Jessica Lemmon returns to her Billionaire Bad Boys series with The Billionaire Next Door, in which a a fun-loving, party-boy billionaire falls hopelessly in love with a woman nursing a broken heart with many secrets to hide.
Taggert “Tag” Crane runs the food and drink establishments inside the popular Crane hotels. He’s the life of the party, so it’s a no-brainer that he’s in charge of creating the perfect aesthetic for the bars. But while creative, Tag lacks business acumen and is struggling with how to brand and market Crane hotels’ newest string of bars.
But it all starts with a dog—a very loud Great Dane to be exact.
Tag has had just about enough of the Great Dane downstairs and its incessant barking, but when he goes to complain, he isn’t expecting to see an attractive woman acting as dog-sitter.
Rachel Foster is a dog-sitter by day and bartender by night, despite her background in marketing. Her reasons for taking odd jobs are her own, and she’s reluctant to give up her secrets to the good-looking Tag, no matter how often he seeks her out. But it’s hard to ignore Tag’s charm—and that man-bun—so she offers to help him with marketing designs for his new bars. However, what begins as fun flirtation soon turns to something much more instense.
Tag’s carefree demeanor is infectious. He keeps things light and casual, which is just what Rachel needs. The way he supports her and builds her up, especially in her talents as a marketer, is nearly tear inducing, even though he looks like a gruff mountain man. Rachel’s tenderness is palpable, and many readers will relate to the fragility that only comes with a terrible heartbreak.
The Billionaire Next Door is a great addition to Lemmon’s Billionaire Bad Boys series, and it does a wonderful job introducing the third, mysterious brother Eli. Fans who have read the first book, The Billionaire Bachelor, will easily recapture the warm, nostalgic feelings of reading about the Crane brothers’ exploits. But those new to Lemmon’s books will undoubtedly have a new author to love with this sweet, slow-boiling and sexy romance.
