Maybe I Do is a strong start to Nicole McLaughlin’s new Whiskey and Weddings series, and in it, we meet Charlotte and Dean. They’ve both been in relationships which ended badly and publicly and are therefore wary of becoming romantically involved again. Their friendship and chemistry eventually lead them both to a choice: is this person worth the risk? In other words, they’re looking to answer that age old question of adult relationships, said in the immortal words of Mimi from Rent: “life’s too short, babe, time is flying, I’m looking for baggage that goes with mine.” That question of compatibility beyond physical chemistry is at the heart of this story; can these folks build a life together out of the shards of past ones? Can they create something stronger and more fulfilling than they could have ever dreamed? Or are the shards simply too shattered? The questions get answered, but this friends-to-lovers story chews through a lot of angst in the process. And I mean. A. Lot.

Charlotte was left at the altar several years back, and since then, relationships have not been high on her priority list. Instead, she’s built a thriving business as a local photographer, with weddings being a main source of income. She works most weddings in the town and has formed good relationships with most other vendors, including the newly formed Stag Distillery. Run by three friends, the Stag is still maturing its signature whiskey, but uses its facility as a reception hall. One of the friends in particular, silver-fox master distiller Dean, has caught Charlotte’s eye. Not that she’d ever do anything about it. Baggage, you remember.

When we meet Charlotte, she’s being forced to confront some of those long buried emotions when her sister gets engaged to Charlotte’s ex’s brother. Even better? They want her to be at the wedding. Super. While it certainly helps that everyone thinks the ex is an idiot and even his family seems protective of Charlotte, the wound is still there.

Dean has an ex-wife who doesn’t really focus on the ‘ex’ part of ‘ex-wife’. They had an ugly divorce after she cheated on him, but she’s trying to make amends and Dean’s having none of it. He’s carrying a torch for Charlotte, but has convinced himself that their age difference (of about a decade) is too much to overcome and she deserves better. (As a side note, characters who make decisions like that for other characters drive me batty. Just taaaaaaaaalk and let the other person have their agency in this decision. Stop being a martyr. UGH.) In the meantime, he’s pouring his soul into The Stag.

Then, he gets a Skype call from his little sister who is stationed overseas. She and her boyfriend have gotten engaged and been given permission to fly home to get married. This is great news! Less than great news is that they’re both being deployed into a deep mission for the time between the Skype call and the wedding and therefore she needs her brother to plan her wedding for her. Bewildered by the details but knowing he can’t say no, Dean turns to Charlotte for help.

As they plan the wedding together, they’re both forced to confront their pasts and the decisions their past-selves made. There’s some fun and flirting, for sure, and the sexual chemistry is not to be ignored (the motorcycle scene, y’all, is worth the price of admission). However, as I said at the beginning, there is a lot of adult life to wade through here. Anyone looking for a fun and flirty read will most likely be frustrated.

Dean, as you may have guessed, was my least favorite part of this story. While I respected he had stuff to work through, those things were focused upon a little too much. If he was my pal and I was listening to these PoVs, I’d slip him the number of a therapist quickly. He makes a lot of assumptions about himself, Charlotte, and others that are often unfounded. While he certainly has his charms and clearly loves Charlotte, I spent most of the text rolling my eyes at his internal dramatics.

Maybe I Do is definitely a book one has to be in the mood for. If you’re looking for a realistic story about two adults making magic happen, then this is absolutely the book for you. There are explorations of forgiveness, infertility, parenthood, marriage, covenant, commitment, mistakes, regret, and hope throughout this work and I was left satisfied in the end. However, I know myself well enough to know that if I were not in the mood for realistic angst, this one would have frustrated me. Perhaps you’re the same.

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