Blurb:
I screwed up and ruined a perfectly good relationship with my ex, Anthony. But my epic screw-up helped him find the happiness he deserved, and that left me truly alone. So my life became the gym I own, and doing the drive-of-shame home after my countless hook-ups. I cut out trying to have any type of relationship, because my heart just wasn’t in it. That is until Tyler walks into my gym, and I can’t get those sad, brown eyes out of my mind. Little do I know, the man who shot me down twice is going to become my best friend.
Tyler ~
Middlebury was supposed to be a fresh start for me. A place where I could begin a new life, a life away from… him. It was to be my breath of fresh air. But it’s hard to breathe when I’m constantly looking over my shoulder. When my personal trainer leaves town for family issues, Sebastian, the man who tried to buy me a drink twice, is the one I’m stuck with training me. Soon, he becomes a whole lot more, but as much as I want to, I’m scared to let my guard down... and let him in.
Sebastian and Tyler each have their own internal battles. But when an unlikely friendship forms out of one personal training session, it’s a different kind of battle they’re forced to face. Instead of hiding their own secrets and lies, they have to decide whether to trust each other and let their friendship blossom into something more. Can they learn to trust each other enough to stop fighting the attraction? Or will their own trust issues stand in the way?
Trigger Warning: While this book is intended for adults—with adult situations—one of the main character’s backstory includes an abusive relationship.
REVIEW:
Teaching Trust is the second book in the Forever in Middlebury series by Brittany Cournover. And, just like the first book, I Loved it!
Sebastian, who was a bad guy in the first book, is happy for his ex, Anthony, but is sad to be alone. No family. No real friends. He knows that by losing Anthony, he lost a friend and a great guy who put up with all of his bullshit. I love Sebastian's realization that his time with Anthony was not based on love and that they could never have lasted forever.
Tyler has moved to Middlebury to make a fresh start. He is hiding here from his former lover, Roland. Their relationship was toxic and abusive. Tyler was stripped of all his friends, lost his love of painting, and started suffering from horrific panic attacks. And he was physically abused as well. Roland ended up controlling every aspect of Tyler's life.
When they meet, Sebastian hits on Tyler. And Tyler turns him down. On two separate occasions. This never happens to Sebastian. Then Sebastian ends up being the trainer at the gym Tyler joins. Tyler joins the gym to try to build confidence in himself, as well as to get stronger and to stop living his life in fear. But he is definitely intimidated by Sebastian. And Sebastian, well, he wants to push Tyler during their first session together just because Tyler has been rejecting him.
When Sebastian realizes that he pushed Tyler too far in the workout, he offers to go to Tyler's apartment to help him recover quicker. While there, he confesses that he really wants to be Tyler's friend. He knows that Tyler could use a friend and he knows that he, himself, is very lonely and could definitely use a friend. Tyler hesitates as he is afraid of being stuck in a controlling relationship again.
During a bad snowstorm, Sebastian is stuck at Tyler's apartment for a few days. It obviously is tough on Tyler having Sebastian there, in his space, all the time. Being stuck in the small apartment becomes stifling to both men. But they definitely start getting to know each other better during this time. Unfortunately, a kiss from Sebastian turns things sour. Tyler accuses him of forcing himself on Tyler. And thus begins the turning point in their relationship. Sebastian lays it all out for Tyler. "'I have never fought so hard to be friends with someone before...You don't want this as much as I do. And that's a shame because I think we could've been great friends.'" Sebastian leaves the ball in Tyler's court, telling him "'Call me when you decide you want a friend.'"
My heart breaks for Tyler. He is living his life in fear of Roland finding him. He doesn't think he can open himself up to have a friend. He doesn't think he has the time or that it's fair to be with someone when he comes with so much baggage. He begins to realize though that Sebastian is nothing like Roland and that he doesn't need to be scared of him.
From here, their relationship starts to grow. They still have to face the fact that Roland is searching for Tyler. And facing this isn't easy. Standing up to Roland is something Tyler needs to do though. And he does a great job of doing so.
I absolutely love the way that Brittany Cournover redeems Sebastian in this story. He never wanted to hurt his ex, Anthony. We learn that he purposely sabotaged his former relationship with Anthony. He has suffered from losing his ex-fiancé, Grant, years ago and he just doesn't feel right moving on. He feels like investing his heart in someone else would be cheating on Grant. Learning this and understanding why Sebastian treated Anthony the way he did, just fully redeems him in my eyes. Even better is when Tyler forces Sebastian to explain all of this to Anthony, who had no idea. This is just a very touching moment.
One of my favorite moments in the story is when Tyler tells Sebastian to wear Grant's ring. As in, the ring that Sebastian had used to propose to Grant. It is such a quick and easy acceptance by Tyler. And it leads to the wonderful proposal by Sebastian later. "'I wear Grant's ring on my right hand because he was my first love, but I want to wear yours on my left because you're my last.'"
Teaching Trust is seriously a wonderful book. It has so much to it - second chance at love, redemption, escaping an abusive relationship, facing your past, learning to love and trust again. Once I started reading, I could not put it down. I highly recommend it. And I am excited to see what the next book in the series brings!
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