Elizabeth waved her hand at the red-brick building. “This is it. What do you think?”

Her brother didn’t seem impressed. “It’s a dump.”

“It’s a little rundown, but that’s because it’s been empty for five years.” She refused to be deterred by the graffiti splashed across the walls, the boarded-up windows, or the trash littering the parking lot. This building represented the beginning of her new life in Montana. And Elizabeth knew better than most that nothing worthwhile ever came easy.

Daniel peered through one of the few windows that weren’t broken.

“I’ve got the keys if you want to look inside?”

“Has it passed a sanitation inspection?”

Elizabeth hunted through her bag. “It’s not that bad.”

“Your standards have slipped since you left Cedar Rapids.”

If her brother had seen some of the other buildings she’d looked at, he wouldn’t be so quick to judge this property. “This is the best I can afford. I thought you would be happy for me.”

Daniel took the front door key out of her hand. “I am. But this isn’t what I imagined when you said you wanted to open a legal aid clinic.”

“I’m not afraid of hard work.” Elizabeth stepped inside the building and stomped her boots on an old doormat.

“I don’t think you have to worry about a little snow and mud.” Daniel scowled. “No one’s going to notice a few more muddy footprints.”

Elizabeth looked at the carpet. He was right. At some stage, squatters had made their home in the derelict building. She just hoped they weren’t here now.

She walked around a pile of smelly newspapers and smiled at what would be the reception area. “Can’t you see how amazing it will be?”

Daniel wasn’t looking at the mahogany reception counter or the huge storage area off to one side. He was staring at the ceiling, opening the windows, and shaking his head when the door into the next room wouldn’t close.

“The ceilings are water-damaged. You’ll need to check the roof for leaks. The carpets are threadbare, the whole building needs to be painted, and it smells like a trash can. Are you sure there isn’t a dead body in here somewhere?”

“Not since I last checked. I know the building has some issues—”

Daniel’s eyebrows rose.

“—but it has the most potential of any building I’ve seen. It’s close to town, opposite a bus stop, and in my budget. I’m going to create an incredible clinic that will change people’s lives.”

Her brother walked along the hallway. He looked in each room, shaking his head at most of them. When he was finished, he opened a door and walked to the rear of the property.

With his hands on his hips, he stared at the building. “It doesn’t look any better from here. Did you get a builder’s report before you bought it?”

“The property only came on the market yesterday. The realtor had five viewings booked for today and a lot of online inquiries. If I hadn’t moved fast, someone else could have bought it.”

“And that would have been a problem because?”

Elizabeth’s glare bounced off him like a boomerang. “You thought the clinic was a great idea.”

“That was before you bought this building.”

As they moved along the outside of the building, Daniel rattled off another list of things she should check. When he mentioned asbestos, Elizabeth shuddered. She knew from reading the newspaper just how expensive asbestos removal could be.

Not for the first time, she wondered if she really was crazy to take on such a big project. But if there was one thing the last twelve months had taught her, it was that she could do anything she set her mind to.

While she’d been having chemotherapy, she’d dreamed of opening her own family law clinic. Those dreams had given her something to focus on, something to keep her sane.

Daniel frowned. “You’ll need a lot of money for the renovation.”

“I know. I made an allowance for that in my budget.”

“And it won’t happen overnight. It will take months to complete.”

Elizabeth nodded. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“You’ll need permission to start a clinic on this site.”

“I’ve already seen the staff in City Planning. They don’t have a problem with what I want to do.”

Daniel sighed. “In that case, congratulations. It takes a lot of courage to take on a project of this size.”

“It’s going to take a lot more than courage to finish the renovation. How good are you at painting walls?”

Daniel grinned. “If my boss buys pizza for lunch, I can be the best painter in Montana.”

“I’ll bring you pizza each day you’re here.”

“You’ve twisted my arm,” Daniel said, “Consider me your slave.”

Elizabeth’s eyes filled with tears. “Thank you. I know this isn’t your idea of the perfect building, but it’s going to be amazing.”

