Her McKnight in Shining Armor - Teresa Southwick (HSE #2271 - July 2013)

Series: Mercy Medical Montana (Book 2)

"A deal made to be broken"
Everything about Alex McKnight was hard--hard body, hard heart and damn hard to ignore. Yet architect Ellie Hart couldn't deny her immediate attraction to the dark-haired, handsome contractor assigned to complete the Mercy Medical Center with her. Ellie traveled with her own emotional baggage and there was no way she was going to fall so fast for a man like Alex. But when she actually "did" fall fast--by tripping and injuring her foot--Alex came to the rescue by offering her a place to stay while she recovered.

Then Alex suggested the unthinkable: a no-strings-attached, passion-unleashed affair...at least until their project was finished and Ellie could walk again. But as restless days became tender, sleepless nights, could Ellie keep her heart safe? And more, could Alex?

Very good book.  Ellie has come to Blackwater Lake as the architect for the new Mercy Medical expansion.  She is trying to restart her career after falling for a coworker who turned out to be married.  While she is attracted to Alex she makes it clear that she won't get involved with him.  When she falls and breaks her ankle she finds that she is dependent on him for a place to stay while she recovers and their mutual attraction only gets stronger.  When Alex proposes a short term fling she figures she can enjoy being with him and move on when the job finishes.  I loved Ellie's independence and determination to focus on her job.  Her attraction to Alex was a surprise and she fought it as hard as she could.  When she broke her ankle she really wanted to handle it all on her own, but soon realized that she couldn't.  Moving in with Alex put a real strain on her willpower.  I loved seeing the way that she fit into his life even though she knew it wasn't permanent.  Ellie's growing love for the area made her want to stay but Alex's frequent reminders of the terms of their fling made her think that he was ready for her to go.

Alex had been terribly hurt by his ex-wife's actions and he vowed that he would not give another woman the chance to destroy him like that.  He is very careful not to get involved with anyone local and makes sure that he doesn't risk his heart.  His immediate attraction to Ellie puts those rules at risk.  When he offers her a place to stay while her foot heals he realizes that he has just made his life a lot harder.  As she becomes more and more a part of his life Alex gets more worried about what is going to happen in the future.  Ellie's growing love for Blackwater Lake makes him wonder if she would stay but he is afraid to risk himself and starts to withdraw.  It's not until after she leaves that he truly understands what he is losing and what he has to do about it.  I loved his confrontation with one of her brothers and then later when he faces all three of them.  It really showed the depth of his feelings and how much he really wanted to get it right.

The Doctor's Dating Bargain - Teresa Southwick (HSE #2234 - Jan 2013)

Series: Mercy Medical Montana (Book 1)

FROM EXILED HEIRESS...TO DOCTOR'S FAKE FIANCEE?

Handsome doctor Ben McKnight is everything the marriageable women of Blackwater Lake, Montana, want in a man-except willing What he needs is a decoy: someone sweet and sexy to play the role of bride-to-be. Someone like the gorgeous new girl in town....

The last place Camille Halliday wants to be is Montana. But she won't be going anywhere unless she wins over the mutinous staff and salvages the business at the local hotel. So when gorgeous Dr. Ben makes his proposal-pretend to be his girlfriend in exchange for his help with her staff-she jumps at the offer. It's the answer to all her problems...until the fake hand-holding and kissing soon add up to much more than either of them bargained for!

Fun book.  Ben is trying to do his job as a doctor, but the single women in town aren't leaving him alone.  They're even faking injuries so they can pursue him at work. He thinks that if he can show them that he isn't available they will leave him alone.  Camille is stuck in Montana trying to fix what is wrong at one of her family's hotels.  She has never had to develop any kind of people skills and is having a rough time getting the employees to cooperate.  She also had a reputation as a wild child when she was younger but no one seems to be able to see that she isn't like that any more.  When Ben comes to her and offers to help her if she'll help him she can't pass it up.  It was lots of fun seeing Camille become more comfortable dealing with people and also with being in Montana.  She started out wanting nothing more than to do her job and get back to a city.  She had some serious self esteem issues because of the way her parents treated her after the death of her brother.  She felt that she wasn't able to do anything well enough to suit her father.  She also had to deal with tabloid reporters who kept trying to create scandals about her because of mistakes she made when she was younger.  Ben treated her like the intelligent woman she was which gave her more confidence in her work.  She also discovered that she was beginning to like Montana.  She also found that she was coming to care for Ben for real.  Ben was a desperate man when the pursuit by the local women started to get really out of hand.  He had been attracted to Camille from the time he met her.  Knowing that she would not be staying in Montana he felt that they could be of use to each other for the time she would be there.  He quickly found that he really liked Camille and enjoyed spending time with her.  He had fun showing her around the area and exposing her to a different kind of life.  I loved the way he was so supportive of her especially when her parents showed up and he stood up for her when her father was being a pain.  I also loved seeing him finally realize that he wanted their fake romance to be real.