Who gave Maren Moore the audacity to write such a perfect MMC, and a perfect book?!?! Like seriously, this book is an easy five stars. This had me feeling all the feelings, absolutely swooning at Reese Landry, and melting at his dirty words. Y’all, I’m not kidding when I tell you I SOBBED. Like full on sobbing. And it wasn’t even a sad book, it was the opposite, it was cute and spicy, but it was almost every sweet and thoughtful act/love declaration that made me lose it and start crying 😭🤣.

Reese is such a sweetie pie. He’s such a family man, like the first thing he did in the morning was call his sister, and tells her he’s only a jet flight away even if it’s to beat someone up for her. And the second he hears that Vivienne doesn’t have a place to stay, he immediately offers his house. Now since they’re roommates that barely see each other due to their differing schedules, they leave each other little notes. Like he left out a yogurt with a note that said “Those jeans you wore yesterday? Yougurta be kiddin’ me, Viv. ;)” And one day after an argument, he leaves her a cereal bar with a note that says Sorry I’m a dumbass. Forgive me? SinCEREALY, Reese.” Another cute thing he did, he started reading books about the supernatural so he can have things to talk to her about. And y’all, she tried to do jello wrestling while drunk and he immediately threw her over his shoulder, took her home, and he took her heels off for her 😭. It was so sweet how he drove her to her mom's apartment which was TWO hours away because he didn’t want to risk her car giving out on her. And then he came to pick her up early, brought her mom flowers and stayed and watched a movie with them 🥹. Y’all the spicy scenes were never lacking. Like this man dirty mouth on the night of the Mardi Gras ball 🥵🥵. Like my book is being TABBED UP with the things he says. And just when I think this man can’t get any sweeter, he goes and gets her a cat because he remembered when she told him that she always wanted one but couldn’t 😭😭. What the hell. Why is he so perfect 😭😭?? Y’all he got BETTER!!!! He got access to take her to an abandoned theme park that doesn’t allow anyone in, but he did it for her because she’s always wanted to go and for her book. And he does all of this even though he is terrified to be there, but he did it to make her happy 😭😭. Y’all, THANK GOODNESS, there was no third act break up. I’m so glad this man didn’t let her push him away, he was like I’m not going anywhere, and he kept reassuring her over and over again. Y’all I’m not kidding, just when I think this man cannot get any better, he proves me wrong!!! This man bound the first copy of her book in memory of her father!!!!! Then Vivenne just had to pull on my heart strings in the epilogue. When she’s at her book tour, she talks about her dedications in her book. The first goes to her father but she also dedicates it to Reese 😭. AND THEN, she makes her own rendition of the 10 things I hate about you speech but it’s things she loves about Reese 😭😭😭😭. And I absolutely lost it. It was so fucking sweet, I couldn’t function. 

"Viv. Fucking focus, please. I need to know what is in the pink bottle in the shower, right. Now."

"Um...exfoliating body wash? I think? I mean, I can't really remember offhand, but why are you even showering in my bathroom and not your—"

"Look, tell me right now, whatever the fuck is in it... is it going to make my dick fall off?"

"What? What do you mean fall off?"

"Is it?"

"Why would you be worried about your dick falling off? Wait, why are you even worried about my shower products? It's just bo—No. No, Reese. Tell me you did not. You used my body wash to... jack off?Are you serious right now?"

"Fuck, my dick is actually tingling right now. And not in a good way. I think it's going to fall off, Viv. This is serious. My dick can't fall off. It's my best feature."

“Did that make you mad?”

“Fuck yeah, it did, Viv. I played that entire game with the taste of your cunt still on my tongue, and seeing you in another man’s jersey? It made me fucking… insane.”

“Why did it make you mad?”

“Because the only fucking jersey you should be wearing is mine, Viv. The only name on your back should be mine.”

“I see you, Vivienne. I see you trying to hide yourself from me, from all of our friends. But I’m going to be here, even when you push me away. Even when you hate me for how annoying I am, for threatening those walls you’ve put up. I’m not going anywhere, baby. Even if all you need from me is to be your punching bag. You are not alone.”

“Thank you for inviting me here tonight. And for this dress, and for making me feel… like I belong here. With you and your family.”

“That’s because you do belong here, baby. I know you were… apprehensive about tonight, but you still agreed to come with me, and that’s what you do. You put everyone before yourself. No matter if you’re scared or anxious. I see you. I see you, Vivienne. I wanted to bring you here tonight so you got to be the one being taken care of for once. So you could wear this dress that makes me fucking ache, and so you could maybe let go of all the shit you’ve been carrying around for a little while and just breathe.”

