Chemist Nikki Stacy has ambitions beyond playing mad scientist in her parents’ garage. The former prima ballerina is on the shortlist for a huge cash award that could finance the start-up of her natural cosmetics company, and her products are already generating buzz in eastern North Carolina. She’s got no time for distractions, which of course means she’ll probably have them in spades. Charlie Mitchell wants to be one of those distractions. He’s had his eye on the quick-tempered sparkplug since they both went through puberty. The farmer thinks he’s the perfect yin to Nikki’s high-class yang, but she’s barely looked his way in her whole twenty-eight years. Just when he finally catches the slippery woman’s attention, an old flame tries to shakes things up in a way that’ll not only embarrass his preteen daughter, but disenchant Nikki as well. Charlie’s got one last chance to snag the girl next door, and this time it’s not his libido talking, but his daughter. She needs a mother, and she wants Nikki to fill the job.