– this is part of a series, but can be read as a stand-alone

– this is told from Cassie & Bear’s points of view

– it is mentioned that Cassie has had to deal with a superior who discriminated & harassed her at work (past events – still a current issue but we don’t ‘meet’ the harasser during the events of the story); she has trauma from it

– it is mentioned that Bear’s mother has Alzheimer’s & doesn’t have much longer to live

– a character accidentally sees/almost sees another naked

I loved this book so much! Cassie & Bear’s story was so much fun with the various ‘attacks’ they threw at each other and the misunderstandings they had about each other. I loved getting to know them both from their own points of view instead of Bear’s siblings & their significant others to be (I still need to get to Christmas in Paradise so I didn’t read anything from their cousin’s point of view yet). I liked getting an inside look at both characters’ struggles and how they were dealing with them over time. I loved getting to see some of Paradise’s well known members again and how these two handled their shenanigans. It really lent to the hilarity of their situations. I can’t wait to find out what will happen with Britta finding a happily ever after!

Cassie is looking for a place to escape and move forward with her life after work throws her a curveball causing her to question her choice in profession. So when her friend Georgia invites her out to Paradise, Cassie grabs hold of the offer with both hands. Unfortunately, Georgia’s hope of getting Cassie to purchase an old shop for a bookstore pits her further against Bear Thompson who also has an interest in purchasing it. After their disastrous first meeting at Georgia’s wedding, Cassie wants to be as far away from Bear as she can. But with their need to temporarily share the shop space, they’ll need to push aside their differences. If only things were easier done than said for once…

Bear wants his grandfather’s old shop for his hockey team and has been biding his time to finally get everything together to make it happen. But when Bear sees Georgia showing the place off to Cassie as an option to purchase, the rug is pulled out from under him. Time is short if he wants to get the shop or it will go to the woman that caused him trouble with the Paradise townspeople. When he hears that Cassie will be staying in the adjoining apartment while details of a sale are configured, Bear takes advantage of his knowledge of the place to try and get her to back down from purchasing the shop. Unfortunately, his attempt only lit a fire under Cassie to retaliate back at him and further hate him…