Eden is not all it's cracked up to be... Jillie McAllister escaped to Paradise Beach to start over somewhere beautiful ... and far away from her philandering ex-husband. But she's already lost her job, run over a mailbox, become embroiled in a heated small-town controversy...and run afoul of the local law in the person of the good-looking Chief of Police Blaise Corrigan. But with a little love it can be heaven, Jillie just wants to settle down and open a bookstore.Instead she's raising ire and eyebrows, most notably the Chief's.But the better Blaise gets to know his sometimes saucy, sometimes timid, always disarmingly honest new neighbor, the better he likes her. The caring cop's tenderness and obvious desire for Jillie are like a soothing balm to her battered soul, and a possible cure for all her troubles in paradise-even when her unwanted former spouse reappears to send her life into further turmoil.But Jillie is determined to weather the emotional storm, because her destiny has brought her to this magical place and wonderful new man. And her heart is begging her to stay. "A powerhouse author Sue Civil-Brown doffs her Rachel Lee persona and exploits upon the mainstream scene." -- -- Melinda Helfer Eden is not all it's cracked up to be... Jillie McAllister escaped to Paradise Beach to start over somewhere beautiful ... and far away from her philandering ex-husband. But she's already lost her job, run over a mailbox, become embroiled in a heated small-town controversy...and run afoul of the local law in the person of the good-looking Chief of Police Blaise Corrigan. But with a little love it can be heaven, Jillie just wants to settle down and open a bookstore.Instead she's raising ire and eyebrows, most notably the Chief's.But the better Blaise gets to know his sometimes saucy, sometimes timid, always disarmingly honest new neighbor, the better he likes her. The caring cop's tenderness and obvious desire for Jillie are like a soothing balm to her battered soul, and a possible cure for all her troubles in paradise-even when her unwanted former spouse reappears to send her life into further turmoil.But Jillie is determined to weather the emotional storm, because her destiny has brought her to this magical place and wonderful new man. And her heart is begging her to stay. Sue Civil-Brown has been writing romantic stories since childhood. Now, having published two dozen books under the pen name Rachel Lee and won numerous awards, she is delighted to turn her attention to the light-hearted and humorous in love and life. Sue lives with her own knight in shining armor on Florida's Gulf Coast, where the weather provides almost as much excitement as her dearly beloved, their children, and their Siberian husky. Boredom, she says, is never a problem. Just as Jillie McAllister turned into her driveway, a huge dog leaped out of a shrub right in front of her. Instead of continuing its dash, it froze, looking straight at her, pinned by the glare of her headlights. Instinctively, she braked and wrenched the wheel to avoid hitting the dog, then heard a sickening thud and clang as she struck her neighbor's mailbox. "Oh, hell," she swore as her car jolted to a halt. Just what she needed, another bill. The cause of it all stared at her for a few moments, as if defying her, and calmly lifted its leg to relieve itself on her front tire. Tossing one last look in Jillie's direction, the dog then darted off into the night. "You stupid animal," she shouted after him, feeling mortally insulted, "if you'd just kept running to begin with, I wouldn't be in this mess! Did you have to pee on my car, too?" "Who are you talking to?" Startled by the deep male voice that seemed to be coming from nowhere, Jillie turned and found herself looking at one of the most intimidating figures she had ever seen. Worse, he was a cop. "Oh, shit," she muttered under her breath. "Oh, shit." He stepped closer, into the beam of her headlights, giving her the full force and impact of his size and uniform. He loomed over her, his uniform as crisply starched and pressed as if he had just stepped off a recruiting poster. And he didn't look happy at all. In fact, he appeared to be in a very bad mood. "Who are you talking to?" he repeated, an edge of impatience in his voice. "The dog." "What dog?" Jillie leaned out her window and waved in the general direction the dog had taken. "He just ran away." "Turn off your engine and lights, please. I'll need to see your operator's license, vehicle registration, and proof of insurance." Oh, wonderful! As if life hadn't dealt her enough bad: turns lately, now she was in trouble with the law. Scowling, she did as she was told. Arguing would only cause more trouble. She switched off her lights and ignition. He had a flashlight, one of those really big ones, and he pointed it in at her, watching as she nervously fumbled in her purse for her license and insurance card. Of course, because she was nervous, her fingers didn't seem