THE BULLY OF THE OUTER BANKS The hot-tempered ex-colonel who landed on Coronoke Island was driving Maudie Winters crazy! The divorced mother had no patience for a man who barked orders. So why was she fantasizing about Rich Keegan making a surprise midnight inspection of her quarters? Keegan had earned the right to be a pain in the neck, and so had Maudie. Why the woman was so nice was beyond him. She'd been through one disappointment after another, and boy, did he see the next one coming. But Keegan would be right beside her, with a box of tissues and a shoulder military-honed to muscular perfection....

Stone McCloud believed all the rumors about scandalous Lucy Dooley. And he'd be damned if he'd let her take advantage of him as she'd done with so many other unsuspecting males....

BRACE RIDGEWAY: — Okay, I was dumped. No big deal. I'm not too upset at being single again, but the reason I got jilted was pretty embarrassing. So I escaped to North Carolina's Outer Banks to be alone, and what do I get? A woman who wants to know my business. — FRANCES JONES: — What's a gal to do when she gets a scrumptious-looking, sexy man for company, and he's not much of a talker? I know he's been through something, but I also know that underneath that hard, muscled chest I can't keep my eyes off is a soft heart I want to make mine forever! JILTED! Left at the altar... but not for long!