Wild Side by Elsie Silver is a contemporary romance novel set in Rose Hill, Canada. After Tabitha Garrison’s sister unexpectedly passes away, she has to go to her apartment and clear out her belongings. There she meets her sister’s landlord, Rhys Dupris. Even though Tabitha does feel an attraction to Rhys, she chooses to ignore it due to her anger at her sister’s death and the belief that he evicted her. The only problem with her hatred for him being present is that her sister left her three-year-old son, Milo. Both Rhys and Tabitha had an attachment to the kid and wanted to have some sort of paternal relationship with him. Although Tabitha is furious about the entire situation, the two of them agree to speak to a grief counselor to break the news to Milo that his mother has passed.
After the meeting with the counselor, Tabitha observes the attachment Milo clearly has to Rhys and reluctantly agrees to having him stay in her basement apartment when in town. She’s concerned about him actually showing up for Milo, given that he’s constantly on the road for his job, a job he won’t tell her about. As their time together passes, they fall into a comfortable rhythm of life, but constantly try to fight their attraction for one another. One day, after traveling because of his work, Rhys confides in Tabitha about his fear that his visa to stay in Canada is quickly running out. Impulsively, Tabitha suggests that they get married in order to allow him to travel to and from Canada and the United States; shockingly, Rhys agrees to her crazy idea. After their marriage becomes official, the two of them begin forming a domestic family bond with Milo, and they fall into a pleasant life. Even though Rhys continued to travel for work, that didn’t put their relationship into a halt. During their time together, Rhys finally reveals his career to Tabitha, a professional wrestler, much like WWE. He also reveals that he never evicted her sister, and actually assisted her by watching Milo and giving her slack on her rent. Rhys goes as far as calling her sister one of his best friends and that he did his very best to keep her sober, that he, too, had to grieve the loss of her. During this conversation, Tabitha feels the true emotion behind his confession and feels that she can open up about her own familial problems. Including her complicated relationship with her deceased sister, and confusion on why her sister could never be convinced to stay sober. After their deep conversation, they realize that their marriage is no longer fake, that they weren’t just in it for Milo and his career. Upon agreement, they choose to have to live together like any other married couple. A few weeks into their flowering relationship, Rhys gets injured during one of his wrestling matches, a stunt in a match when he gets a kick to his back that leaves a spinal injury. Tabitha, being worried about him, rushes to America to see him in the hospital to ensure he’s okay. Stupidly, Rhys pushes her away due to him being embarrassment about her seeing him in his weakened state. Momentarily, Tabitha falters because of his reaction, but quickly bounces back and makes him admit that he wants her there. They make amends together and promise to one another that they’ll be by each other’s sides, regardless of what happens. The book ends with a look at what their future settled family life is like, with Milo and their newborn daughter.
