I had one very big reason to swear off men forever: My cheating ex-husband.

Our marriage may have been a total disaster, but it did give me my beautiful daughter Birdie. She’s the only good thing that man ever brought to my life.

So, when I packed up the car and headed to the small town of Reed Point to start a new life with my little girl, I vowed that a relationship—and the heartache and destruction that would inevitably follow—was not part of the plan.

That was before I walked straight into Jake Matthews and my whole world turned upside down. Jake is six-foot-something and all muscle, with piercing hazel eyes and a smirk that can set you on fire. He’s protective and sweet—and he’s 7 years younger than me. And when he finally gets me in his bed, I realize what I’ve been missing.

Every time Jake’s deep, moody eyes meet mine, every time he whispers filthy things to me, I almost forget all of the reasons this is never going to work.

My life is complicated. I have a stack of bills I need to pay, a little girl who has to come first and a past that I’m trying to outrun. A past that is threatening to catch up with me.

The new life I’ve worked so hard to build could fall apart when I’m forced to make the biggest decision of my life. Falling for Jake was never part of the plan, but now I may need to walk away from the man who has stolen my heart.