What kind of man would want to hire a wife?

A man like Stephen Prescott. A successful, driven, man who believed that "this love stuff doesn't last." A globe-trotting bachelor uncle with an orphaned niece and nephew suddenly thrust into his care.

The wife he wanted to hire--for the children's sake, of course--was social worker Marcy Wilson. Stubborn, smiling, extravagant Marcy, who loved the kids as dearly as if they'd been her own. Marrying her would be a sensible business arrangement... .

But Marcy wasn't a very businesslike person. What she wanted from Stephen Prescott was the one thing he hadn't offered: that love-ever-after stuff.