This was another book that I was quite pleased that I took a chance on. I've really been enjoying this line by Harlequin and this is another reason why.

Kate owns a business in Vegas that's in trouble. Desperate for money, she decides to blackmail the man who fathered her, but refused to acknowledge her. She figures he owes her something, if only child alimony from when she was dirt poor, living in a trailer park and being raised by her grandmother. But her plan backfires when her father demands that in exchange for the money she needs, she spend at least two weeks with he and his wife. He's had a narrow brush with death and he wants to make amends to those he has hurt and number one is his illegitimate daughter. He sends Rick Mendez after her. Rick was a good friend of Kate's legitimate brother, a young man who died to early. Rick is also depending on Kate's father Justus Mitchell to help him with a program he is setting up to help former gang members start a new life. Rick himself is a former gang member who changed his life around and wants to help others do the same.

The attraction between Rick and Kate is flammable, but one of the ways Rick has changed in no more one night stands and that's all it would be with Kate as she has every intention of returning to her old life once she does her penance.

Kate is a somewhat bitter heroine. I didn't mind that for the most part though as she's certainly had a rough go of it. She did get a tiny bit tiresome in her bitterness as she seems to have quite a few friends and supporters in Oak Stand. But I know as adults things are often different than they way they seemed as children and sometimes we still see things through our inner childs eyes so all in all I understood why Kate acted as she did.

And whatever I may have found frustrating in Kate is balanced out by Rick our hero. He's a yummers, that's for sure. It's different reading a story where the heroine is the one in pursuit and the hero is the one holding off for a more meaningful relationship so I found it rather refreshing *g*. I'm not sure how realistic it was, but it was atypical of most romances. This one is actually the third book in a series and after finishing this one, I went and purchased the first two as ebooks I enjoyed it that much. ( )