A Thousand Sunsets by Marianne Rice

When Charlotte “Charlie” Kellar finishes her time in the Army, she returns home to pursue a career in culinary arts and work as the head cook at the children’s summer camp she and her friends established a year ago. An easy, fun gig with the added bonus she gets to ogle the super sexy contractor who’s always around.
Charlie’s been trying for over a year to get him to put the moves on her. A man with hands as strong as a Greek god’s and a butt that was meant to be on a Levi’s billboard shouldn’t be so serious all the time. She flirts. She teases. Yet he doesn’t react. Ever. He makes a girl sweat just by looking at him. And Charlie looks. A lot.

For years, Owen has kept people at a distance, not wanting them to connect him to his troubled upbringing. He doesn’t want to be judged by the blood running through his veins, and he works hard to keep people at a distance. But Charlie, with her sweet curves and intriguing laugh, makes it nearly impossible to stay away. He eventually caves and takes her up on some of her tantalizing propositions, but when she gets too close to his little sister, his protective guard goes up.

Owen has secrets he’s ashamed of, but Charlie keeps pushing, knocking down the walls he’s spent years building. When she gets to the center of it all, will she still see him as a strong hero, or will the walls come crashing down, exposing the tattered framework he’s tried so hard to cover up?