She yearns to sing a new tune. He wants to mute the past. Can a secret baby bring them into harmony.

Xavier Ramos was always a smooth talker. As an army communications specialist, his gift of gab loosened the lips of informants and helped gain needed intelligence. But the collateral damage of his actions left scars inside and out. He battles his demons with a joking attitude and forced smiles, but gets tongue tied when he meets the daughter he never knew he had. It’s love at first sight for him and his little girl, unfortunately, her mother, the love of his life who he abandoned years ago, is immune to his sweet talk.

Cassie Butler was the quintessential good girl. She sang in the choir on Sundays and followed all the rules until the night she gave herself to the man she thought she would marry. But when Xavier went off to war and never returned, she was left heartbroken and pregnant. Shunned by her parents and community, Cassie has struggled to raise her child on her own. With no child care for her special needs daughter, she hasn’t had it easy and has resolved to never depend on anyone again. And then Xavier shows up in her life again.

His proposal is simple: a platonic marriage of convenience complete with a home and child care. But can she trust the pretty words of the man who broke her heart and abandoned her? For Xavier, opening up to Cassie about the wartime horrors that kept him away from her will be his biggest battle yet. And even if he can get her to trust him, can he convince himself that he is worthy of love again?

Find out if love can truly heal all wounds in this light-hearted, sweet romance of convenient arrangements that unfold into lasting love. Having His Back is the fifth in a series of marriage of convenience tales featuring Wounded Warriors who are healed with the power of love.

Shanae Johnson