A billionaire. A woman in hiding. An unexpected love so strong it shocks them both. And a man whose life-or-death lie can ruin it all.

I’m treating a patient, when suddenly the room gets more crowded, and with the most beautiful man on earth to boot. Declan Harris stumbles into the treatment room, looking for his brother, the boyfriend of said patient, and it’s like the moment he sees me, he forgets what his mission was. The smile on my face quickly gets wiped off with the knowledge that I’m not for him. I’m not for anyone. The less people know of me the better. That’s the reason I fled Scotland for North Carolina. That’s the reason I don’t keep in touch. And that’s the reason why no matter what spark I feel with any man, I can’t act on it. Despite all that, not a day later, my best friend Steph stiffs me for our lunch date, but suspiciously, guess who shows up at the restaurant.

It’s clear that my cousin Malcolm and my brother Maverick have something up their sleeve. After I get a text from Maverick that he needs to vent and to meet at our usual place, only to find a familiar face there instead, it gets my hackles up. Moira McTavish is the most beautiful woman in the world, but I can’t have her. For starters, she doesn’t want to be had. Also, I’ve been had before, and I know where that leads. My heart can’t take that again. So, I try to play the friend card, but just one touch from this goddess sets my skin sizzling. That’s when she finds out that I know the truth. That’s when a mysterious package shows up at her office. That’s when her past catches up to her. That’s when I have to look her in the eye, knowing that the one person everyone deserves to trust, is nothing but a toxic, compulsive liarand a killer.

A family desperate for the top. A dangerous game of cat　mouse. And a surprise relationship that proves both deadly, and a miracle, all at the same time.

Caleb Harris is the most eligible bachelor according to most media, and I can see that that's gone to his head. The shocking part is that he's evidently coming after me. We're rival billionaires; him in bed with every woman in North Carolina, and in Scotland, and so far up his father's ass he can't see the light. Well, I'll show him. I see that his spies are paid well, since he found me in the armpit dive that my newly divorced best friend chose for her reverse engagement party. Just look at his smug smile and his ‘so sure of myself' glance. As I approach him, he paints on a mug, trying to mask the fact that he's half corked. But I'm not showing him mercy. After a brief encounter, he tells me his da's plan, and I laugh in his face. In a million years, that's never gonna happen. But in a few months time, it does, and my whole world is turned upside down. We gain some, we lose some, but in the end, his da gets what he wantsno matter the cost.

Laney McAdams is audacious and beautiful, and smart as hell, but I can't think of a bigger wench, and I know a lot of them. The lass is wholeheartedly cold and selfish, it's no wonder she isn't anyone's favorite. I've been sent on a mission, despite the trouble Im in, despite the huge risk Im taking,

I have to set that all aside for da. As I sit in the bar, waiting to deliver shocking news to a new client, sure as the nose on my face, Laney sits at the back of the bar, just waiting to eat me for breakfast. I try to put on the charm, I try to be civil with her, as I wait for Chas Ford to learn his fate, but this woman was born to do one thing: profit. And the worst part is, so was I.

It's no wonder we clash from the start. But as she walks away from me, looking back at me, I see something in her eyes. I'll realize soon that it's the future. But not a future that I would have envisioned. One where my life sits on the balance, lives are lost, saved and miracles are made. All while somebody wants to see us fry… and I find myself risking everything all over again…for something more important than ever. But for once it's not for money.

A child taken. A woman that got away. And a man so afraid of his own future that he ruins it before it starts…until his past saves him.

As I get ready to celebrate my birthday with friends, I try to keep Ethan at arm's length, not letting him know that it's my special day. Trudy, my bestie, thinks that I'm an idiot for not telling him, but then that would be two lies that I've been keeping from him. I made a mistake and if he finds out, he won't ever forgive me. At first, I didn't tell him, because I wasn't vested in the relationship. He's never introduced me to his family or his friends, like I'm some precious stone that he wants all to himself, but when he tells me he loves me, I get a look from Trudy that I can no longer ignore. And when I tell him, I soon learn that it's the worst mistake I could have ever madeor the best?

Sure, Freya is successful, in a manner of speaking. But to my da, she'll just be another lass, and I don't want to be that low on the family totem pole. It's lonely being down here, as much as I care for her. And it's not like I don't want to show her off. She's beautiful, smart, hard-working, and so entrepreneurial, she could be another billionaire one day, but I don't want to see that look of disappointment on either my da's or Freya's face. My feelings for her I've kept hidden, until I find out it's her birthday, and learn that she kept it a secret. Once I tell her I love her, a strange look crosses her face, and then she hits me with something that I never could have imagined.

and I run.

…But I soon learn that I can't hide for long. And when her name pops up a year later, the tables are turned, hearts are broken, things precious to us are taken, and a tailspin of lies turn into dark reality

until someone sees the barrel of a gun in their face.

A fake name. A sudden fake life. A very real love. And an unmistakable miracle just in time for Christmas.

I grab a beat on the drums for Wade, while we get ready to play at the best armpit dive in town called Mingles. It's where the Christmas beer runs green and the garland hanging over my drum kit is fastened with last year's tape. It's also where a new girl has started working, and from behind the glasses and bottles, she's not your average bar maid. No flirtation in the eyes, no attitude, no intimidation. Wade suggests steering clear of this girl named Stella, but something about her is like a goddamn magnet to me. Strange, when I call her name, she doesn't respond. When I secretly find out why, the answer would make most run…but, stupidly, I do the opposite.

***

Its just Bean and I, in this new town, and in the worst part of it, too. After just a couple of nights at the house, and after meeting a few new friends at the bar, I'm abruptly moved…by Cooper, a man I hardly know. He's a man I'd love to share all my secrets with, but he's the only person who accepts that I can't. In the past, trusting has led to nothing good. The same nothing good that's left me in this predicament. The same nothing good that sits behind bars, and not the kind you drink at, either. It's also the same nothing good that gave me the one gift I'd never take back, aside from all the rest. Which is why the early Christmas gift that I receive is so conflicting. But do I get to enjoy my Christmas miracle, or will it all be taken away by nothing good again?