Forever After (Montana Brides) Read Free

clutched the trolley as he moved toward her.  
    It was time to face a sad fact. She’d never get this man completely out of her system. After three and a half hours of uninterrupted bonding time her body had remembered just how addictive Samuel Delaney could be.  
    She ran her hands down her suit. It was supposed to remind both of them that she was returning to Bozeman for business and nothing more. But the wider his smile grew, the harder it was not to smile back. “If you can’t keep up with me, then maybe you should set the pace.”
    Sam took another step forward. She realized too late that four-inch heels weren’t a good idea. They put her eye to eye with Mr. Chief Executive. And eye to eye was a dangerous place to be.  
    Mischievous brown eyes fused with blue. “Maybe we could take turns?”
    Nicky frowned. “With what?”
    “Setting the pace.”  
    Heat slammed through her body. He was playing dirty, and her two-timing body remembered just how well they could share. Her gaze skittered away from his eyes, landing squarely on her stepmother’s face. Her heart sank. First Sam and now Maureen. She must have been really bad to deserve the two of them in one day.    
    “Darling, I’m so pleased I found you. Cody said you were arriving with Sam, and I couldn’t resist coming to meet you.” Maureen opened her arms and kissed her on each cheek. “It’s good to see you too, Sam. I’ve organized a little welcome home barbecue for Nicky. Are you able to join us?”  
    Nicky hoped not. He must have something more important to do than make polite conversation around their patio.
    He glanced at her. The mischievous gleam was back in full force.  
    She squinted back. He wouldn’t dare say yes. He couldn’t say yes. Having Maureen and Sam in the same house, at the same time, would drive her insane.
    With a blinding megawatt smile he looked at her stepmom. “Thank you. I’d love to come.”
    Her shoulders sagged. The toad .  
    “Do you want me to take your suitcases?”  
    If you didn’t look too closely, you’d swear Sam Delaney was being his normal charming self. But Nicky knew better. The man was seriously delusional if he thought she’d let him take anything of hers. “I can manage them on my own.”
    “I guess you’ll have to follow me then.” He held his arm out, leading Maureen toward the main exit.  
    Sending an evil glare straight through his shoulder blades, Nicky muttered unladylike things under her breath. Despite her best intentions, Samuel Delaney had wormed his way into her personal life and she wasn’t impressed.  
    With one last push of the trolley she made it out the terminal doors and into a warm Montana evening. And into the next six crazy weeks of her life.

    Nicky stood in front of her father’s house, gazing at the beautiful two-story building. He’d built his home ten years ago and it still managed to take her breath away.  
    Stone, timber and glass walls drew the outdoors in, creating a warm and inviting heart to the ranch her great-grandfather had created. Four sets of windows framed each side of the house, and a balcony wrapped around the second floor, giving almost every room uninterrupted views of the Gallatin Valley. It would have been perfect if you ignored the trucks and cars filling the gravel yard to overflowing.
    Nicky stared at the vehicles, then down at her crumpled red suit. Maureen’s barbecue had turned into a full blown social event. “I can’t go in looking like this.”
    Sam spent a leisurely few moments studying what she’d quickly dismissed.  
    Clenching her jaw, she ignored the heat hitting her cheeks.  
    “You look fine to me,” he said. “Just the right amount of rumple to bring out the sympathy vote, but not enough to make you look like a bag lady.”
    Planting her hands on her hips, Nicky glared at him. “If that’s supposed to make me feel better, you’ve got a bit more training ahead of you in the empathy department. Knowing