A Man Like Mike by Sami Lee

Corporate professional Eve O’Brien needs a crash course in parenting when her dearest friend Jacinta and her husband die, naming her sole guardian of their baby son Bailey. As if bright orange goo on her business shirts and terminal exhaustion aren’t enough to deal with, Bailey’s uncle shows up insisting on being part of his nephew’s life.

Roguishly handsome with a devil-may-care attitude, Mike Wilcox is always first with a quip or a flirtatious smile. When he breezily suggests he move in with her temporarily, Eve sees no way to refuse, as the cottage in which she now lives has been left to Mike by his late brother.

On the surface, Mike seems like the perfect housemate. He’s a successful chef, so Eve’s diet goes from fast food to five star overnight, and he effortlessly takes on day-time care of his nephew, while working at a local restaurant in the evenings. But he wears muscle hugging T-shirts and makes the cottage seem like a home, things that appeal to Eve more than she cares to admit.

A lonely, neglected child, Eve has learned to rely only on herself, but soon having Mike around makes her want to believe things can be different. But how can she trust a man who’s lived life by the seat of his pants to stick around for the long haul?