Shoot for the Stars — Noelle Fox

A Father's Dying Wish . . .

After the death of her mother, accountant West Alden vows to get out from behind her desk and change her life. A year later, all she's changed is her dress size. When a deathbed letter arrives from the father she never knew, offering a free, two-week Alaskan vacation on Polaris Island, she jumps at the chance to fulfill a bucket wish. Maybe she'll even lose those last, pesky five pounds trying out all the activities on the island.

Uptight, by-the-book lawyer James Whittaker is not a fan of Derek Wakefield's scheme to get to know his three estranged daughters by luring them to Northern Lights Retreat. But when West arrives, all he can think about is how glad he is that she's there. Something about her calls to him. In her company, he not only discovers the joys of Polaris Island, he loosens up -- and even begins to fall in love.

West adores Polaris. Soon she makes new friends, including the oddly sexy James Whittaker, becomes one with the great outdoors, and even adopts a stray puppy. People seem to be whispering about her -- an unwelcome but familiar experience, since she spent her overweight life ignoring such unwanted attention -- but this vacation is still the best thing that has ever happened to her . . . until her castle in the air tumbles down.

How can West forgive the betrayals, get over her past and make a future with a family she never knew she had? More importantly, how can she shoot for the stars and trust that love is real when she's never known love before?