Rhonda Nelson has again come up with an amazing hero that will melt, and sizzle your heart all at the same time.

Seth McCutcheon had me in the first chapter. A big, strapping, tough Army man, who sits with his dying mother tenderly seeing to her needs. Their relationship is touching, warm and really caused me to choke over with emotion. Their gentle chiding is more of close, dear friends, than mother and son. Her deathbed wish is that after his rotation is complete, Seth leave the army. His mother wants him safe. To live a full life. Be there for his sister and her son. Seth promises her that, even though the army is his whole life. They play a hand of poker over it, and mom wins, on a wild card.

Seven months later, Seth keeps his promise, gets out of the Army and takes a job at Ranger Security. His first assignment? Go undercover as a wedding planner's boyfriend to look after security issues at a star football player's upcoming nuptials.

Enter the wedding planner, Penelope Hart. Just the sort of perky, organized woman who annoys Seth to no end. Penelope is so organized, she makes up an entire history of their faux relationship and pertinent facts Seth should know like how she takes her coffee, the fact she doesn't like sweet potatoes, and how they supposedly met.

Already their styles clash, Seth thinks Penelope is a control freak, she thinks Seth isn't enough of one. But both, are immediately attracted to the other, and not just physically. I loved the give and take and the entertaining banter between them as they are forced to spend time in each other’s company while the undercover mission is going on.

This seemingly harmless undercover work takes a dark turn, from a shredded wedding dress to crosses and double crosses involving people you would not suspect. What a wedding.

Penelope is a great match for Seth; she willingly stands toe to toe with him. However, while she more than embraces the lust she feels for him, those deeper, intense feelings have her running scared. She never exceeded her three month rule with any man. Could Seth be the one to inspire her to try something with more permanence?

And Seth is still heartbroken over his mother' death. Can he risk his heart for a woman? Can any relationship last, seeing his father and his brother-in-law both abandoned his mother and sister?

These two come with a lot of baggage, both from broken homes, cynical about love and marriage, but is what they are feeling worth taking a risk? Seth and Penelope are a sweet couple, their banter delicious, the heat real and sizzling. A great read.

Reviewed by: Karyn