Ooh, I very much enjoyed this one. I kind of had an inkling that I would have since I found Clay to be funny and dreamy and hot. I mean, dude was an underwear model... with hot underwear model friends. Yowza. Hee.But alas, he felt like he was never taken seriously because of the all the fame he gained from being a guy who stripped down to his unmentionables to pose for magazines. And who needed to be in shape. A very shapely shape, but never mind me. Anywho, I liked that there was more to Clay that than what people could see--even though he'd essentially already bared it all. Kinda.He did have depth. He did go to college and get a degree in business, even though his oldest brother, Rafe, had written him off as the family black sheep for not following in his businessman footsteps for being a model instead of getting a "real job".The first proper glimpse of him that we got was back in Shane's book when Shane got upset and tried to fight Clay as a way of venting and Clay didn't engage, even though he had a black belt and allowed his brother to know that in the event that he actually wanted to have his ass handed to him. I liked that scene so much. It showed that Clay also had restraint. And a firm grip on his emotions.As for Charlie, when I label this as "didn't see that coming" it mostly revolves around her. She's such a strong woman, and so different from the women she hangs out with. Where they are more feminine and petite, Charlie is tall, tough, self-reliant and works as a firefighter... and steers clear of men. But as we found out in the previous book, there's a reason for that.So when she and Clay got together in this book and the way it just worked and felt right was very unexpected. I guess I judged Clay harsher than I should have. He wasn't some superficial guy, there was substance hidden underneath his layers of pretty. And he helped Charlie help herself. A really cute couple, a really great story. Really good storytelling.
