I have read most of the books in the Matchmaking Mamas series, but somehow I missed reading the book that started it all, so I was very happy to track down a copy. The story opened with Nikki's mother Maizie complaining to her two best friends, Cecilia and Theresa, that her daughter resists all of Maizie's attempts to find her a husband. Maizie wants to be a grandmother in the worst way, and Nikki isn't cooperating. So Maizie came up with a plan to circumvent Nikki's refusal for "setups."

I loved the first meeting between Lucas and Nikki. It was great to see how comfortable he was in his role as a single father, and how focused he was on Heather's well-being. He was a bit flustered to find out the doctor was a young, beautiful woman. Nikki noticed Lucas immediately, and as more than just her patient's father. I loved her sympathy for him and his circumstances as she discovered how overwhelmed he was. I ached for him as he filled her in and liked how she tried to help him. Giving him direct access to her was a highly unusual step for her. The emergency call she got from him a few days later wasn't unexpected at all.

I loved the development of the relationship between Nikki and Lucas. There was a connection between them from the start, but both were a little wary of it. Nikki has had several bad relationships and isn't so sure that she wants to chance it again. Lucas thought he'd had his chance at love. But from the night of Nikki's house call on, neither could deny that there was something special growing between them. I loved seeing the two of them together. Both had a terrific sense of humor, and I frequently laughed out loud at the way they teased each other. There were also a couple of fun scenes involving dinners gone wrong and the great way that they handled the issues. However, there was the question of how long it would be before Nikki discovered her mom's part in bringing her and Lucas together. When it happened, Nikki's and Lucas's reactions were exactly what I expected from them. I liked seeing them take their time in developing their relationship, but that also created a conflict. For someone who was so wary of getting involved, Nikki fell hard early on but worried that Lucas wasn't over his wife's death. As their relationship went on, Nikki felt that Lucas wasn't really committed because he never talked about moving their relationship forward. Her fear that she was falling for someone who didn't return her feelings kept growing until she thought she had no choice but to break things off before she got hurt. I ached for Lucas and his shock and just wanted to shake Nikki for not talking to him. I loved the ending, though I did think that Lucas took an awfully long time to go after her. But his heartfelt words and explanation were sweet and believable and showed how much he cared. All Nikki had to do was let go of her fears and believe in what they had. ( )