Very good book that deals well with fears and expectations. Shay and Julianna had known each other back in college and had been in love. But they were very different personalities. Shay was an adrenaline junkie who lived for danger. Julianna was a person who lived for control and safety. When she couldn't handle his frequent injuries anymore she broke things off. Now Shay has shown up at her home, asking for her help. He has become guardian to a baby boy and needs her to teach him how to be a father. She is reluctant but can't pass up his offer to help her career in return. They quickly discover that nothing has really changed between them, but can maturity change the outcome?

I really liked both Shay and Julianna, but I think I liked Shay just a little better. He and his two best friends started their own company a few years earlier. When they were killed in an explosion Shay became guardian to their son. He was determined to become the best father he could but he needed help because his own hadn't been a good role model. When he went to Julianna he didn't expect his attraction to her to be even stronger than before. He could see that she was fighting it, which made him even more determined to get her back in his bed. But he was also going to protect his heart this time and not let himself get emotionally involved. I really loved seeing his willingness to go all out to be a good father to Mikey. He was even willing to give up all the things he loved in order to make it happen, especially when his custody was threatened. I also liked seeing the way that his feelings for Julianna grew even as he tried to deny it to himself. I loved seeing him finally admit that being with her was what grounded him and made it possible for him to reach for the dreams he had. He had to realize that love was an all or nothing proposition.

Julianna was a little harder to like. She had walked away from Shay when he refused to change his lifestyle for her. She couldn't face the thought of losing him to death during one of his exploits so she cut her losses and left. She was really hesitant to help him, but couldn't resist the idea of helping him with the baby. She was impressed with his desire to be the best father he could be and used that desire to try to wean him away from his dangerous pursuits. This was reinforced by the need to deal with the custody battle. She was also trying to protect herself from falling in love with him again. She also had a deep desire to be a mother, but had physical issues preventing it. Being with Shay and Mikey gave her that illusion of family. I had a really hard time with the way she was trying to make him change everything that made him who he was. She didn't see what she was doing even when she had a patient who was going through a similar thing. I loved the way that Shay worked so hard to shake her up in hopes of getting her to start to live again. I loved that she finally saw the error of her ways and that changing who he was wasn't the answer. ( )