she’d been younger then and more naive, and she’d learned from her mistakes. She didn’t lead with her heart anymore, she didn’t believe everything a man told her (and she was especially skeptical of declarations of affection made while naked), and she wasn’t ever again going to stay in a relationship with someone because she didn’t want to hurt his feelings by telling him that there was no zing in the relationship—which is what had gone so wrong with Trevor.
Of course, lack of zing wasn’t a problem with Corey. The problem was too much zing. So much zing, in fact, it was interfering with the normal, rational functioning of her brain.
What she needed to do, if she wanted to ensure that her hormones didn’t overrule her head, was establish boundaries—and make sure that the man in question was aware of those boundaries. Because Corey Traub with his dark, bedroom eyes and slow, sexy smile and slower, sexier drawl was a cowboy who had undoubtedly left a trail of broken hearts all across Texas, and she had no intention of being his latest conquest. Even if the thought of being conquered by such a man held a certain undeniable appeal.
Which made her again consider that instead of ignoring the attraction, she should embrace it; instead of establishing boundaries, she should obliterate them. So long as they each knew what they wanted from the other, why shouldn’t they enjoy being together?
Maybe it was foolish to think that she could indulge in a casual no-strings affair when she’d never done so before. Or maybe that was just another reason why she should go for it. When she’d made the trip to Thunder Canyon, she’d done so knowing that the journey would bring changes to her life. Meeting Corey had given her another opportunity to make another change.
She’d never known anyone like him—he was larger than life, a man strong enough for a woman to lean on, a man she wanted to be with. He didn’t strike her as someone who did anything by half measures, and she knew that if she ever made love with him, it would be a spectacular experience.
What worried her was the possibility that he would seduce not just her body but her heart, and that when he was gone she would be left with only memories of the time they’d spent together and her heart in pieces.
Because he would go. She knew that. He had no more intention of staying in Thunder Canyon than she did—but she wasn’t ready to pack up her bags just yet.
And although heading back to San Diego held a certain appeal, she knew she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t go back to her old life and pretend that everything was as it had always been. She’d come to Montana because she needed answers, and she wasn’t going anywhere until she had them.
After another restless night, Erin got up Tuesday morning and readied herself for work as if it was any other day. Because her dreams had been mostly centered on Corey, she hadn’t come up with any revelations about how to tell her boss about the possibility that he could be her brother. Instead, she decided to act as normal as possible, as if nothing had changed.
But she found herself making excuses to walk past his office, trying to catch a glimpse of him, trying to figure out if there was any familial resemblance between herself and her boss. She had two brothers, and she loved both Jake and Josh, but there was just something about Grant Clifton that had appealed to her from the start.
A man didn’t rise to the position he was in without having a fair amount of drive and ambition, but he wasn’t ruthless or hard. Her own experience had shown her that he was a fair and compassionate employer; according to his friends, he was loyal and steadfast; the love he obviously shared with his wife of three years proved he was faithful and devoted; and when he talked about his mother and his sister, he demonstrated that he had a strong sense of family.
Was it possible that she might be part of his family? If so, would he grow to care about her as he obviously cared about Elise? Of course, if it turned out that Erin was his sister, it would mean that Elise was not.
How would he deal with that revelation? Would he resent Erin for bringing it to light? Or would he accept that she was as much a victim of circumstances as everyone else?
“Is everything okay?”
Erin realized that she’d been standing in front of the reservation computer for several minutes without inputting any data. She looked up at Carrie and managed to smile. “Sorry. I don’t know where my mind is today.”
“I think I know,” her coworker teased, nodding her head in the direction of the counter.
Glancing past her, Erin saw Corey standing there, and her heart gave that all-too familiar jolt.
“What’s he doing here?”
“Looking for you,” Carrie told her. “And honey, if you’re not interested, feel free to give him my number.”
Erin felt her cheeks flush as she moved past her coworker to the counter.
“Are you here to see if I was playing hooky today?” she asked him.
“Nope. Just to see you.”
“Any particular reason?”
“You were on my mind. In fact, you’ve been on my mind since I left your house last night, a detail that did not go unnoticed by my associates at the meetings I had this morning.”
She wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so she remained silent.
“This is where you could say that you’ve been thinking about me, too,” he prompted.
She didn’t think his ego needed the boost of hearing the words, even if they were true. But she folded her arms on the counter and dropped her voice, as if making a confession. “What if I tell you that, as I drove to work this morning, I was thinking about playing hooky again because it’s much too beautiful a day to be cooped up inside?”
He leaned closer, so their faces were only inches apart. “Did you think about playing hooky again with me?”
“A girl has to have a few secrets,” she teased.
“Something tells me you have more than a few.”
It was an effort to keep her smile in place as his words struck a chord. He was right. She had more secrets than anyone in Thunder Canyon knew, more than anyone would possibly guess. And the longer she stayed, continuing to perpetuate the myth that she was just a California transplant looking for a change of pace, the guiltier she felt. She’d made friends with the people in town, listened to their confessions and hopes and dreams.
But she hadn’t told a single one of them her real reason for coming to Thunder Canyon. Not even Erika, who had chosen Erin to be the maid of honor at her wedding. And now Erika was married to Dillon, and Erin was fighting her attraction to Dillon’s brother, who happened to be good friends with Grant Clifton, who might be Erin’s brother. There were too many strings connecting all the players in the drama of her life, and they were getting all tangled up.
She’d been dishonest with so many people. Even if she wasn’t guilty of telling lies, she certainly hadn’t volunteered the complete truth. And she couldn’t help but wonder what they would think of her when they found out. Would the people who had become her friends understand why she’d been silent about her true purpose for coming to Thunder Canyon? Or would the truth cost her those new but treasured friendships?
Her mother tried to instill in all of her kids the importance of being honest. If you tell the
