B00VQNYV1Y (R) Read Online Free PDF

knock on the door and Mel turned her head, frowning. Then she pushed up from the counter, straightening as she crossed the kitchen and moved through the living area, toward the front of the cabin.
    She stretched up onto her tiptoes and looked out the window, groaning when she saw Luke’s handsome face through the glass. He was probably here to apologize. After all, carrying her out of the bar had been a little bit over the top, even for him. He was overprotective on a good day, but that had been ridiculous.
    She took a deep breath and opened the door. “I’m surprised to see you.”
    He shrugged. “I told you I would be around.”
    She stepped out of the doorway, allowing him entry. “Yes, you did. You didn’t say why.”
    “I know. We were a little busy.”
    Something about the way he said that felt heavy with meaning that didn’t exist. They hadn’t been busy , busy. Last night, nothing had happened beyond the two of them falling asleep in separate locations in the motel room.
    “If by busy you mean ‘drunk and angry,’ then sure.”
    “I wasn’t drunk,” he said. “One shot is not going to put me under the table.”
    “No, but it did seem to put me over your shoulder.”
    “That had nothing to do with the alcohol and everything to do with your terrible decision making, which, I realize, was slightly connected to alcohol.”
    “Nope,” she said, crossing her arms and pushing her hip out to the side, “hate to disappoint you, Shuller, but I made that decision sober.”
    “You don’t want me to know that shit, Mel. I’ll roll you up in bubble wrap and stick you in your bedroom until you start behaving yourself again.”
    “Um…excuse me, asshole, I’m twenty-eight. Not eighteen. Not eight. I’m a grown woman and I will make my own damn decisions, even if they’re bad, and you’ll deal with it. Or you won’t. But they aren’t your decisions so it isn’t your choice.”
    “Is there something in the water around here?” he asked, his voice a growl. “Could you ladies maybe look for your independence somewhere other than in a random dude’s pants?”
    “I’m sorry…what?”
    “Nothing,” he said.
    “Okay, seriously.” She planted her hands on her hips. “What is your problem?”
    Luke started to pace the length of the living area. “Who says I have a problem?”
    “Um. Your posture. Your every mannerism. The words you’re speaking. The bruise on your cheek. What happened, Luke?”
    He paused. “Beckett punched me in the face.”
    Melanie blinked. “Beckett? Beckett Larson. Beckett Larson punched you in the face.” Beckett was Luke’s best friend and business partner. Though, the two had had a bit of a falling out a month or so ago. Still, she’d thought they were dealing with that. And not with fisticuffs.
    “Yeah, well, you should see him.”
    “He looks worse?”
    Luke cleared his throat. “Well, he looks the same.”
    It was obvious to Melanie she was going to have to drag the story out of him. “Okay, why did Beckett punch you in the face?”
    “Because I punched him in the face.”
    “Luke, my kingdom for a deeper explanation.” Unsurprisingly, she got nothing. She sighed. “It may have escaped your notice but you’re twenty-eight, Luke. You aren’t thirteen. Solving your problems with your fists is frowned upon in civilized society. Also, carrying women out of bars isn’t acceptable in polite society, while we’re at it.”
    “Good thing this is Montana.”
    “Ha. Ha ha.” She gave him her most deeply unamused look.
    He tried his best sheepish smile on her, and she refused to return it. She was still mad at him. “Do you have cake?” he asked.
    “Does the forest have trees?”
    “I would rather have cake right about now. I don’t want to get pine needles in my teeth.”
    “Come on.” She turned and walked back through the modest entryway and into the kitchen. When her grandmother had moved into a retirement community in Bozeman, she’d left the house