Tallulah, a broke 26-year-old aspiring marine biologist, seizes the chance to be a live-in nanny for Burgess, a hardened hockey veteran and newly single dad. Living in a fancy neighbourhood and taking care of his cool but introverted tween daughter, Lissa, seems perfect. Yet Tallulah has her own reservations about moving in with someone she doesn’t know, still healing from past scars. Still, while helping Lissa fit in, Tallulah realises Burgess needs a push back into the dating scene. Sparks fly as boundaries blur, but Burgess is torn between his daughter’s wish for her parents to reunite and his growing feelings for Tallulah. When Tallulah steps away to do the “right” thing, Burgess is left heartbroken. A serendipitous encounter and a nudge from his daughter force Burgess to confront his fears, fight for love, and prove he’s worthy of a happily ever after with Tallulah.
“You could be wasting your time on me.”
“Time with you could never be a waste. Only a privilege.”
Forced proximity, grumpy-sunshine vibes, and opposites attract—what more could you want from a romance? Bailey delivers another banger with The Au Pair Affair.
Tallulah is a leading lady if I ever saw one. Braiding Lissa’s hair, mitigating her undeniable attraction to Burgess, and somehow also trying to figure out where life will take her now that she’s back in the States to finish her marine biologist masters isn’t easy but she perseveres. Be warned, there is also quite some dark trauma in her past that she is still recovering from that I didn’t see coming and it might hit hard for you as well. Rest assured, Tallulah is an amazing character who shows immense strength but you can’t help but feel for her as she tries to keep her independence and her boundaries clear all while still dreaming of a happily ever after for herself and trying not to fall head over heels for Burgess.
Now Burgess. We love a man who’s down bad for the heroine from the very first moment and who worships the ground she walks on and Burgess delivered on all accounts. Nicknamed “Sir Savage” on the ice he is the actual softest cinnamon roll off it. You can’t help but root for a man who might just consider building you an entire house himself if you’re not able to find an apartment in your price range. These are the levels of utter adoration we want in romance (and in life). Also, sidenote, Burgess is an amazing dad and it’s both funny and adorable how utterly clueless he is sometimes.
Now, while I am well versed in romance novels and levels of horniness, here even I hit my limits in some early chapters. There’s instant attraction and pining and then there’s just stating on every page how horny you are for the love interest. I loved that both Tallulah and Burgess had this insane chemistry from the first time they met in Fangirl Down, but the first few chapters of this book were hard to get into since the levels of horny somewhat skewered every single interaction between the two and quickly turned repetitive instead of enticing. It took away some enjoyment for me because every time I felt like Tallulah and Burgess were getting somewhere on an emotional level, another layer of just how much they wanted to get into each other’s pants interrupted that connection.
That being said, though, the chemistry between them was incredible. Once they had some actual conversations that did not end in inner monologues about all their dirty thoughts, I could really see why they were a perfect match. There are a lot of internal and external obstacles in their way but together, they manage to overcome most of them. I really enjoyed that there was a mix between internal and external conflicts so that even when things matched up for the both of them on an emotional level, there were still other issues they had to deal with. It made for a delicious will-they-won’t-they dynamic. And the dirty talk (you know, once it actually made sense since they were acting on their attraction to each other) was as combustive as you expect from this stellar author. Tallulah and Burgess end up being able to read each other so well on the streets and between the sheets that every interaction will make you shiver.
As always, there is a third-act break-up that may not be everyone’s cup of tea (you know me, I’m a hater) and does drag quite a bit until you’re more frustrated than anything else (aka screaming in your head at these characters and their choices and just wondering where they get the audacity to behave like that), but, in true Bailey fashion, the reconciliation is hard-earned and explosive. The cameos from Wells and Josephine also made me so happy and balanced out the rougher parts of Tallulah and Burgess’s romance and showed just how important friendships are to feel fulfilled in life. All in all, this book proved to be a great summer read.
The single father/nanny romance that will melt not only the ice Burgess skates on but also your heart, The Au Pair Affair will turn up the heat this summer! Come for the unhinged possessiveness, stay for the wholesome patchwork family vibes.
The Au Pair Affair is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of July 16th 2024.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
A sports rom-com about a burly, surly, single dad who falls head-over-hockey-stick for his quirky live-in nanny…
Tallulah is smart, vivacious, and studying to be a marine biologist. She’s also twenty-six and broke. So when Burgess, a battle-scarred hockey veteran and newly single dad, offers her a job as his live-in nanny, she jumps at the opportunity to get paid while living in a super fancy neighborhood and being around Lissa, his cool but introverted tween.
Her tween charge isn’t the only one who could use some help fitting in, though. According to…well, everyone except Burgess, he needs to get back on the dating scene, and adventurous Tallulah is just the girl to show him how. But as boundaries are slowly crossed and Burgess finds himself pulled between his daughter, who wants her parents back together, and his insane chemistry with Tallulah, a huge rift is formed, and Tallulah does the “right” thing—breaks her own heart and walks away.
Though Burgess knows it’s for the best—he’s too jaded, with too much baggage—a chance meeting, and a new push from his daughter, forces him to put everything on the line and fight to prove he learned his lessons well and is worthy of a happily ever after with Tallulah.
