The classified ad was provocative yet innocent, and the man who read it on a whim felt compelled to meet its creator. But Thor Spicer was unprepared for Pepper, the beguiling dynamo who checked him out, liked what she saw—and warned him that she had designs on his heart. Intrigued by her challenge, Thor decided to take her dare—even though it meant constantly tripping over her gentle Doberman and outwitting the Chihuahua who guarded her door. It wouldn't be easy to strip away the layers of mystery surrounding their very private selves—but Pepper declared that it was the only way....

What was a woman like Brooke Kennedy doing running a guest lodge alone in the Montana wilderness? And why was her best friend so worried about her? Those were the questions Cody Nash asked himself after agreeing to cancel his tropical vacation to go on a mission of mercy into blizzard country. For the strong and self-assured woman he found didn’t need or want his help—but she was in trouble. Brooke had isolated herself from the world for reasons she wouldn’t or couldn’t say. But Cody didn’t need to be a psychic to sense that Brooke was afraid. Even more, her fear had intensified from the moment he arrived. Now, as a dangerous storm strands them together, Cody must learn the well-guarded secret of this beautiful, gifted woman—if he can convince her to give him the one thing he needs to save her from a self-imposed exile: her trust.