Title:  The Doctor’s Christmas Proposal
Series:  The Gallaghers of Montana #3
Author:  Eve Gaddy
Genre:  Contemporary Romance, Christmas Romance
Published:  November 17, 2016
Publisher:  Tule Publishing
My Rating:  5 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Cover Description:

Betrayed by his ex-fiancée, Dr. Wyatt Gallagher turns to the one woman he can always trust – his best friend, Mia Watson. After moving away, Wyatt has realized he wants more than friendship with the beautiful artist. With that in mind, he convinces Mia to come to Marietta for the Christmas holidays. But wooing Mia is surprisingly difficult — especially given the passionate night they’ve already shared.

Though Mia Watson has loved Wyatt Gallagher for years, he’s always seen her as a friend, never a lover. Except for one unforgettable interlude when comfort turned to passion. Then Wyatt moved back to Montana, leaving Mia with an unexpected consequence of their night together–and soon, heartbreak to follow.

Faced with the fulfillment of her dreams, Mia knows she must reveal the consequences of their night together to Wyatt. But having withheld the truth for so long, will her confession destroy his trust in her, ending their friendship and any hope of a future together?

Titles in this series include:  Sing Me Back Home – Love Me, Cowgirl – The Doctor’s Christmas Proposal (Links are to reviews on Keeper Bookshelf)

Keeping secrets is always a double edged sword situation.  It’s going to hurt both people when the truth comes out, and it always does come out eventually.  And not telling something important is a lie of omission, while perhaps justified in some way – it’s still a lie.  How can two people hope for a future when there is always something left unsaid between them… something that could change everything.

Wyatt had been played, and played well by the woman he’d ask to marry him.  Her deception set events in motion that are now coming full circle.  Wyatt’s brother Sean is getting married at Christmas, his brother Jack’s wife, Maya, is about to give birth to their child any moment now.  Both events have sent Wyatt down memory lane in a not so pleasant trip.  The only good thing about those memories are the times with Mia, his best friend, the woman he turned to in the dark time, the one woman he trusts completely.  And it seems the woman he loves as well.  He left Denver quickly to return home to Marietta shortly after their one amazing night together.  He needed time to sort through all that had happened.  Trouble was that although he’s missed Mia, knows that they have something special between them, he hasn’t been in touch with her since he left.  Yeah, not a very cool thing to do to your best friend, let alone the woman you think you love.  Now he’s set about a plan to get Mia to come to Marietta for Christmas, to “help” him through his brother’s wedding, and the birth of a child.  Is he being completely honest in his request – yes and no.  But all that will be fixed when he sees Mia and explains how much she means to him.  Hopefully.

Mia has loved Wyatt for a very long time now, yet she’s always been firmly in that “friend zone” except for one night.  One night that changed everything for her, one night that had repercussions that she’s never shared with Wyatt.  It’s not that she didn’t want to, didn’t intend to but events beyond her control happened and then there really was no point.  When Wyatt invited her to the ranch in his moment of need she’d hesitated for about one second before giving in.  She loved him, and it was beyond time she told him.  Even though she knew they had no future, he never saw her as the forever kind of girl in his life, for her own sanity she had to tell him.  Then everything between them would truly be done.

Normally I find it very difficult to buy into a romance based on a lie.  It’s one of my “hot spots” in romance.  Yet in The Doctor’s Christmas Proposal I completely “got” what happened in Mia’s life at that time, and I understood her decisions… and admired her determination to tell Wyatt at this late date to find her own peace of mind.  To be honest, I found myself putting me in her shoes and I don’t know if I’d have handled it any differently given the way events played out.

Wyatt has discovered since he came home just how much Mia meant to him.  He might not really “need” her here for the reasons he gave her but he did need her back in his life.  Yeah, he’d acted foolishly in not contacting her sooner, and maybe in running back home so unexpectedly but that was past,  now they could concentrate on a future if Mia loved him as much as he loved her.

I enjoyed The Doctor’s Proposal very much.  It was such fun to visit with Jack and Maya and their daughters Carmen and Gina again.  To be there for the birth of their son was a special moment.  To see Honey and Sean get married, and to experience that special surprise for Honey brought tears to my eyes.  Interwoven throughout all the Christmas fun, the family moments Wyatt and Mia’s romance took flight.  And the tensions Mia faced grew as well.  I hurt for Mia in so many ways.  I understood Wyatt’s reactions.  And to see how a truly in love couple should face difficulties together was something we don’t often get in romance today.  I felt their pain, and I rejoiced at their solutions… and isn’t that how deeply a good romance should affect us as readers?

We still have two Gallagher siblings to find their own personal happiness… and to be found somewhere in the lonely world.  I would highly recommend this story along with the entire series to any Romance reader who loves to get deeper into the mind of the characters, to understand even those things that push a button in their own lives.  I enjoyed every  moment with these characters and cannot wait to revisit the Gallagher family once again.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this novel. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this story.*

Available for the Kindle