In Us and Good Boy, we are introduced to Matt Eriksson as he is one of Wes’s team mates. We hang out with him when he finds out his wife is filing for divorce. We catch up with him again at the bachelor party where he is still bitter but trying to make the best of it. 

In Stay, we jump eighteen months into the future where his life consists of co-parentings his twin girls, hockey, and having the chaos he calls his every day managed by a woman with the initials HTE through a company called Fetch. He owes his sanity to “HTE”. She helped furnish his apartment, found a walker for his dog, and has taken care of just about ever need he has had. It doesn’t help that one of the mystery dog walkers looks a lot like the owner Hailey on the cover of the website. Is it is fault that her initials sound a lot like “Hottie”? 

Hottie herself – aka Hailey Taylor Emerson, has to deal with a life she wasn’t expecting. Divorced around the same time as Sniper67, she still co-owns her business with her ex-husband and balances a fun-filled life of overworking and needy clients. They aren’t all so bad. One is a little demanding and his request do border on sexual harassment. The other is super sweet and she may have a mild crush on him. It doesn’t help that she is a diehard hockey fan and she swears her client is none other than Matt Eriksson. Her suspicions are put into overdrive when not one, but two dog walkers are an epic fail and on short notice – she steps in to help. As a show of gratitude (and after a few flirty messages), she is surprised with two tickets to hockey game. It still doesn’t confirm her suspicions but it leaves very little doubt!

One hockey game down (and an embarrassing sign from her friend stating her relationship status). Hailey finds herself spending more and more time with the hockey hunk of her dreams but after having her heart broken and her confidence shattered, can she handle everything that comes with Matt or is she in over her head?

Stay was a much needed wrap-up to the Him Series and Wag series. We were able to check in that Wes & Jamie, and Blake & Jess were still going strong. We got to see a softer side of O’Connell (would have loved to have read his story and Lemmings!) We hung out with the Wags again and were able to see Eriksson get the Happily Ever After he deserved. He took such a hit from his divorce in the prior books and you could feel the devastation. His family was torn apart and Kate made it abundantly clear it was his fault. To have Matt and Hailey essentially live parallel lives, being the support each needed without knowing each other, it was a wonderful way to bring them together. I loved how we got to see Hailey rebuild herself. It was so cute how she was always so nervous and her friend Jen never let her hide from the hard parts. What I loved most about the book was how much they both wanted each other but never believed they were good enough based on their past relationships. They were so careful and yet no matter what, kept falling for each other. The moments he spent time with his girls were some of my favorite! This story was just a joy to read. It was heartbreaking to see the psychological damage Kate had done but when Matt finally found out the truth and was vindicated – priceless!! Same goes for Hailey when her ex-husband stood up for her and pushed back on his father. This book had more of the feel of the Him Series than Good Boy and was an absolute joy to read.