Blake rubbed his temples. For the last few hours he’d been reviewing the marketing plan for the launch of a new app his company had developed.

Eight staff, twelve months, and two million dollars later, Jefferson Technologies had worked every kink out of the world-first computer application.

Medibot, their diagnostic robot, had the potential to transform health services around the world. But if they didn’t get the app in front of the right people, it would be an expensive flop.

His phone rang and he looked at the time. Midnight. He should have gone home hours ago, but the traffic heading out of Manhattan had been horrendous.

He was tempted to let the call go to voicemail, but old habits were hard to break. His father had drummed a solid work ethic into him. An unanswered call was a lost customer. And after fifteen years of managing his own company, his customers were still the most important part of his business.

He reached for the phone. “Blake Jefferson speaking.”

“Why are you still at work?”

Blake sat back in his chair and smiled. It never failed to amaze him how quickly one woman could make him happy. “Maybe you should tell me why you’re calling me. It’s ten o’clock in Montana. I thought you’d be worried about your beauty sleep.”

Elizabeth Sullivan, defense lawyer extraordinaire, snorted. “You must be tired. There are so many cutting responses I could make to that statement, but I won’t.”

“That’s not like you. Are you feeling all right?”

“I’ve never been better.”

“So why are you still awake?”

“I’ve got a lot on my mind.” She hesitated before continuing.

That should have given him a massive hint that something was wrong. He’d known Elizabeth for eighteen years and she never stumbled over what she wanted to say.

“Have you found a match for me?”

It took Blake a few seconds to work out what she meant. When he realized she was talking about his company’s Crazy Love app, he sighed. Daniel, her brother, had found his happy ever after using the computer program. And now Elizabeth was determined to find hers.

Blake could have told her she didn’t need his relationship app. All she had to do was smile at someone and they’d fall for her in two seconds flat.

“Why the hurry?” he asked.

“I’m thirty-six years old. Isn’t that enough of a reason?”

“Not from where I’m sitting. I’m a year older and I’m not in a hurry to find Ms. Perfect.”

“So I heard,” Elizabeth muttered. “Daniel told me you’re not dating Chantal anymore. Did she get tired of your Lamborghinis and superyacht?”

“I don’t know. She left before I could ask her.” Chantal was like most of the woman he dated. Being seen with a billionaire was so much better than eating a cheeseburger with your friends. For women like Chantal, the holy grail of social success was to marry one of the suckers they targeted.

Blake wasn’t a sucker, but Chantal had fooled him.

“I’m calling about your dating app. You told me the VIP service would match me faster than the standard registration. It’s been two weeks and I haven’t heard anything.”

“Perfection takes time.” Blake picked up his pen and doodled on a sheet of paper. The reason she hadn’t heard from his company was because he’d done nothing about her application. And he might have slightly exaggerated the effectiveness of the VIP service. Mostly because he didn’t have one.

“I don’t have a lot of time.”

His pen fell out of his hand. “What do you mean?”

“It’s nothing like that. What is it with you and my brother? I’m not going to get sick again.”

“You had breast cancer, not the flu.”

“And you think I don’t know that?”

Blake sighed. He’d annoyed her and that was the last thing he wanted. “I was worried about you, that’s all.”

“I’m a big girl. I can look after myself.”

That’s what she always said, but Elizabeth was just as vulnerable as anyone else. Three years ago, she’d almost married a scumbag. He’d broken her heart and Blake wasn’t about to let that happen again.

“I’ll look into your application and see what I can do.” He crossed his fingers and hoped she couldn’t see his nose growing.

The top of his desk was littered with reports he still had to read. He’d barely left his office for three weeks and he needed to get away. Maybe Elizabeth’s call was meant to give him a reason to forget about work and head to cowboy land.

He hadn’t seen Daniel or Elizabeth for a few weeks. If he booked tonight, he should be able to catch a Friday afternoon flight to Bozeman.

