Cole Maguire’s grandmother has predicted a wedding in his future and his bride is supposed to be none other than Renata Reynolds.  Cole does not have a problem with finding women to spend time with – it is keeping them that he does not do too well with.  Renata is different however, much to Cole’s consternation. She is under his skin,he wants her in his bed and Cole can’t think when she is around.  All too soon what started out as a harmless flirtation becomes so much more and when Renata discovers a murder, Cole’s grandmother picks the perfect opportunity to do a tiny bit of meddling.  All bets are off and the results are scorching hot!

I am a huge fan of Joy Strong and her writing.  With each and every book her talent shines through.  Cole’s Gamble was such a novel.  I found myself smiling at Cole’s total defiance of his grandmother’s prediction and while he knew Renata was the woman for him, he still fought their love just as passionately as he could.  I shiver to think what he could have done had he been willing right from the start!