Women were always walking away from me. I needed to remember that.

I suck at relationships. I never know what's going on in a woman's head. Things seem as if they're progressing well, and then poof. She's breaking up with me when I'm ready to take the next step. It makes me keep my current girlfriend at arm's length, and guess what? She's noticed, she's not happy, and she's done with me.

Fine. I'll just stick to caring for animals as a veterinarian at my family's wildlife rehabilitation center, Hartley's Nest. Animal emotions are much easier to decipher than human ones anyway.

Avoiding relationships is a great plan until an unexpected delivery of an almost five-year-old girl?who happens to look just like me?shakes things up considerably. Yeah. I'm her dad. Yeah. I had no idea she existed. Yeah. I now have custody of her.

Yeah. I don't know what I'm doing.

I need help, and I need it fast. Especially when I lose my new daughter in a toy store. Luckily, angels do exist, and preschool teacher Carina Fiore comes to my rescue in too many ways to count. When she agrees to both nanny and teach my daughter, my life gets back on track.

Only the track leads to human emotions. Lots of them. Because Carina is amazing. She hasn't had the best of luck in relationships either, however, and we make a pact to be totally honest with each other. It's wonderful to know exactly what's on her mind and to tell her what I'm thinking . . . and feeling.

When custody of my daughter is in jeopardy, Carina helps me believe in miracles. She also shows me that relationships are worth the risk. Now I'm ready for the next step. Is she?

Defend This Heart is a small-town, contemporary, single-dad, nanny romance between a veterinarian and a preschool teacher.