Eli's Garrett's last encounter with Tess Montoya involved her chasing him down Main Street, wielding a sponge mop. Aimed at his head. Twelve years later, Tess is a next–door–to–bitter divorcee with a pair of little kids, and Eli's still a bachelor with – word has it – a baaaaad reputation for hooking up with anything with hooters. So naturally that makes him the perfect choice for a bout of drunken, angry sex, right?

Mortified after her wild 'n' crazy night, all Tess wants to do is put her indiscretion behind her and resume her quiet, safe, uncomplicated life. Loving people has never ended well before, so why should it now? Especially with Eli? Except sometimes bad boys are "bad" for reasons the gossip mill never gets wind of. And sometimes a bad boy turns out to the be the best thing ever to happen to a gal who's given up on love.

Especially if that bad boy has marriage and family on his mind...