Single mother Kyra Kokinos spends her days waiting tables, her nights working on her real estate license, and every spare moment with her precocious six-year-old daughter, Ruby-especially when Ruby won't stop pestering their grumpy next-door neighbor. At first glance, Dax Bishop seems like the kind of gruff, solitary guy who's be unlikely to offer a cup of sugar, let alone a marriage proposal. But that is exactly what happens when Ruby needs life-saving surgery. But soon Kyra and Dax find their engagement of convenience is simple in name only As their atraction deepens, a figure from the past reappears, offering a way out. Can Kyra and Dax let go so easily-or has love become a preexisting condition?