Willow St Clare is often mistaken for being cold and untouchable. She's made an art form out of keeping people at a distance, and with good reason. She's been hurt by love in the past, and she has no interest in ever feeling that way again. Her life is quiet, lonely and ordered, but that suits her just fine. Until the impossibly drool-worthy Mattias McCain strides into town. Nursing his own troubled past, he's not looking for love. He wants space to clear his head and set the course for his future, and spending some time with his best friends in sleepy Haymarket Bay is supposed to be an uncomplicated break from the pressures of his usual life. So why does he find himself obsessing over the gorgeous brunette next door? Mysterious and enchanting, Willow St Clare is the kind of woman he knows he could fall in love with. But Matt isn't free to get involved with anyone - especially not with the woman his friends treat almost as a sister. His future is on the other side of the country; his past is pockmarked by war, a messy marriage and grief over the loss of his father. But his present is centred on one wish and one woman, and for the first time in his life, Matt's heart is paying no attention to what his head wants. His heart is calling the shots, and he's happy to let it.