It takes more than time to mend a broken heart.

Simon Jameson had once considered himself a lucky man. A job he loved, working alongside his oldest brother. His wife was his heart, and they had a family in the making. Then he lost it all. When his niece is born on Valentine's Day—his first wedding anniversary without his wife—it's too much too soon and he has to leave town for the night. Just one night, while his close-knit family celebrates a gift of life that should be celebrated, one that breaks his heart that little bit more.

He never expected to meet her.

Evangeline Adams, the architect behind the new build of his brother's pub, The Spotted Cow, was a red-headed bombshell of a woman he didn't see coming.

It's been months since Evangeline encountered the magnetic, desolate Simon at a bar, but she hasn't forgotten him. When they meet again at her latest job site, she's glad he seems happier but keeps her distance. Right up until her manipulative ex-husband unexpectedly returns and Simon steps in to protect her.

Eva can't afford to fall for an emotionally unavailable man who doesn't like kids—not when she has a two-year-old son waiting for her at home. And that describes Simon perfectly.

Doesn't it?