“What are you doing this weekend?” he asked.

“Working.”

“I thought you were taking a break from sending people to prison.”

Elizabeth sighed. “You know I specialize in family law now.”

Yeah, he did know, but he didn’t want Elizabeth to think he remembered everything her brother told him.

“I’m not working at the Family Center this weekend,” she continued. “I’m meeting an architect and someone from a construction company. I’ve bought a building. I’m finally starting my own legal aid clinic.”

He sat forward. “You’ve what?”

Elizabeth laughed. “I’ve surprised you. That would be a first.”

“Did Daniel see the building before you bought it?”

“My brother doesn’t need to be involved in every decision I make. But for your information, I took him there this morning.”

“And?”

“He said it has potential.”

Blake knew as well as Daniel that ‘potential’ could cost a lot of money to fix. “What’s the building’s address?”

“I know how your mind works, Blake Jefferson. If I tell you the address, you’ll find all the information you can about the property, then tell me I’ve made a mistake.”

“Not necessarily,” he muttered. “If you’ve done all the usual pre-purchase inspections and document searches, you’ll be okay.” The silence on the other end of the phone wasn’t reassuring. “Did you even look at the building file?”

“Of course, I did. I spoke to City Planning, too.”

“Aren’t lawyers supposed to be cautious when it comes to signing contracts?”

“I didn’t have time to be cautious. This felt right.”

“So do a lot of things, but that doesn’t mean you jump feet first into trouble. I’ll book a flight to Bozeman and let you know when I’m arriving. While I’m there, I’ll give you another copy of the Crazy Love questionnaire and you can show me the property.”

“You’ve lost my answers to the other questionnaire?” Elizabeth sounded worried.

“I’m not sure, but it wouldn’t hurt to complete another one.”

“You could email it to me.”

“I could, but it’s just as easy to bring it with me. I haven’t seen Daniel for a few weeks and I want to go skiing.” He hoped she didn’t see anything strange in what he wanted to do. Because some things were better done in person. Especially where Elizabeth Sullivan was concerned.

Blake pushed the luggage cart across the airport terminal and looked for Daniel. In the end, he’d flown into Bozeman with some friends. The flight from New York City had been uneventful, unlike the last couple of days.

Whenever he thought about taking a few days off work, everything turned to custard. Elizabeth would say it’s karma, but he didn’t believe in the power of the cosmos. Life was what you made of it. The issues he’d had in New York happened because someone wasn’t doing their job correctly. And that someone wasn’t him.

“You must be exhausted.”

Blake turned and smiled at his best friend. “Not yet. I’m surprised you made it here in the snowstorm.”

“I’m used to driving in worse. Welcome back.” Daniel hugged him. “It’s good to see you.”

“Likewise. How is everyone?”

“By ‘everyone’ I take it you mean, Elizabeth?”

Blake covered his embarrassment by rearranging his suitcase on the cart. “Not necessarily. Your fiancée would be near the top of my list.”

“Holly’s doing great. She’s almost finished the paintings for her next exhibition.”

“In New York?”

“Toronto. Opening night is in two weeks.”

Even though Blake’s team had created the Crazy Love app, its accuracy still amazed him. A few months ago, Holly and Daniel were part of a group who had tested the app. If he’d known Holly before she joined the trial, he wouldn’t have matched her with Daniel. But in some weird way, they were perfect for each other.

Daniel pointed to the parking lot opposite the main entrance. “My truck is over there.”

Usually, when Blake flew into Bozeman, he rented a vehicle. But not this time. In two and a half days he would fly home. Daniel had a spare truck, so it made sense to use that.

Before they left the airport, Daniel turned on the heater. “It will be warm in here soon. Elizabeth is excited about her clinic.”

“It sounded like it when she called me.”

“I figured that had something to do with your unexpected visit.” Daniel turned left out of the airport.

“We’re not going to Emerald Lake?”

