The Moore Sisters of Montana: The Complete Series Box Set: Books 1-4

by Ann B. Harrison

  “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” He leaned over and put his bowl on the coffee table.

  “Why not? We’re both free agents and I thought you liked me.” She patted Hamish who sat drooling waiting for a lick of her bowl. Probably not a good idea with David watching her. She had the thought he wouldn’t approve and the last thing she wanted to do was scare him off with dog germs. No matter how often she pointed out that everyone needed germs to grow a good immune system, it didn’t make it easier for them to believe.

  “I’m determined to return to the city and, to be honest, even as much as I like you, April, we’re too different for things to go smoothly between us. It can only end in disaster.”

  “You know what they say. Opposites attract.” She snuggled down and leaned her head against his chest, heard the quick intake of breath.

  “They also say that you should have something in common for a relationship to work or it’s doomed to fail from the beginning.” He stroked her hair and April closed her eyes enjoying the sensation.

  “We do have things in common. You like ice cream, I have the right contact. You like to give your staff flowers, I design them. What’s wrong with that?”

  His chest rose with a deep breath. “I don’t want you to get your hopes up that we would be good together and then you get hurt when I sell the business.”

  “I’m a big girl. Are you afraid you’ll be the one getting hurt?” She twisted around looked up at him seeing how her words affected him. He swallowed and looked away. She was right. He was still smarting from his last relationship. That woman had a lot to answer for. She wondered if it was part of the reason he wanted to go back to Seattle, to try be with her again.

  David was a lovely man. Everyone said so and from what she’d already seen, he was the caring, kind nice guy that she wanted to be with. How was she going to convince him they should give it a go? Would he change his mind if they clicked and possibly stay? Her inner voice spoke up. Give him a chance. Be yourself. Don’t push him in case you push him in the wrong direction. But the voice on the other shoulder cried foul. He’ll leave you as soon as he gets what he wants. You’ll be left alone, again.

  April sat up. “Look, let’s be friends, okay? I’m not saying that we would work but I want to see where this goes and who knows – you might decide to stay here anyway.” She ignored the flicker in his eyes. “I know we’re both different and have ideas that might clash now and then but change is good for you. Look at me. I’ve changed everything to be where I am today and its working for me. It could work for us. Friends?” She held her breath and hoped he’d agree. It wasn’t everything she wanted but it would be a start. Who knew how long it would take for him to fall for her?

  “Friends.” He held out his hand. “But no promises.”

  “I want to try something first.” April leaned in and pressed her lips to his. He blinked but she closed her eyes and slid a hand around the back of his neck, bringing him closer. A moan escaped his mouth before she took possession of the most kissable lips she’d seen in ages. David was hiding his passion under the stuffed shirt exterior and she was going to make the most of it while she could before he backed off. She pressed her tongue between his lips, swiped it across the front of his teeth before searching for more.

  He met her with a move of his own. David pressed her back against the settee, plundering her mouth as she lay beneath him. All the passion he’d held away came back for her and April reveled in the heat of it. He nipped her lips and trailed kisses down her jaw, along her neck until he came to the hollow of her throat.

  April wriggled her hips and pulled him down to lay over the top of her. With her fingers in his hair, she brought his mouth back to hers and kissed him with an intensity that sent shivers down to her belly. He settled between her legs, a low moan coming from his throat when she hooked her heels around the backs of his ankles to keep him in place.

  His broke the kiss, pushed himself up on his hands and stared down at her with glazed eyes. “We shouldn’t be doing this.”

  April laughed at the battle of emotions in his eyes. “We can do whatever we want to do, David.”

  He pushed himself back and rolled away from her, his breathing ragged. “I guess we can but I’m not going to make love to you and have us regret it in the morning. I told you I can’t commit and I refuse to use you like that.”

