LITMIR.BIZ

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question. The fallout from leaving Roger at the altar had shown her who her true friends were—and the number was few and far between. Really, her mother was the only one who asked that question and was actually interested in the answer.

      Except for Seth Bolton, a stranger who had seen her at her lowest moment. Instead of running, he’d stood by her side. He’d taken care of her. He’d made everything better.

      Was it any wonder she’d been dreaming of him nearly every night?

      This wasn’t possible. She could not be watching Seth walk into her office, that sexy smile on his face, asking about how she was. It simply wasn’t possible.

      “I... I’m fine,” she told him. “I mean, I’m all right.”

      “Good.” His smile deepened and she was stunned to realize that he had dimples. What a difference. That made him hot and sweet and more than everything she dreamed of. “I meant to check in on you earlier, but I had some business to deal with first.”

      She lifted her eyebrows at that. Was he serious? She was nothing to him, other than a strange afternoon that had probably become an amusing anecdote. Did I ever tell you about the time I found a runaway bride in the middle of the Black Hills?

      She would expect that if he remembered her at all, he’d remember the crazy woman who stole a limo and refused to marry the father of her child. Nobody should’ve found her desirable. Memorable, maybe. Definitely not someone worth worrying about.

      “Well, as you can see, everything’s okay.” That was a gross generalization. She was exhausted and hormonal and worried sick about how she was going to make everything work out.

      But she wasn’t the same lost woman he’d found by the side of the road, either. She held her head high and faced every challenge she met with open eyes. She had a job and a purpose. She didn’t need to be coddled anymore.

      Not even by someone as attractive as Seth Bolton. Was it possible that he was even more gorgeous now? He took another step closer and she swore she could feel the tension between them hum, like he’d plucked the string of a violin.

      The jacket was the same, but he had on a gray T-shirt with some sort of logo on it and a pair of well-worn jeans that were black. They hung low on his hips and she realized she was staring at the vee of his waist as if she’d never noticed that part of a man before.

      She jerked her gaze back up, her cheeks hot. His lips quirked into a smile that did things to her. Things she hadn’t felt in over a month.

      No, she scolded herself. It was one thing to fantasize about a great guy she’d never have to face again. It was a completely different affair to lust after a flesh-and-blood man standing in a real estate office.

      Why was he standing in a real estate office? She cleared her throat and tried to relocate her lost sense of professionalism. “Was there something I could help you with?” Or had he just come here to make sure she hadn’t completely fallen apart? She hoped not. She didn’t want him to think of her as this pitiful creature who couldn’t function.

      That string of tension that had been humming between them tightened as his eyes darkened. His gaze swept over her face, her body. Was he checking her out? Or just checking for signs of her pregnancy? It was still pretty early. Her clothes still mostly fit, although she’d already gone up a cup size in bras.

      “Actually, there is,” he said. “As crazy as it sounds, I’m settling down.”

      Oh. That sounded like...like he was setting up house with a girlfriend. Or a wife. Well. So much for that fantasy. She was not about to poach anyone’s man. At least now he’d stay safely in her dreams and she wouldn’t make a fool of herself over him.

      She stood from the desk, straightening her tacky Zanger jacket. “I can handle all your needs. Your real estate needs,” she added, her face burning.

      Well. So much for not making a fool of herself over him.

      For a second, she wished she were someone different—someone more together and charming and...

      Well, someone who wasn’t pregnant and coming out of a long-term relationship.

      He didn’t laugh. Or even snort. Instead, something in his eyes changed—deepened—and warmth spread through her body. She recognized that warmth—desire. It was like running into an old friend from high school she hadn’t seen in a few years. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed it—until here it was.

      When was the last time she had felt desire? At one point she was sure she had enjoyed sleeping with Roger, but she couldn’t remember when it stopped being fun and started being routine. It hadn’t been bad. It just hadn’t been good.

      Kind of like Roger himself.

      Seth was still smiling. It would be great if she could get her act together today. Within the hour, even though that was probably too much to ask.

      Still, she had to give it a try. “What sort of properties are you looking for? Because a home is very different from a condo.” There. That was a viable thing to say that didn’t make her sound like an idiot.

      And if she wasn’t making any sense, she was blaming that on the pregnancy, which went right back to Roger. So if she was flabbergasted before Seth for the second time in a few short weeks, it would be entirely Roger’s fault.

      She motioned for Seth to sit because standing was getting more awkward by the second. Seth took the chair in front of her desk and crossed one of his legs, bringing his heavy leather boots into view. Up closer, Kate could see that the T-shirt was for Crazy Horse Choppers, which fit with the leather jacket and the motorcycle.

      In other words, he looked like a badass biker dude.

      Except for those dangerous dimples. Because it took everything hard about him and made it something else. Something that had her pulse pounding in her veins, heating her from the inside out. “Tell me what you’re looking for.”

      He held her gaze for a beat too long before he spoke. “Well, I’ve been back in Rapid City for about a month and a half.”

      Wait—did that mean he’d been living somewhere else until...until when? Had he come back for the wedding that wasn’t? “Where were you before?”

      “I’m not sure if you recognize my name or not but my family owns Crazy Horse Choppers.”

      “Um...no? I’m sorry,” she quickly added. “I mean, of course I’ve heard of Crazy Horse Choppers.”

      They were one of Rapid City’s most famous local businesses, started twenty or thirty years ago by a local boy made good and now run by his three sons, whose names hadn’t ever really registered for Kate. She thought there’d been a reality show featuring the three unruly biker brothers a number of years ago. Kate had been in high school when it’d been on the air—and it hadn’t been interesting to her then.

      Clearly, she’d underestimated the power of a bad boy in a leather jacket.

      She shook her head, trying to push that thought away. She was definitely going to blame that line of thinking on the pregnancy hormones. “I just didn’t make the connection between you and the company,” she explained. “I’m not up-to-date on motorcycles. I’d never even been on one until...”

      Until he’d stripped her petticoat off her and set her on the back of his bike and she’d wrapped her arms around his waist and held on to him.

      She wouldn’t have thought it possible, but her face got even hotter.

      “I lived in LA for a year while managing the Crazy Horse showroom we operate there,” Seth said, ignoring her red face. “My father and my uncles recently made me partner in the company, so I’m thinking I need to set up a permanent base.”

      She eyed him. She had no idea how old Seth was, but he seemed young to be a partner in such a successful company. Was that just because it was the family business and he was family? Or was he really good at

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