
Part of Series
Nathalyia Fontaine has been the sole proprietor of the restaurant Fontaine since her husband died four years ago. She hasn't dated anyone in all those years, choosing not to open her heart again, or risk revealing her dark past. That is, until she meets Rafael Dunlap. Rafael is a hostage negotiator with his own set of problems. Though he loves women, he vows he'll never marry because his job is just too unpredictable. He can't imagine leaving a widow and children behind. But his thinking and game plan of loving and leaving changes when he meets Nathalyia. Though she tries to resist him, Rafael sweeps her into a whirlwind romance. When the unexpected happens, and Nathalyia is forced to keep it a secret, she ends things with Rafael before he can break her heart. But when Rafael is in harms way, will Nathalyia resolve to tell him the truth before it's too late? Or will past demons keep them apart forever?
Author

Francis Ray was a New York Times and USA Today bestselling African-American writer of romance novels. Her literary fiction series – Taggart and Falcon, the Invincible Women, Grayson Family of New Mexico, and Grayson Friends – have consistently made bestseller's lists. She was born in Richland, Texas, and studied nursing, receiving a bachelor's degree from Texas Woman's University in 1967. She began writing in 1987, while continuing to work as a nurse, and had her first book published in 1992. AWARDS Romantic Times Career Achievement EMMA The Golden Pen The Atlantic Choice Romantic Times 2008 Reviewers' Choice Award Winners for AFRICAN-AMERICAN ROMANCE Reviewers' Choice Awards – Best Books Not Even If You Begged, St. Martin's Griffin (February 2008) Borders 2008 Bestselling Multicultural Romance Award for Nobody but You Written's 2010 Readers Choice Book of the Year for If You Were My Man