  Now she knew just how much she affected him, April was prepared to work for it. No way she was letting go without a fight. He was just what she wanted. “Why don’t we take it slow and see what happens? I don’t mind seeing if we can make this work before we commit to something a bit more permanent. I think we have something, David, and by the look of that little performance, so do you.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  He lay in his bed staring at the ceiling. Last night he’d tossed and turned getting very little sleep. When he did it was to dream of Elise and her telling him she was done. He’d woken up thrashing around the bed, legs caught in the sheets. How could he risk having his heart broken again? It’d taken him ages to get over that breakup and he knew that was one of the things that put him off another relationship. The thought of risking that kind of pain again made him sick in the stomach.

  And to risk it all for someone who was so different to him was bordering on insane. At least that was what he was trying to tell himself. Shame it wasn’t working a hundred percent. The problem was, April was such a nice, vibrant person who he felt drawn to as much as he didn’t want to.

  She was like a sugar fix he couldn’t let go. Only problem was, they didn’t have a cure for what ailed him. Either he was going to have to go cold turkey and ignore her or take the chance and risk being hurt again. He couldn’t decide which option to take.

  David drove to work earlier than usual. He’d given up trying to sleep and didn’t feel like his usual morning routine and Oscar had to be satisfied with a short walk up the hill behind their house. All he wanted to do was get out of his quiet house where his thoughts tortured him, and be around people. He parked his car, decided on coffee before he went into the clinic and headed down the street to the café.

  As he passed April’s shop, he slowed down his walking pace and stared inside hoping to get a glimpse of her. The lights were on in the back of the shop but there was no sign of her. He lifted his head and looked up at her flat. The windows were open letting in the cool early morning air. If he wasn’t mistaken, that was Hamish’s nose he could see resting on the window sill.

  David stood in line for his coffee, gave his order and stood staring outside. He really was in a funk. It was so unlike him. It would seem the flower child had really gotten under his skin.

  “Coffee for David!”

  He took his extra-large flat white and made his way back to his clinic pausing to exchange small talk with the people he met along the way. He entered through the back door and called out. “Morning.”

  Monica, his receptionist called back. “David, you’re in early. Everything alright?”

  “Couldn’t sleep.” He walked into reception. “Your excuse?” She was always in before him to open up and sort out the day’s appointments but this morning it was before her starting time, too.

  “I want to sneak off early so I thought I’d get a head start.” She nodded her head at the display of flowers on her desk. “Looks like we’re not the only ones up early. April dropped this off just as I arrived. You must have said something nice to her to warrant such a beautiful bunch of flowers.”

  They were stunning. Nicer than anything he’d expected. Bright yellow roses mixed with a generous bunch of shiny green leaves took pride of place on the counter. In between them, branches with round brown berries gave the bouquet structure and character. “Wow. She’s really outdone herself. These are great.”

  “They sure are. But you should see what she put in your office.” Monica gave him a smile, touched her finger to her nose. “Someone keeping secrets, are they?” Even though he’d known her most o
f his life, sometimes familiarity wasn’t such a good thing. Hard to have secrets when everyone knew what he was doing.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You were the one who insisted on having her do flowers for us. I only passed on the order.” He gripped his coffee and headed down the corridor to his office. David stood in the doorway, staring at the display hanging on his wall.

  “Kind of says a lot, doesn’t it?” He might have known Monica would follow him.

  David stared at the arrangement. April had made a heart shaped design out of dried twigs and decorated it with dried flowers similar to the ones he’d watched her make for the hotel. The soft pinks and creams screamed romance. His throat tightened, his breathing faltered. This made his early morning argument with himself even harder to deal with. If April was indeed falling for him, what chance did he have of denying his own growing feelings?

  “Ahh, that’s, um, pretty. When she said she’d make one for my office too, I didn’t expect a wall hanging.” He’d expected the tin she’d offered to distress for him.

  “It’s very pretty, David. She certainly has a knack for making something out of the ordinary.”

