Snowbound with the Biker (Holiday Encounters Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

yammering to a man where anyone sitting at the bar can hear, all bets are off, lady.”
    I moved my gaze toward Hunter, but found no help there. He just stared at me, a look I couldn’t decipher in his eyes. I rolled my eyes heavenward. Seriously? Was I being tested?
    I inhaled sharply and blew out the breath before I turned my attention back to Hunter. His total lack of response to my declaration probably wasn’t a good sign.
    “Did I catch you at a bad time?” I sank my teeth into my bottom lip the minute the words passed my lips. Damn it . There I go being nice again, worried that it wasn’t a good time for him despite the fact I’d just hauled my cookies all the way up from the city to see him.
    Hunter’s dark eyes narrowed. “I want the real reason you’re here, Katelyn. I think the few sentences you said to me since you walked in the bar are more words than you’ve spoken to me in all the years we lived next door to each other. So excuse me if I’m not buying this whole missing me shit.”
    I opened my mouth, ready to spew my outrage at his accusation, but snapped it closed again. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly for an instant, completely embarrassed at being called out. He was right.
    I liked to blame it on my parents’ disapproval, but the truth was my parents gave me a good excuse not to talk to him. I didn’t have to put myself out there and get my teenage heart crushed by rejection. Not to mention I’d always gotten painfully tongue-tied anytime he got within ten yards of me.
    “You ask me, she came here to do some slumming,” the guy at the bar offered.
    “Excuse me.” I plunked my hands on my hips and turned toward the man. I didn’t care if he was some big, burly old biker dude. “Nobody did ask you. And now I’m telling you, mind your business.”
    “Lady, like I said, you do this in public—”
    “I heard you. And let’s just agree to disagree. And you can see your way out of this conversation.” My voice might have jumped several octaves by the time I finished. And I knew if looks could kill, the man in front of me would be as crispy as a piece of burnt bacon by now. But I’d be damned if he’d talk about Hunter like that. Any woman would be lucky to be with him. “Slumming, my ass.”
    That last came out of me on a mumble not really intended for anyone’s ears, but I guess it made it to Hunter. His stance didn’t really change, but something about him relaxed. I couldn’t precisely put my finger on what it was, but his gaze didn’t seem to bore into me. And his mouth wasn’t stretched in such a grim line. Though he still wasn’t exactly welcoming me with open arms.
    “Are you sure this doesn’t have anything to do with Logan?” Hunter asked, his voice slightly gruff.
    I gave him a gentle smile and shook my head. I had a feeling Hunter worried about my brother while he was deployed every bit as much as I did. “No, I heard from him myself over Christmas, and it sounds like he’s hanging in there.”
    He nodded. “Good. So you just happened to be in the neighborhood…?”
    “Uh, no. I just happened to be at my office when I started thinking about you. So then I happened to hop on a train and then get in a cab to just happen to run into you here. Where I knew you worked.”
    Wow . Had I just blurted all that out to him? I blinked. Well, that was why I came, wasn’t it? To finally show him how I felt. To stop following everyone else’s rules and start following my own dang heart?
    Hunter relaxed and leaned over the bar toward me. “Look, babe…”
    At his endearment, something inside me turned all soft and melty. Then he had to go and ruin it by continuing to speak.
    “…if you’re not going to tell me what this is really about, I’ll give you a ride back to the train station.”
    The soft and melty part of me immediately turned to a hot leaden ball that sank to the bottom of my stomach. “But, I already—”
    “Hey, man.” A tall man, all wild blond hair and