Book Review: Three Sweet Nothings

Title: Three Sweet Nothings
Author: Nikki Sloane
Genre: Romance, Fiction

What It’s About: Kyle McReary has returned to Chicago from living in NYC because he had been dating Sharon, a partner at his law firm, and she had wanted to learn about the kinky stuff that he was into during sex. Afterwards, she gave him an ultimatum–either he proposes or he’s done, and Kyle doesn’t do well with ultimatums.

So now, he is in Chicago, working on a divorce case in which the couple are fighting over spoons, at his parent’s firm. He helped Julius and Payton pro bono to keep this off the company’s books. During the Christmas holiday, his sister made it a mission to find him a girl, and tasks Joseph with being his right hand man in doing that.

Kyle finds out from the front desk that there is a client that was looking for him, and he goes to find them, because his father had taken the client, claiming that Kyle is too busy even though his father had agreed to give him the pick of the cases. This agreement was reached not too long ago in exchange for Kyle representing them at events. Turns out that the client is none other than Courtney, the wife of football player Tariq, and she is friends with Julius, which is how she had gotten Kyle’s name.

At the first meeting between the lawyers for Tariq and Courtney, Kyle sees a gorgeous woman who turns out to be non other than Ruby, his college sweetheart turned ex, who broke his heart. His presence unsettles Ruby, and when he asks her to speak after the meeting, Ruby tells him to go fuck himself. But she cannot stop thinking about him and why he is back in Chicago especially as she knows he had wanted to leave Chicago and work in NYC for years. He had gone to New York City, after all, without saying goodbye to her.

Kyle attends the New Year’s Eve party and finds Ruby there, dressed beautifully. They go up to the rooftop and Kyle pays an employee to let them into the pool area, so that they can talk privately. He reveals that he had been waiting for Ruby for hours to say goodbye at her place because that was the plan. His phone had died so he had no way of reaching her and when there was no time left, because he had to get on the road, he left. It was only later on that he had gotten his phone charged and that he realized what had happened from the voicemail messages–Ruby had thought they were going to meet at his place. But then Ruby’s next message was her drunk, cursing him out and claiming that she had a one-night stand. At that point, he called her back and told her to lose his number and never talk to him again.

Kyle and Ruby kiss and then end up in the pool, where they have sex. Once they are done with their steam session in the pool, they go their own way. Ruby meets up with Grant, her friend the next day and tells him all about her night with Kyle while Grant tells her that he broke up with Morgan, his TV-weather forecast girlfriend because she sent nude photos to all the men on his team. Kyle in the meantime meets up with Joseph and tells him all about Ruby and their break-up as well as the fact that their trust is broken. He admits that he wants to try to see if it can be rebuilt. Joseph gives him an idea–that he can teach him about the Dom and sub relationship structure, and get them to work it out that way.

So Kyle invites Ruby over and gives her the contract outlining their relationship as a dominant and a submissive and she agrees to it, with one condition of her own: Questions have to be answered truthfully. He agrees and they have a bit of fun in his office before he sends her out telling her that she will be going with him to dinner, and they will negotiate their willing lists then.

That is exactly what they do, and Ruby’s willing list is much higher than Kyle’s because he wanted to go easy, not realizing that she would be absolutely truthful. They go back to his place and meet Payton, who was there because Dominic is traveling, and she wanted to hang out with her brother. Realizing what is occurring, she leaves, and Kyle and Ruby have sex per their agreement. Over time, Kyle comes to her apartment while she is making macaroons and another time they come back to his place. They also end up having sex in front of Joseph and Noemi, where Joseph calls all the shots, and realizes something about Ruby–specifically her really violent orgasm, how easily she comes, which makes it possible for her to have multiple orgasm within a very short period of time.

Then, one day, Kyle tells Ruby that he loves her, just as they are falling asleep–words that eh had not spoken when they were dating because he never heard his parents say it, and as a result he was never sure what it would mean to him to say this at all. But when he says it, and Ruby hears him, he runs off into another room. Ruby follows him and he tells her that it is true that he loves her and he explains why he hasn’t been able to tell her that before, but now that he has said it, he cannot get enough of saying it to her.

He goes with Joseph to the club one day to buy some more tools for the bedroom. They run into Tariq, who freaks out when he recognizes Kyle as the lawyer handling the divorce on Courtney’s side because if this gets out, it would ruin his career. Julis comes in and kicks Tariq out of the club after explaining that he gave Courtney Kyle’s number.

Ruby is at her office when Tariq comes in and demands to speak with her. She tells him that she is not on his cased to a conflict of interest and to wait until his lawyer comes in. Tariq is not making sense to her, babbling about a club and about putting a gag order, and so on. He realizes that Ruby has some history with Kyle, even a recent one, and tells her that Kyle is at this blindfold club, and that he was wearing a particular outfit. Ruby doesn’t believe him at first, but something about the outfit makes her believe him, so she texts Kyle what he is wearing, which he responds exactly as Tariq had said.

Kyle meets Ruby in the lobby of his office, when he hears her voice and she loses her shit on him. He hauls her into a room, though it’s too late because his father has seen them, and has it out with Ruby as to what went on. He asks her why she wouldn’t trust him at all or think well of him first considering all that they have been through. Kyle tells her that they are over, before he goes to deal with the consequences of Ruby’s actions from his father.

Ruby is heartbroken, and talks to Grant, telling him about the blindfold club, which piques his interest as a reporter. They meet up at a restaurant a couple of days later while Ruby wallows in her misery and the lack of Kyle’s response to her apology. Kyle suddenly shows up, and Grant leaves them to talk. Kyle tells her that he can help her control her temper, and he gives her another contract, one that outlines the possibility of them having a future together, which Ruby wants. She agrees to this contract, which is not enforceable, but it’s the best way they know how to communicate.

My Thoughts: This is a cute story, but I am feeling like the blindfold club series is losing steam a little bit–there’s not much of that steamy romance that has been associated with the first two books in this one. Rather, it’s two kids that have been broken by a lot of miscommunication issues working through them with the blindfold club as a background to the story. I enjoyed it–found the conversations very refreshing and entertaining.