Handsome, rugged cowboy Lucas Weston is living proof of the damage a woman can cause. Determined to keep another miss from running stampede over his heart, Lucas has garnered the reputation of a man who favors flirting and wild times between the sheets. When he's roped into taking to the trail to escort Missy Morgan back to her home in San Francisco, Lucas isn't too pleased until he discovers she uses her poker-playing, whiskey-swilling ways to hide her own fears. What those fears might be, he doesn't know. But he's going to find out. Drawn to her from the start, Missy represents the opportunity for the life fate cheated him seven years ago. Missy Morgan has lived by a rigid set of rules for so long she knows no other way. Life hasn't always been kind. Fate has dealt her more losing hands than she cares to remember. But she has Lady Luck and her family. For them she'll remain strong, until a handsome cowboy enters her life and challenges the way she lives. Against her will, she's drawn to Lucas' blue eyes and honesty. Would it be so terrible if she put her trust in him? The odds say yes, but something else says no. And what about that horrible night? It's hung over her head for so long only a fool would gamble on Lucas' goodness. And she's not a fool. Or is she?