“The thing about Viv is that as beautiful as she is on the outside, the inside matches. She’s empathetic, resilient, strong, selfless to a fault. She puts everyone above herself. Their feelings, their happiness. She’s a breath of fresh air, especially when she’s busting my balls, and I’m feeling things that I’m not supposed to, but it’s too late. I’m too far gone. I’m falling for her.”

Reese: I’m fucking nervous. My palms are sweating. Even my balls are sweaty. We’ve played in sold out stadiums, and I’m more nervous about this.

Grant renames conversation to: OPERATION CAT DADDY

Lane: 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣

Reese: Are you making fun of my child?

Grant: No, I’m making fun of you.

Lane: Hallie wants to know if you got the scratch tower for her?

Reese: Yeah, I got a bunch of shit because I panicked. I bought like ten different kinds of food because they were all organic and non-GMO and fucking confusing so I just bought them all.

Grant: It’s a cat.

Reese: It’s my child, you dick. 🖕

“I don’t like this sh⁠—”

A loud crash causes us to both jump, cutting him off.

“Yeah, and tell me what the fuck that was, Sweet Tart.”

“Um… a ghost?”

“Nah, fuck this. We’re getting out of here. Right the fuck now.”
“Bu—”

He cuts me off by bending down and throwing me over his shoulder in a single swoop. Without hesitation, he turns on his heel and carries me right out of the fun house in an almost sprint.

“Nope. I’m done. We came, you saw, and now we’re getting the fuck out of here before something drags us down to hell.”

“You can put me down now, you caveman!”

“Nope, not till we’re safely out of this bitch.”

“I fucking want her. All of her. I want her to be mine. I want the whole world to know that she’s my girl. After talking to Grant, I know that I want to be with her, whatever it takes…”

“I don’t want to be friends who hook up anymore because I want to be more than friends, Viv. I want to be with you, for real. I want you to be my girlfriend, not just the girl I’m hooking up with. You deserve more than that. I like you, and I want us to be in a relationship.”

“I… I think I want that too. I want to be with you, Reese.”

“Really?”

I fist pump the air like an idiot who can’t stop himself because Viv just told me she wants to be my girl.

“Let me take care of you for a change. Let me put you first. Let me fucking love you. I was made to love you, and I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. Over baseball, over the minors. Over it all. This is what I’m sure of. I should have told you that last night, but I was scared to. I was scared that you’d run, that it would be too much for you to hear. But tonight made me realize that you run when the world gets to be too much, but I’m coming after you, baby. I’ll chase you to the ends of the goddamn earth.” 😭😭

“I’m just sorry that I had to tell you I love you here, in the middle of all this and not in a grand gesture kinda way. You deserve grand gestures, baby. I want to be the guy that gives them to you.”

“All I need is this. All I need is you.” 

“Then that’s what you’ll have.”

“Viv’s the most important thing in my life, even more than baseball… She’s my number one. She’s my heart.”

“That’s how I know in my bones that Vivienne is the love of my life. We understand each other in a way that I can’t even explain, and I know she’s the girl I’m going to marry one day. Because that’s what love is, a connection that is deeper than words. It’s in my blood, coursing through my veins with each pump of my heart that belongs to her.”

“You are so important to me. I want you to know that. You’re changing me, Reese, and I’ve never loved who I’m becoming more than I do now. Thank you for being my safe place to land. Thank you for helping me find myself again.”

“Always, baby.”

I’ll always be the place she can run to. I’ll always hold her when the world around her feels like too much. I’ll always put her first, even when she can’t do it for herself. I’ll always take care of her and be her strength.

“But all along, she was missing. This beautiful, resilient, defiant girl who walked into my life and set my heart on fire. The one who challenges me, who pushes me to be a better man. My equal in every sense of the word. The girl I thought that I would never catch because every time I got close, she’d run even further away. But we ended up colliding into each other in a way neither of us expected, and it turns out that catching feelings was the best choice we ever made.”

“I love you.” 

“I love you more.”

And god, do I love Reese Landry. I love him so much sometimes that it feels like my heart could actually burst. I love him irrevocably to the depths of my soul. And I know I always will.

“Reese Landry loves me every single day in a grand gesture. He deserves a grand gesture of his own…. I love the way you wear a backwards hat and your big bleeding heart. I love your tender touch and how you hold me when I fall apart. I love your strength and how you always put me first. I love the way you see me, and sometimes I love you so much that it hurts. But mostly, I love the way that you love me. How I always imagined love would be. I love the way you caught me and the way you never let me go. I love you, All-Star, and I hope you always know.”

“He kisses me in a room full of people like we’re the only two here. He kisses me with purpose. With promise. Because Reese Landry is my endgame.”