The face of baby food, the darling of surfing commercials,
and the exotic stunner who walked away with the Miss
California title at eighteen, Mary Phillips has heard
“you’re so beautiful” from childhood on. Tired of being her
mother’s personal Barbie, she traded in her tiara and a
lucrative modeling contract for combat boots and life as a
Marine. She's lost good friends and seen more walking
wounded than she cares to admit, but this Marine wouldn't
trade her assignment for all the Manolo Blahniks in the
world. What does it matter she has no one waiting at home?
The class nerd…
Kyle Stewart heard every variation as he went through
school: nerd, geek, four-eyes, weirdo—and he rolled with it.
He could count on one hand the number of girls who ever
deigned to talk to him about something other than tutoring.
But as the only self-made millionaire from his graduating
class, he has the last laugh.
A high school reunion…
Despite the invitation, Mary didn't plan to attend the
ten-year reunion. The last thing she wanted to hear was—"you
could have been so much, what happened?" But running into
Kyle at the local coffee shop reminds her that not everyone
judges by appearance. Kyle once swore to rub his former
tormentors noses in his success, but when the reunion rolls
around, he’s reluctant to go. Seeing Mary again encourages
him to confront his one lingering regret, and the
millionaire dares to reach for happiness.
Can Combat Barbie and her nerd overcome the past to love
another day?