Heat of the Moment Read Online Free PDF Page A

dating habits should hold no interest, the same woman he should never picture naked, the only woman who was completely hands-off, and the one who just pulled up in front of his house.
    He slammed the tailgate of his rig and walked in front of her car, the headlights hitting his knees. He opened her door for her, the interior lights went on, and she let out a startled scream right before he was hit in the solar plexus with what felt like a few bags of bricks. “Erin, it’s me, Cam.” Shit, he’d gone and scared her.
    She looked up at him; her big eyes the size of stop signs. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
    â€œNo. I’m sorry. I thought you saw me when I came around the car.”
    â€œI was grabbing my things, not searching for attackers.” She slumped back into her seat and held a hand to her throat as if she were waiting for her heart to start beating again.
    He couldn’t do anything right. First he dragged her out of her house at ten o’clock at night and then he scared the crap out of her. He crouched in front of her. “I’m really sorry I spooked you. Are you okay?”
    â€œI’m fine. I just wasn’t expecting”—she shoved a hand toward him as if he had startled the words right out of her—“you.”
    He didn’t know what to say to that. Maybe a hasty retreat was the better part of valor. “If you pop your trunk, I’ll bring your bags into the house.”
    â€œIt’s open, but you don’t have to—”
    He did his best to ignore the way her face paled and then reddened as if he’d embarrassed her. Before she could even get the words out, he was around her car and digging in her trunk.
    By the time she gathered her things and slammed the door, he had all her luggage.
    â€œI’ll get the rest later.”
    He held a suitcase under each arm and another in each hand. “I think I have everything unless you have more in the backseat.”
    â€œHow?” She walked toward him and stared. “That’s all of it, but it took me six trips to load the car.”
    He shrugged and waited for her to precede him. “The door’s open.”
    â€œOh, okay.” She shot out in front of him with her long-legged stride as if she were afraid she’d slow him down.
    He kicked himself mentally for being a fool but still couldn’t stop himself from staring at the way her jeans hugged the curve of her ass. Damn, he almost missed that ugly sweater she’d worn the last time he’d seen her. At least it camouflaged her backside—not that it had kept him from imagining what it looked like, he just wished the reality wasn’t as good as the one he’d imagined.
    Erin stepped inside and dumped the bags she carried on the floor beside the door. “Just drop them. I’ll take it from here.”
    â€œNo, I’ll run them up.” He took the steps two at a time. “I need to wake Janie and introduce you before I leave. I don’t want her to wake up and find a stranger here.”
    â€œBut I’m not a stranger,” she padded along behind him.
    â€œYou are to Janie.”
    â€œNo, I’m not. Kendall and I had lunch with Janie yesterday. I ended up spending a few hours with her after Kendall went back to work.”
    Cam stopped in the hall and turned. “You did?”
    She pulled the sleeves of her raggedy gray sweatshirt down over her hands and rubbed a cuff with her thumb. “I wanted to get to know her and, well, she seemed a little lonely. I didn’t mean to overstep.”
    â€œYou didn’t.” Her eyes shone in the light of the overhead fixture and her face pinked up again. Why would being nice to a child embarrass her? “Did you give her that hat she loves so much?” Her blush deepened and he wondered whether he’d feel the heat if he reached out and touched her cheek. It was a good thing he had his hands