Introduction

In this competition, it’s not just the house on the line, it’s their hearts.

She has the touch when it comes to food, but PJ McKinley’s dream of opening her own restaurant is one building short of reality. So when a Chapel Springs resident offers her beloved ancestral home as prize to the applicant with the best plan for the house, PJ believes she was meant to win.

Contractor Cole Evans is confident, professional, and swoon-worthy—but this former foster kid knows his life could have turned out very differently. When Cole discovers the contest, he believes his home for foster kids in transition has found its saving grace. All he has to do is convince the owner that a not-for-profit enterprise will be good for the community.

When the eccentric philanthropist weighs the proposals, she proposes an outlandish tie-breaker: PJ and Cole will share the house for a year to see which idea works best. Now, with Cole and the foster kids upstairs and PJ and the restaurant below, day-to-day life has turned into an out-and-out rivalry—with some seriously flirtatious hallway encounters on the side. But could their magnetic attraction cost them everything they’ve ever wanted?

Includes Reading Group Guide

Editorial Review

No editorial review at this time.

Excerpt

Chapter One

PJ McKinley was almost ready to call it a night when she heard the sound. She paused in her bed, hand stilling over her tablet.
Slam.
It was probably just the wind. Or the old furnace or a loose shutter. She’d been in the rental less than a week, wasn’t familiar with its sounds. She needed to chill. She was always freaking out over nothing. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1. Which character do you most relate to? Why?

2. PJ found herself so busy with her new restaurant that she didn’t make time for important things. Have you ever been too busy for your family? How did this affect you and others?

3. PJ felt shame over her former relationship with Keaton, a married man. Discuss her feelings on this. Did PJ do anything wrong?

4. Cole spent years blaming himself for his family’s accident. Was it his fault? Have you ever been in a situation where you blamed yourself for something you had no control over?

5. What did you like about the McKinley family? What did you dislike? Every family has its foibles. What do you love about your family? What annoys you?

6. Sometimes we absorb lies about ourselves that we come to believe as true. PJ’s lie was “I’m not capable.” Cole’s was “I don’t deserve love.” Is there a lie that you believe about yourself? How has it affected the decisions you’ve made?

7. PJ and Cole both dealt with guilt and shame. Have you ever dealt with those feelings? How did you handle them?

8. What’s the difference between guilt and shame? Should they be handled differently?

9. PJ’s mom talked to her about the thorns in her life that kept her from growing. Do you have thorns in your life? What are they and what can you do about them?

10. Cole lost his family at a young age. The foster kids Cole took in had already faced traumatic events in their young lives. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. How is this consistent with a view of a loving and compassionate God?

Suggested by Members

by cyndielou (see profile) 03/26/15

Weblinks

»	Author's web site
»	Follow the author on Facebook
»	Publisher's Book Info

Book Club Recommendations

Recommended to book clubs by 1 of 1 members.

Member Reviews

Rate this book