Dante'S Twins (Expecting!) (Harlequin Presents, 2016 : Expecting)

Rating:
Summary: Could have been good
Review: Aristocratic Leila and her self-made boss, Dante, meet and have a whirlwind affair that culminates in an engagement during a week-long company retreat. When they return home and begin planning their wedding, Dante is shocked to discover that the woman he loves and trusts is engaged to another, much wealthier man. Leila attempts to explain that the situation is not what it seems, but she is unwilling and unable to exit her first fiancee's life. This reluctance makes the stubborn, arrogant Dante refuse to listen to anything she tries to tell him, assuming that she is a gold digger. The relationship cools. Soon afterward, Leila discovers that she is pregnant but Dante has to find out from an employee. Angry and hurt, he insists that the wedding go through as planned for the sake of his unborn twins. Leila does all she can to make him stop pulling away from her but the distance only grows. Her doubts about marrying him make her cancel the wedding an hour before the ceremony and disappear to a remote hideaway to sort out her life. She can never marry Dante until he learns to trust her, respect her and treat her as an equal. But will he decide he loves her enough to change? Time passes with questions lingering. Will Dante ever swallow his pride and let Leila explain about the other man? Can they deal with the other secrets in Leila's life? The questions aren't particularly captivating and neither are the answers. The characters do seem like real people, just not people you'd really like to know. Nice love scenes, sweet interaction between the two when they aren't at odds, good job of revealing Dante's inner thoughts. Somehow, though, the sum just isn't equal to the parts.