For Jake Landry, Erin Shaw was always off-limits--too young, too innocent, and his kid sister's best friend. Home now after a decade of military service, Jake finds Erin all grown up...but she's still off-limits. War has left him with scars invisible to anyone but him, and a relationship is the last thing he's looking for. As a teenager, Erin had a hopeless crush on her friend's big brother. Now that she's an adult, she thinks she's put all that behind her. But when she sees Jake again, she discovers her old feelings are alive and well...and blossoming into something new. Jake doesn't believe in happily-ever-after. And since he can't give Erin what she deserves, he tries to stay away from her. But when the attraction between them turns explosive, his resistance starts to crumble. Will Erin find a way past Jake's armor, all the way to his heart?