Megastar Fitz Kelleran is disgusted with his worthless lifestyle and feeling far too tired for his 34 years. Though he’s lost interest in his latest starlet girlfriend, he’s ill prepared for the public breakup she engineers during her appearance on the Tonight Show. He is ready to quit playing the role of bad boy both on and off the screen and wants to concentrate on his one ambition – to remake The Virginian and play the leading role. To pull off such a production means cleaning up his image and Fitz determines that his personal life will provide no further fodder for the tabloids. p>

Widow and single mother Ellie Harrison gives her all to her Montana ranch. Active in the everyday running, Ellie rides the range and is head wrangler of the large operation that was her dead husband’s inheritance and is, in her mind, her daughter’s future. But finances are tight and Ellie reluctantly leases a portion of her spread to a production company for filming of a movie starring some pretty big names, including Fitz Kelleran. Ellie doesn’t care a thing about famous people and actually holds a grudge against the many L.A. millionaires who own property in her area that she belives they’ve turned into nothing more than extravagant wilderness playgrounds.

When Fitz refuses the nice gelding Ellie has chosen for his use and insists on selecting his own mount, it’s proof to Ellie that he is the arrogant self-centered male she expected him to be. After choosing an anxious, headstrong horse that is barely broken, Ellie envisions the star’s million-dollar body sprawled on the ground, but Fitz exhibits considerable skill at calming and mastering the animal. It is obvious he knows his way around a ranch, but Ellie believes it is just another role for Fitz to play; she refuses to be fooled by his captivating smile or his thoughtful ways.

Tough, curt, rude, distrustful, resentful – these are the words that best describe Ellie, although she cares deeply for those close to her. Ellie sees Fitz as a handsome opportunist and refuses to be his female entertainment for a few weeks, something she knows would leave her as one of the many heartbroken female fans he’s loved and left behind. A sense of deep respect welled up within me as I saw the depth of Ellie’s resolve to refuse Fitz’s advances or believe he wanted more than a temporary sexual relationship. And why did Fitz pursue her? His confused mind can only think of her as “pointy” rather than pretty and I questioned the depth of his sexual attraction and wondered if it was not more the challenge of winning an uninterested woman. Ellie offers nothing in the way of charm and constantly tells Fitz to leave her alone in both actions and words.

In his determination to become involved with Ellie, Fitz physically forces himself on her several times. Ellie tells him no, jabs him with an elbow, pushes him away, and twists to get away from him in more than one scenario but he keeps grabbing her, holding her as he attempts to kiss her, and at one point forcibly lays her down in a stall and climbs on top of her – all while she is telling him no. Ellie’s desire for Fitz is well hidden, even to the reader, if it is there at all.

Fitz is best described as an overcomer – he takes rejection without batting an eye as he strives toward his goal. At one point Ellie’s nasty jabs make him wonder why he wastes his time on this miniature harpy, but he then remembers her sass and spit and determines to continue his conquest. When Fitz exhibits a genuine interest in making friends with Ellie’s daughter, it only incenses her more. Despite my less than complimentary description of Fitz, he is not an empty shell of a man out for a meaningless conquest. I actually sympathized more with Fitz’s character in the beginning since hateful heroines consistently rank low on my likable heroine list despite the provocation.

A warning about the back blurb – don’t read it unless you want a synopsis of the entire story. It contains a needless spoiler that doesn’t occur until the final third of the book.

A moving secondary romance between the ranch foreman and Ellie’s mother-in-law proved to be the best part of the story. But in the end what most held my attention was the empathy I felt for Ellie in her attempt to guard not only her heart but her daughter’s as well. Fitz’s assumption that he could so easily sweep into a single woman’s life and that of her daughter’s for a few weeks time and then leave them with only memories was chilling to me. Maybe it was Fitz’s hard push at friendship with the daughter, maybe it was his harder push to get Ellie involved with him sexually, but it still seemed colder than most of these types of plot twists. I didn’t like Ellie much but I certainly felt for her.