Angelica returns home for the first time in seven years with her 6-year-old son who has leukemia. She's desperate for work, so she answers an ad from her former fiancé, Troy, to work on his dog rescue farm. When Angelica broke off their engagement, she left town with no explanation to Troy. When Troy sees her again, and with a young son, he feels she betrayed and cheated on him during their engagement. He wants to turn her away but finds he still has feelings for her, and he also can't resist helping her sick little boy.

This was a wonderful second-chance romance with extremely likable and sympathetic characters. Angelica was a very strong heroine. She was a victim of rape and her son, Xavier, was a result of that. She kept the rape a secret from Troy because she felt shame and thought that he wouldn't want her anymore. Troy felt that she betrayed him with another man but yet he still can't help but care for her, and so he proposes a marriage of convenience to help her out and to be a father to Xavier, who so desperately wants one. I really loved that Troy rescued dogs who were unwanted, and the dogs in the story were so lovable. Little Xavier was such an adorable boy who had faced so much hardship in his young life, and he stole every scene he was in. A very enjoyable, heartrending, and heartwarming story. ( )