The Father Affair

She no longer believes in happy endings.

Candace Dobbs is an insurance investigator with a prejudice against good-looking men. Her ex-husband had been just such a paragon - and he'd emotionally abused her. So when a move-star handsome man calls in a vandalism claim at the site of a Victorian mansion renovation, she is more likely to believe he's the culprit instead of the victim. It doesn't matter that Drew Morris, the accountant for the renovation's construction company, seems forthright and a stand-up individual. So had her ex.  She's convinced Drew, too, must be guilty of some evil.

Drew is surprised that Candace doesn't recognize him. He was the overweight, nerdy kid she used to tease in middle school and ignore in high school, and he doesn't think his appearance has changed much since then. But he is beyond surprised - he's downright outraged - that she would accuse him of insurance fraud. He's determined to prove his innocence and show Candace that he is no longer a defenseless teenager she can shame and embarrass.

The battling pair suddenly become a team, though, when Candace's ex-husband threatens her four-year-old daughter. Drew will go far to protect the harmless child. In the process, he starts to view Candace in a new light. She's not merely a woman too beautiful to attain, but a caring and vulnerable one.  Meanwhile Candace wonders if Drew might not be that chimerical being - a trustworthy man. 

Drew knows if he's to live up to Candace's trust he'll have to manage the most difficult task in his life: believe in himself.