This Kiss (Made In Montana Book 12) Read Online Free PDF Page A

approached. The silence that had fallen between her and Ethan was beginning to feel awkward. She slanted him a glance and caught him watching her. The porch light shone in both of their faces and he stopped, right there, several feet from the steps. Turning to face her, he nudged up her chin and studied her mouth.
    She held her breath, certain he was about to kiss her.
    “I have one question,” he said. “Are you a reporter?”
    “What? No.”
    Something in her expression must have made him doubt her. His gaze narrowed, he seemed to be trying hard to remember...
    “Why on earth would you think I’m a reporter?” It hit her then that everything would have been so much easier if she’d just pretended to be one of his buckle bunny fans. The wariness in his face convinced her to fix that situation right now.
    “Okay, I lied,” she blurted, the words rushing out of her mouth before she could think. “I’m a huge rodeo fan. The biggest. I go to rodeos all the time. I’m a buckle bunny. I didn’t want to admit it and I—” She cleared her throat. “I wanted to stand out to get your attention, and that’s why I lied. About not being a fan.” She held in a sigh. “Does that make sense?”
    Ethan looked as if he was going to laugh.
    So she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him down into a blazing kiss.

3
    E THAN RECOVERED FROM her sudden burst of enthusiasm, thankful he hadn’t landed on his ass. Sophie was small but strong, too. Strong enough that she’d forced him back a step. He put his arms around her and slowed down the kiss, taking the time to explore and sample the sweet taste of her mouth.
    They were standing on the porch, under the light, in full view of Main Street where anyone passing the inn could see them. That didn’t bother him. He just couldn’t figure out what had caused her unexpected display of passion.
    Way before he was finished with the kiss she stepped back, only to stare up at him with dazed eyes, and was that regret? Probably not. He wasn’t seeing so clearly himself.
    Damn, he should’ve moved them to his room before now. “How about we go inside where it’s warm?” he asked.
    She jerked a nod, clutched the jacket to her chest and inched farther away from him, as if she was afraid he was going to grab her.
    Wondering if she’d ever picked up a guy before, Ethan was careful to give her some space. More practiced women who followed the circuit had a completely different air about them. He opened the door and motioned for her to go inside. The lobby was tiny, furnished with a desk and two wing chairs, a small oak table on which rolls and coffee would be set out in the morning, or so he’d been told.
    “Turn right,” he said, and she did so without a word or a backward glance. “I’m near the end.”
    He watched her as she led the way, admiring the view. Sophie claimed they’d never met, but he wasn’t so sure that was true. Once he’d seen her up close, he was even more convinced they’d met before. The shape of her pouty lips had given him the first inkling that he knew her from somewhere. Even now, watching the slight sway of her hips tugged at his memory. It wasn’t a particularly distinctive walk, so he didn’t get it.
    Hell, he could’ve seen her in the crowd at a rodeo. She’d admitted she was a fan. But that didn’t feel right, either. If it turned out she’d lied and really was a reporter, man, he was going to be pissed. So far he’d been lucky. The public didn’t know about his arrest. But one more media question about the black cloud that seemed to follow him to the finals every year and he’d shut them all out. No more interviews. No more sound bites. Screw ’em.
    Sophie stopped to examine the baseboards and then looked up at the ceiling. “I think this place really was a boardinghouse at one time.”
    “Yep,” Ethan said, glad she seemed more relaxed. “It was built around the 1920s. The new owner bought the place last year and kept the