Even though my stomach was churning, I felt in some kind of control, like I could still steer this situation home, dock it gently in a place where I could walk away unscathed. The problem was, I didn’t think I wanted to walk away unscathed. I wanted to hurt and bleed and heal and scream.”
― Sophia Soames, Sleep
CBR16 Bingo: Dreams
We met Mabel in Taste: London Love book 2. Mark and Mabel work as a team at The Clouds Westminster Hotel in central London as the head of food and beverage and as the head waiter/hospitality magician. Mabel was born male and is non-binary. They are not trans and, if pushed, they use the term gender-fluid.
Mabel pined for Mark for years and the two of them developed a codependent relationship they called friendship. Mabel helped make Mark a successful restaurateur. Even though Mark manipulates Mabel, Mabel fears what will happen if they finally cut ties with Mark. Not only is Mark one of their oldest friends, he is also their boss.
While Mark has found his happily-ever-after with hotel manager Finn, Mabel is having a rough time. Being in their early forties and moving home to the suburbs to live with mom and dad is not how Mabel thought their life was going to go. In addition to a long, expensive commute, Mabel has to watch first-hand as her mother slips into the final months of her life after suffering from a debilitating cognitive illness.
As Mabel is dealing with all of this on their own, Jonathan starts frequenting the hotel restaurant where Mabel is the head waiter/hospitality magician.
Jonathan is a millionaire. He is also a fifty-year-old-man who is a barely functioning adult. He is a brilliant businessman and a kind boss to his staff, but he only does the very bare minimum to feed and clothe himself. On warnings from his doctor, he takes their advice and makes a habit of having at least one balanced, delicious meal at the restaurant in the hotel next door to his penthouse apartment.
Jonathan is instantly drawn to Mabel. Mabel is the first person to recognize that Jonathan relies on lip reading to understand what the servers are asking him. Mabel’s beauty and genuine warmth and kindness provides Jonathan the incentive to come to the restaurant when he knows they are working. His attraction is no secret. He and Mabel develop a tentative friendship even though Mabel knows Jonathan has feelings for them.
When Mabel and Mark have a very public fight in the restaurant, which causes Mabel to flee, Jonathan is the one to chase after them to make sure they are okay. Once Jonathan convinces Mabel that he is not a stalker and just wants to make sure they are okay, they return to his flat. Mabel explains everything that has been going on, and Jonathan listens without trying to get them into bed with him. Usually on the defensive, Mabel is disarmed enough to allow this strange, kind man to take care of them even though they warn Jonathan that he “needs to stop eye-fucking me every time I walk by.”
This is the fourth book in the five book London Love series. While I didn’t care much for books one or five, books two, three, and four are solid entries with book 2 (Taste) remaining my favorite. Mabel is a phenomenal character, and I am so glad that we finally got their full story and their happily-ever-after for now.
If you are interested in the London Love series, you can skip books 1 and 5. Book 3 is good, but books 2 and 4 (Taste and Sleep) can be read as a set.
Content warnings for death of a parent and a mention of past physical abuse.
For this year’s CBR16 Book Bingo Reading Challenge I’m choosing albums from the 1970s that helped raise me. When I think of Dreams, especially the dreams you follow even when you should let them go, I think of Hopelessly Devoted from the Grease soundtrack (1978).
