Eleanor Munro is done asking permission.

After years of living with topical steroid withdrawal (TSW), El knows what it means to feel trapped in her own skin. The burning, the sleepless nights, the constant uncertainty. And somewhere along the way, a relationship that should have made her feel loved taught her to make herself smaller instead.

Now she's had enough.

Three weeks at Calder Ridge Ranch in Montana should give her everything she needs. Horses, wide-open skies, and thousands of miles between her and the life she's trying to leave behind.

What she doesn't expect is Rhett Calder.

Infuriatingly handsome, stubborn and far too pleased with himself, Rhett is a cowboy who seems determined to challenge her at every turn. He makes her laugh when she doesn't want to. He notices things she'd rather hide. And when their attraction becomes impossible to ignore, El discovers that being wanted doesn't have to mean being judged.

But three weeks cannot undo years of hurt. Her skin still has bad days. Her past hasn't finished interfering. And falling for a man on the other side of the Atlantic was never part of the plan.

Rhett cannot fix everything she's been through. Nor does he intend to try.

He just wants her to know that she doesn't have to become someone else to be loved.

Now El must decide whether she's brave enough to choose the life she wants, even when nothing about it is certain.

Because her skin has never given her permission to live. This time, she is done waiting for it.