callie give dean a talking to is totally cringeworthy and makes them seem like jerks, even though i totally liked them in their original novella.

**until the sun sets will publish on july 11, 2017. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/st. martin's press (swerve) in exchange for my honest review.