A book contract in hand from publishing house, The Written Page, Constance Barnes sashayed around the fancy hotel in heels and red lipstick, looking the essence of success. She couldn't help but wonder if anyone saw through her bravado to the lonely woman lurking inside. After a disastrous two-year relationship came to an abrupt halt, she tucked herself away in her townhouse to run her design business and let her heart heal. Now, two years later, having found success as a designer, and author, it had done nothing to lessen the loneliness she felt in her soul. Mack Maiden, the owner of Barney & Me, a lucrative pet store on the main street of Mill Lake, New Mexico, made his way into the fast lane to success at an early age. Financially he was set, but he was still missing one thing in his life. The love of a woman who understood and accepted him. A chance meeting on a park bench one warm January afternoon draws Mack and Constance together. Their mutual loneliness turns into attraction, followed by scorching hot kisses. Constance believes she has finally found peace and happiness in her life, until bestselling authors begin turning up dead. It doesn't take her long to wonder if she knows the killer, and if she's next.