While she is not obsessed with a family, she's not as ambivalent as Brian. Yes, she's happy and fulfilled with these two males, but she knows that she's a complete woman without them. I really liked the characters of Brian and Leslie. Trisha Alexander has done a noteworthy job of explaining the characters' motivations. Even Brian's in-laws, who initially come across as petty, exhibit realistic growth.
Nothing is particularly sugar coated.
These people are hurting and unwittingly, hurting the other. What makes A Mother for Jeffrey different from most categories is the depth of realism used to define Leslie and Brian's relationship. That HEA doesn't happen automatically. It comes after suffering and deliberation and false stops and starts. It's not a first bloom love, but the full flowering that comes after prunings and droughts and overwaterings . . .