True Lies — Margaret Johnson-Hodge

The last time Dajah Moore took a chance, she was eight, and a wild, downhill bike ride left her with a scar on her knee. But the still-there scar is nothing compared to the ones criss-crossing her heart. Life has made Dajah into what she is--cautious and wise, a sister who won't sit down in her silks for fear of wrinkling them, a hardworking, you-better-be-on-time accountant who doesn't hand out second chances to anybody. Then she has a chance meeting with Rick Trimmons. And when the handsome corrections officer gives her the protection of his mace and the temptation of his phone number, she falls hard. Everything about Rick, from the depth of his soulful eyes to his no-nonsense talk, tells Dajah she's met someone who will never play her--if she can put aside her fear and wrap herself around his troubled past...

For Rick, nobody comes before his four-year-old daughter, Kanisha. She's his heart and soul, the reason he works overtime and puts up with all kinds of fool craziness from his estranged wife, Gina. Meeting Dajah shows Rick what his life could be like, if he's willing to take the chance again. From backyard barbeques, where Dajah's best friends size him up in a heartbeat over potato salad, to nights in Dajah's bed, where his arms feel like they're slipping around the world, Rick is living a dream--until Gina's outrageous behavior forces him into desperate choices that could destroy his happiness, his soul, and everything he's ever worked for...