The odds are always against her...

But this time Tessa Jamison isn't leaving River Bluff, Texas, until she finds what she came for: the father of her sister's two-year-old son. And the stand-in Santa at the local church bazaar could be the man she's looking for.

Cole Lawry seems an unlikely candidate for instant daddy. What's more, the divorced ex-businessman and consummate poker player insists he's not a father--never has been, never plans to be.

Until Tessa calls his bluff. Which means gambling everything she's got. Including her heart.