“I thought you’d want to see the building Elizabeth bought.” He looked at Blake’s all-terrain hiking boots. “At least you’ll be safe wearing those boots. I’ve got a spare pair of gloves in the back seat.”

“It can’t be that bad.”

“Did Elizabeth send you some photos?”

“No.”

“There’s a reason for that.”

Blake’s eyebrows rose. “She said you thought it had potential.”

“It does, but you need a good imagination. My phone is sitting on the shelf under the dashboard. Take a look at the photos and tell me what you think.”

Blake scrolled through the images. “Jeez.”

“Exactly. The building should have been condemned years ago.”

“Can Elizabeth afford the renovations?”

“She said she could. Although what she based her figures on beats me. The construction company is seeing the building for the first time tomorrow.”

“It’s bigger than I thought it would be.”

Daniel sighed. “My sister never thinks small. She wants to develop half the complex into year-round emergency accommodation.”

Blake took a deep breath. Elizabeth was the most compassionate person he knew. Even when she lived in Brooklyn, she’d spent two nights a week volunteering at a homeless shelter, helping people with their legal issues. Now here she was, creating a clinic where she could make people’s lives a little easier.

“Your sister has a big heart.”

“She’ll have an even bigger mortgage if she’s not careful. I told her I’d give her some money for the renovations. She won’t take a cent.”

If she wouldn’t let her brother help, there was even less chance she’d allow Blake to cover some of her expenses. As well as having a big heart, Elizabeth was stubborn. And one day, her pride would get her into trouble.

They drove past Murdoch’s, one of the biggest ranch supply stores in Bozeman. It was six o’clock, pitch-black, and they were still open. The last time he was here, Elizabeth had dragged him into the store to buy some real cowboy clothes. By the time he’d left, he had enough clothes for three winters.

Daniel turned left into West Main Street. “Have you found any matches for Elizabeth on your Crazy Love app?”

Blake’s eyebrows rose. Elizabeth wouldn’t be amused if he told her brother the ins and outs of their arrangement. And neither would Daniel if he thought Blake was stretching the truth.

“What has Elizabeth told you?”

“Not a lot. That’s what’s worrying me.”

An image of Elizabeth standing in front of him with her arms braced on her hips caught Blake off guard. “You’ll need to ask her what’s happening.”

Daniel turned into the parking lot of a snow-covered building. “I thought you might say that. On a brighter note, here’s the building.”

From what Blake could see, the property was every bit as bad as the photos Daniel had taken. Even to his untrained eye, it looked like a massive project for one person.

“Why are the lights on?”

“Elizabeth’s working.”

“On her own?” The building was in a commercial area and, as far as Blake was concerned, not somewhere Elizabeth should be working by herself.

“Her friend, Sarah, is with her. They’re ripping up the old carpet.”

Blake opened the truck door. Even in the half-light of dusk, he could see why Elizabeth had bought the building. He just hoped she was ready for the work that was ahead of her.

Elizabeth wiped her forehead with the sleeve of her shirt. Even though it was freezing outside, sweat was pouring off her.

Before Daniel left for the airport, they’d filled a dumpster with rotting carpet, water damaged skirting boards and every piece of trash they could find. And that still only touched the surface of what needed to be done.

Sarah, Elizabeth’s friend, stretched her back. “I’m out of shape.”

“You aren’t the only one.” Elizabeth lifted the mask off her face and looked around the room. “We’ve finished four rooms. Including this one, we’ve only got thirty-six to go.”

“What about what we did in the reception area? That almost looks safe to walk through.”

Elizabeth sighed. “That’s a communal area. There are three of those.”

“You need a working bee. It wouldn’t take long to clear everything out of the building if we had forty or fifty people helping us.”

“I don’t know that many people.”

Sarah grinned through the dirt on her face. “That’s one of the advantages of being a college professor. I know a lot of people.”

Elizabeth lifted the edge of a piece of carpet and pulled. “Thanks, but I’ll be okay for now.” She grunted as the carpet stayed exactly where it was. “I’ll see what the builder says. We might need some help before the construction company starts work.”

