She obviously didn’t measure up to Graham Morrison’s standards. She’d seen the shocked look on his face the second she stepped off the plane.

But did she really look so different in person than she did in her pictures? Or was Graham just one of those guys who only got into the fantasy part of an on-line relationship? Now that she was actually standing on his dock in the flesh, all of the interest was gone.

But why send her the airplane ticket?

Why invite her to his birthday party tomorrow?

Why lie to her on so many different levels?

What a disaster!

Had her best friend Beth not given her a membership to an on-line dating service for her birthday as a joke, she never would have known about a website called LoveFromAlaska.com. And she certainly wouldn’t have been suckered in by the man walking toward her now who had obviously changed his mind about meeting her in person.

But turning thirty-five had hit Courtney like the big wrecking ball she’d used in one of her most successful ad campaigns. And the catchy slogan she’d come up with for the career placement service had been: Break out of your going-nowhere life.

For once, Courtney had taken her own advice.

And what had it gotten her? A trip all the way across country only to be rejected by the very man who had invited her to come.

Still, Courtney thought, what a shame.

She’d been so sure Graham Morrison was the real thing. He stopped in front of her. And as luck would have it, he was even better looking in person. Thick, black hair. Rock-hard body. Dark brown eyes she could easily get lost in.

He cleared his throat and said, “There’s obviously been some mistake here.”

“You think?” Courtney shot back.

He seemed surprised by her sarcasm.

“It’s also obvious you can hear every word I’m saying,” Courtney said. “Why would you lie about something so serious, Graham? Why would you say you lost your hearing in an explosion while you were clearing land for your fishing lodge?”

“What?” he bellowed back at her.

Courtney’s eyes narrowed. “Well, isn’t this convenient? You miraculously have your hearing back, but now you’ve lost your memory!”

“Now, look here,” he began.

“No, you look here,” Courtney told him. “Are you really going to stand there and pretend we haven’t been corresponding on the Internet since February? That you didn’t invite me to your birthday party tomorrow? And that you didn’t pay for my airplane ticket to get here?"

Before he could answer, Courtney dug into her purse and pulled out the card that had finally made her decide to come to Alaska: Don’t you think it’s time we met? Say yes, and come to my birthday party. Love from Alaska, Graham. Courtney shoved the card into his hands. “I guess you also didn’t send me this card when you mailed me the itinerary for my e-ticket.”

He frowned. “This is my daughter’s handwriting.”

Courtney frowned, too. “Rachel wrote that?”

Now he looked concerned. “How do you know Rachel?”

Courtney snatched the card back. “You know perfectly well how I know Rachel. She calls me every night.”

Or did he know that?

The thought made Courtney gasp.

He kept staring at her.

And Courtney said, “You really don’t know who I am, do you?”

“No,” he said. “Who are you?”

Courtney needed to sit down.

But there was nowhere to sit!

“I’m Courtney Woods,” she finally told him. “The idiot who’s been corresponding with your daughter pretending to be you.”

His expression said he’d figured that out already.

He turned and walked back down the dock for her suitcases. When he returned, he said, “I’m sorry, but that was . . . .”

“The last flight out of here until Monday,” Courtney finished for him.

He nodded.

“And there aren’t any hotels in Port Protection, Alaska, are there?”

“No,” he confirmed, “there aren’t.”

Courtney said, “So, basically I guess that means – ”

“It means you can stay at the lodge until Monday.”

He’d saved her from saying “you’re stuck with me.”

But they both knew that’s what he was thinking.

He motioned toward the path leading from the dock up to the lodge. “Let’s go inside,” he said. “I’ll make some coffee while we sort this out.”

Lace my cup with strychnine, Courtney prayed.

All she wanted to do was curl into a ball and die!