Contemporary
SEALed with a Promise
By Chrissy Dionne
Apr 5, 2009 - 2:52:37 PM

Navy SEAL Caleb ‘Do-Lord’ Dulaude approaches circumstances using logic, stealth and if need be raw brawn.  However, none of those prepared him for the ordeal of being the best man in his comrade Jax’s wedding – and so he’s working his way through books on etiquette hoping to muddle his way through.  Of course, just when he thinks he knows exactly how to behave and what’s expected he meets the maid of honor and finds himself enchanted by the ‘mouse’ who fades into the background.

Emmie Caddington is extremely book smart and learned from an early age that it’s safest for her to blend into the surroundings and let others standout.  She wears ill-fitting clothing, no makeup and really doesn’t have a whole lot of social skills.  She was ‘adopted’ into the Hale family when she went to college with Pickett and she has a special fondness for each member of the family.  Her close friendship with Pickett is what incites her to enlist Caleb’s assistance with her great cake swap plan.

Because Pickett has celiac’s disease which means she can’t eat anything made with wheat flour – Emmie’s determined that it be safe for Pickett to eat her own wedding cake and that means swapping it but with her arm in a sling it’s impossible for her to carry out her plan.  That’s why she decides to enlist Caleb’s help.  At first Caleb doesn’t want to have anything to do with swapping out the wedding cakes but then he sees a picture of a different Hale family wedding and recognizes one of the guests as the man he’s had a personal vendetta against since childhood.  If he agrees to help Emmie then he’ll have an ‘in’ to get to Calhoun and he certainly can’t pass that up!   

Emmie may not be a raving beauty and her intelligence would be intimidating to a lesser man but Caleb sees a unique faelike beauty in her that is utterly irresistible.  Since he possesses a high IQ himself he’s able to hold his own in a conversation.  There’s no denying that there’s a strong attraction between them but Emmie is very cautious about getting involved with Caleb.  She’s positive that he’s using her for some reason and she’s certain it has something to do with his intense interest in Calhoun.  Will anything dissuade Caleb from his hatred of Calhoun?  And how will his vendetta affect his foundling relationship with Emmie?

SEALed WITH A PROMISE is the second book in Mary Margret Daughtridge SEALed series – and I have to tell you, this addition is just as delightful as SEALed WITH A KISS.  The author infuses humor, realistic characters, emotion filled situations, and in some cases brutal honesty to create a storyline that’s utterly captivating from beginning to end.  I believe I fell in love with Caleb before the story even really began when it’s revealed how he came by the nickname Do-Lord.  He’s a strong man with a vulnerable nature and a quirky sense of humor that strikes me as very sweet.  Emmie has her own vulnerabilities and it’s absolutely delightful to ‘watch’ her come out of her shell and be the woman she was meant to be. 

Navy SEALS are the object of many women’s fantasies but through Ms. Daughtridge’s writing we get the opportunity to view these strong praiseworthy military men and understand that they’re individuals with feelings and needs.  This story is beautifully written and I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more writing from Ms. Daughtridge in the future – and will keep my fingers crossed for stories about some of the other SEALS we’ve gotten to know in these first two stories.