Maddy needs a fiance, fast. She wants to adopt little Katie, but the good ladies of Pepper Cloud, Missouri, don't approve of her single status. Clayton Kincaid's sister, who was saved from a mugging by Maddy, volunteers him to act as a fake swain. Clay meets Maddy and suddenly forgets all the sidestepping he's done as one of New Orleans' most sought-after bachelors and begins to feel as though the courtship is real. Although Maddy feels the same overwhelming attraction, a vow she made at her late husband's grave makes her reluctant to shed her widow's weeds. And then there's Clay's clandestine search for Katie's real family. Griggs' heartwarming, small-town story is filled with an eccentric collection of characters and lightly sprinkled with gentle humor.