Sarah stood beside her. “I’ll help you get rid of this. We’ll pull on three. One, two…three.”

With an almighty grunt, Elizabeth and Sarah yanked the carpet. A satisfying tear came from somewhere on Elizabeth’s right. “Keep going,” she panted.

Suddenly, the carpet tacks released their stranglehold on the rotting mess. Elizabeth lost her footing and landed bottom-first on the floor.

“Watch out,” Sarah yelped as she landed in a heap beside her.

From out of nowhere, laughter bubbled inside Elizabeth. It was late. She was hungry, exhausted, and more than a little hysterical. She threw off one of her gloves and wiped the tears out of her eyes.

“Are you okay?” Sarah asked.

Elizabeth clamped her lips shut and nodded. “The carpet won.”

Sarah leaned on one elbow and frowned at the carpet. “I think you’re right.”

“Am I crazy?”

Sarah took a deep breath. “Are you talking about ripping up the carpet or buying a property with forty bedrooms, forty-five bathrooms, and three reception areas?”

“Option two.” Elizabeth closed her eyes. “I am crazy, aren’t I?”

“It depends on your definition of crazy.”

Someone behind them cleared their throat. Someone with a deep, sexy voice that reminded her of all the reasons she shouldn’t be doing this.

“Crazy is lying on a vermin-infested carpet, staring at a water damaged ceiling.”

Elizabeth sat upright. “Blake?”

“Were you expecting someone else? Because that might account for the fact that the front door was open.”

“Daniel could have told you why it was unlocked. We’ve been taking the trash to the dumpster. Besides, there’s nothing in here to steal.” She was almost certain she heard his teeth grind together.

Sarah jumped to her feet and held out her hand. “I’m Sarah. You must be Elizabeth and Daniel’s friend from Manhattan.”

Blake looked at Sarah’s dirty glove and frowned.

“Oops.” She pulled off her glove. “I wouldn’t touch my glove either. Did you have a good flight?”

He shook her hand. “I did, thanks. Are you as excited about this project as Elizabeth?”

“It’s not a project,” Elizabeth reminded him. “It’s my future.”

“A future that will bankrupt you. You forgot to mention the size of the property and what needs to be done.”

Elizabeth glared at her brother. “You’ve been talking to Blake, haven’t you?”

“I showed him the photos, that’s all.”

That would be enough to make anyone think she was out of her mind. She tried to see the building through Blake’s eyes. “I know it looks a little rundown, but it will be perfect.”

Blake looked around the room. “It will take a lot of work to get it anywhere near perfect.”

“Most of the renovations are cosmetic.” She hoped he believed her. Until Scotson Construction saw the building tomorrow, she had no idea if it was structurally sound. But either way, she had a backup plan.

“Where do you want us to start?” Blake asked.

“What do you mean?”

He pulled a pair of gloves out of his pocket. “While we’re here we might as well help. Do you need this carpet pulled up?”

“What about your jacket?” Elizabeth frowned at his designer clothes. “This place is disgusting.”

The smile on Blake’s face almost made her forget how annoying he could be.

“This jacket is supposed to be the most rugged on the market. If it doesn’t survive the weekend, it’s going back to the store.”

Sarah handed Blake a small crowbar. “You’ll need this to lift the carpet off the tacks. We’ll help you take it to the dumpster when you’re ready.”

Daniel handed Blake a mask. “You’ll need this, too. I’ll work from the other side of the room.”

Elizabeth stared open-mouthed as Blake knelt on the floor. “You know how to use a crowbar?” His entire life had been spent with staff who did everything for him.

He looked over his shoulder and smiled. “I’ve got hidden talents.”

Sarah pulled the sleeve of Elizabeth’s shirt. “Come on. We’ll take the trash out of the next room.”

As she left, the last thing Elizabeth saw was Blake’s back as he moved along the carpet. A little sigh of appreciation escaped her lips. She could get used to his hidden talents.