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K A T M A R T I N ˇ ˇ ˇ New York Times bestselling author ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ Historical Romance ˇ Contemporary ˇ Romantic Suspense ˇ |
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To purchase The Secret or another Kat Martin novel see your local bookseller, or go to
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She's come to change her life, the heal her child, to find herself--not another man with a sexy smile and an empty heart. She has a son to raise, a business to run--and a murder to solve...
Kate may be determined to resist him, but Chance can't ignore the desire he feels for her--or the suspicion that somebody wants her to leave Lost Peak. With the promise of a future together tangled up in the ghosts of her past, Kate and Chance must believe in each other before they can believe in love...
Excerpt:
"We need to find a place to spread the blanket," Kate said. "How about
over there?" She pointed to a big flat boulder that overlooked
the valley.
"Perfect." Chance smiled.
God, he had the straightest, whitest teeth. He spread out the
blanket, opened the bag, and handed her a sandwich, then poured coffee
into a couple of Styrofoam cups.
"So tell me a little about you. I know you worked for an ad
agency. How'd you happen to get into that line of work?"
Kate shifted on the rock, the bite of sandwich she had taken suddenly
feeling a little too big. This was the reason she hadn't wanted
to come. Talking about the past wasn't something she was ready
to do.
"I was a business major at UCLA. I was solicited by Menger and
Menger during my senior year. What about you?" she asked, hoping
to get him talking about himself instead. "Did you go away to
school?"
"I went to the University of Montana down in Missoula. My father
passed away two months before graduation. I dropped out to run
the ranch."
"Two months and you didn't go back and finish?" It seemed
Chance just shrugged those
incredibly wide shoulders. "I
Kate carefully wiped her mouth with the napkin he had pulled
But none of those were things that she could risk telling Chance. Her
hand faintly trembled and she was no longer hungry. "I wanted to
get away from the city. When Nell died and left me the cafe it
seemed like the perfect solution."
"I would have thought you'd have picked a town that at least
"Well, I didn't," Kate snapped, setting her unfinished sandwich back
down on the piece of wax paper it had been wrapped in and coming to
her feet.
"Listen, Chance, I really appreciate
your showing me around,
Chance said nothing for the longest time. "All right, Kate.
Whatever you say." Wordlessly, he tossed the last of his
sandwich into the sack along with hers, cleaned up the mess they had
made, and screwed the lid back on the thermos of coffee.
Kate felt a little guilty for ruining such a perfect morning,
She knew the kind of man Chance was. It was written in every
line of his handsome face. Just yesterday she had overheard
Bonnie Delaney, one of the waitresses at the café, talking abouthim.
"Chance's a real heartbreaker,"
Bonnie had said to one of the female customers. "He's left a
string of crying women all over Silver County."
One look at the heat in those sultry blue eyes and Kate was sure it
was the truth.
When they pulled up in front of the house, he turned off the engine
and Kate cracked open the door, ready to jump and un like the
little black snowshoe rabbit they had seen. Chance caught her
arm before she could leave.
"Listen, Kate. Whatever your reasons for coming to Lost Peak,
it's your business not mine. I won't pry into your affairs
again, but I'm not letting you run from me any longer. I want to
see you again."
She shook her head a little too fiercely, moving the curly dark red
hair around her face. "It's not a good idea."
"Why not?"
"Because I've got a son to think about and a cafe to run."
"Sorry--not good enough."
"Because we have nothing in common. I'm from thecity.
You're a country boy."
He only shook his head. "Try again."
"Because I'm just plain not attracted to you."
"Bullshit." Grabbing a fistful of her sweatshirt, he hauled her
half way across the front seat of the truck and captured her mouth in
a scalding, mind-numbing kiss. She struggled for an instant, her
fingers pressing into the front of his sheepskin vest, but the heat
was too much, the fire too unbearably hot. She had never felt
anything like it. Chance kissed the corners of her mouth, kissed her lips again, and she opened for him, letting his tongue slide in, feeling the hot,wet silkiness, desperately wanting the kiss to go on. She was trembling all over, damp in places that hadn't been damp in years. She heard herself whimper when Chance pulled away.
Long dark fingers caught her chin.
"Listen to me, Kate. I don't have the foggiest idea what's going
on between us, but something damned well is. I didn't plan for
it to happen. I know you didn't either, but I mean to find out
what it is. I'll be in town on Thursday night. Don't eat
before you close. We're going out to dinner."
He didn't give her time to argue, just climbed down from his side of
the pickup, rounded the front, jerked open her door, and lifted her
down.
He walked her to the door and waited while she unlocked and shoved it
open.
"I'll see you Thursday," he said and
then he was gone, leaving her staring dumbly after him.
Kate watched his big silver Dodge pull out of the driveway, feeling as
if her world had somehow shifted. All she could think was Oh, my God, what have I done?
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His name is
Chance McLain. Wildly good-looking, superbly confident, he's everything
Kate Rollins doesn't want when she lands in Lost Peak, Montana.