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“She’s a gorgeous woman. I’m a good-looking guy. We’re gonna have some kind of vibe.” Easy enough and not a lie.

“There is truth in that statement, my friend.” They climbed the porch steps, and Hugh touched Eric’s arm before opening the door. “Eric, how are you really? Anything new on the parental front?”

Nothing like starting with the hardest subject. “I’m well, and no. Nothing new. They live their simple, and thankfully sober, lives, and I live mine. I’m glad to be here, though, Hugh. Nothing beats a weekend at Hal’s.” Eric had gotten a job at the racetrack when he was fifteen, and a mechanic had taken him under his wing. At sixteen, he’d moved out. Eric had thought about reaching out to his parents many times those first few years, but it had been too painful seeing the people who were supposed to care for him being unwilling to care for themselves. And later, when they’d finally cleaned up their lives, they were still disinterested in him. To this day, their interaction was minimal.

Hugh searched his friend’s eyes, and Eric wondered what he saw there. The longing for a childhood he’d never have, unresolved anger toward his parents, or the longing for a woman who had somehow infiltrated the walls he’d built around himself and who’d overtaken his thoughts in the space of a few hours.

“Well, bro,” Hugh said. “You’re here now. Let’s get you settled in.”

Settling in wasn’t something Eric had ever been good at, but between the Bradens’ welcoming arms and the knowledge that Kat was inside, he wanted to try.

CHAPTER 4

AFTER A SLEEPLESSnight of beating herself up for what she’d done with Eric, Kat decided to forgive herself. After all, she was only human, and Eric James was some kind of sexual god. Any woman would have given in to his sweet seduction.

Now if she could only stop thinking about him.

That wasn’t likely to happen anytime soon. She’d spent the entire night reliving their last kiss, playing over the sound of his voice when he’d said he felt like he’d known her forever. She couldn’t deny feeling a thread of familiarity when they’d kissed in the driveway, but she’d assumed it was because they’d been kissing in the airport and those kisses were still fresh on her mind. As was the rest of what they’d done.

It was almost six o’clock Saturday morning, and Kat was sitting on the back patio, listening to the sounds of the ranch coming to life. She’d always been an early riser, and with the time difference between Virginia and Colorado, her body thought it was eight o’clock. The sun peeked over the mountains, sending ribbons of pink across the sky, and not for the first time, she wondered what it would be like to live someplace like this, away from the noises and smells of the city and surrounded by family. Hal’s sons Treat and Rex owned the neighboringproperties to the ranch. She knew Treat and his family were away at one of the many resorts he owned. She’d seen Rex, a burly cowboy with linebacker shoulders and long, ink-black hair topped with an ever-present Stetson, down by the barn when she’d come outside. Rex ran his father’s ranch, and it seemed to Kat that he worked from dawn to dusk.

“You look a million miles away,” Eric said as he came through the patio doors, looking devastatingly handsome in a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt that stretched tight over his muscular chest and biceps. His voice still carried the grogginess of sleep, and his hair was standing on end, as if he’d just rolled out of bed. She wondered if that was his daily look,sexily rumpled.

He sat in the chair beside her, and she noticed his feet were bare, and for whatever reason, it upped his sexy factor even more. She loved a man who was confident and comfortable in his own skin, and Eric was the epitome of both. She smiled, taking in the warmth in his eyes and the absence of the intensity she’d seen last night.

“Just thinking about what it would be like to live here,” she answered.

He handed her his coffee mug. “Sip?”

“Sure. Thanks.” She closed her eyes, savoring the warm liquid. “You take cream and sugar, too. That’s convenient.”

“I’m sure we have a lot in common,” he said as she set the mug in his hand. He raised his index finger and placed it over hers, holding her hand gently in place.

Her pulse quickened. Guys hit on her all the time at the bar and she never paid them any mind. But something about Eric made her entire body take notice, and most curiously, her heart warmed when he was near.

He smiled and released her finger. Even without his touch, their threaded connection remained, and she tried again toremind herself that he was a one-night stand, not a potential boyfriend.

“I have a place in upstate New York like this, in the Silver Mountains. I don’t have horses like Hal does, but I’ve got about a hundred acres of wooded mountain property with a stream that runs through it. It’s nice. Quiet.”

“Sounds beautiful. Do you spend a lot of time there?”

He sipped his coffee and shook his head. “Between my race schedule and my charity efforts, I don’t get as much time there as I’d like.”

She wondered how much of his time was spent chasing women, too, and it bothered her that she cared.

“I figured you’d be tired after our late night. I expected to be alone for the sunrise.” He took another sip of his coffee and gazed out over the mountain.

“You came out specifically to watch the sunrise?”

He nodded. “I always do when I’m here. There’s nothing more beautiful than a Colorado sunrise.” He brushed her hair from her shoulder. “Except, it appears I was wrong. You’re far more beautiful than the sunrise.”

She laughed. “There you go again, showing me all your mouthy talents.”

“You haven’t even begun to see how talented my mouth can be.” He rubbed his scruffy chin. “But that wasn’t a line, even though it sounded like one. I’m sorry if I came across too strong, or managed to turn you off in some way, but I’m not going to deny how attracted to you I am.”

She felt her cheeks heat up and shifted her eyes away. He turned her chin, so she had no choice but to look at him.

“Are you embarrassed by my honesty or turned off by it?” His gaze was serious, his words sincere, and she felt her heart warming again.