  “She does, but all the Moore girls are creative, I believe.” He walked into his office and put his coffee on the desk. “I’m not quite sure it’s the kind of thing I want in my room though. Perhaps it would be better in the treatment room being as it’s so pretty. It certainly doesn’t scream out masculine doctor, now does it?”

  “Maybe not. But why not leave it here for now and show off her style to your patients. I’m sure they’d appreciate it even if you don’t.” Monica smiled and turned away, heading back to her own area.

  “I do appreciate it, I’m just not sure it’s suitable.” He heard the huff of annoyance from her as he shut the door.

  David had enough of his own internal arguments without having to deal with his staff doubting his decisions. The fact that he grew up with Monica, shared the same sand pit didn’t change anything. Nor did the niggling idea that she probably knew him as well as he knew himself. The joys of being surrounded by women who loved to boss him around.

  *

  “Wildflowers and Lace.” April tucked the phone into her shoulder and tried not to lose the bunch of flowers she was fighting to hold into shape. It’d taken her longer than she thought possible to get just the right color combination for the bridesmaid’s posies and there was no way she was going to ruin her first wedding order in Cherry Lake.

  “April, hi.” The slow sexy drawl of the town’s doctor sent a tingle up her spine.

  “Good morning, David. How are you?” She wondered why he didn’t just pop his head around the door instead of phoning as she reached for the wire to twine around the stems so she could put them down. Twisted it around and around until she was happy they would stay put before letting her death grip on them go.

  “Uh, good. Thanks. Listen I just wanted to give you a quick call and thank you for the arrangements. They’re, ah, quite lovely. Thank you.”

  Quite lovely, eh. What an interesting turn of phrase but not unexpected from him. “You’re more than welcome. I thought I’d go with bright and colorful for reception. You never know who might need cheering up.”

  “True. And so far I have to say that it seems to be working wonders. I’ve had more smiles and comments today than I’ve had for a long time. Who would have thought something so simple could cause such a response?”

  “Yes, I understand.” Happy with her wiring, April put the bouquet in a jar to keep it perfect until she could finish it.

  “Well, I guess that was all I wanted to say. Thank you.”

  His insecurity screamed at her over the phone. There was something he wasn’t saying. “No problem. I’m thrilled you’re happy with them. Bye now.”

  “Wait! April, I wonder if you’d like to join me for a drink tonight. Something casual, your choice of venue.”

  Oh, the idea of getting her hands on him again made his offer very tempting but she had her plan in place and April would stick to it. “Oh, I’m sorry, David. This week is so out of control already. I doubt I’ll have time to breathe. Perhaps we can catch up next week?”

  The sigh escaped his lips and almost made her reconsider. But no.

  “Right, okay then. Sorry to have kept you.” He hung up.

  “That sounded rather mean.” Bella walked in the door with a container in her hands, her boots clacking out a beat on the wooden floor. “I thought you wanted to woo the man and here you are telling him no. What’s going on, April?”

  April walked around her desk and took the container from her sister, slung an arm around her shoulders and dropped a kiss on her cheek. “I’ll tell you if you give me a chance.” She slipped the lid from the container and picked out a cookie, inspected it and then took a bite. She closed her eyes and chewed appreciatively. “Yummo.”

  “Stop stalling and give me the gossip.” Bella reached out a hand when Hamish came close, gave him a scratch around the ears. “Your plan was to pull him into your web according to you on the night of the cookout. I even supplied you with ice cream. What’s changed?”

  “You make me sound like a black widow spider. How awful!”

  Bella nudged her with her shoulder and laughed. “Seriously? You’re more the kitten taunting the mouse from what I just heard.”

  “That’s just as mean. But back to David.” She leaned against her counter and grinned. “He likes me.”

  “We could all see that. The poor man had no idea what hit him. But why fob him off now, then? I thought the plan was to make him yours.”

  “And it still is. We’ve had a couple of coffee dates or chance meetings, which have gone well. Even a dinner, and he looked after me when I hurt my leg. And that was after rescuing me. Such a sweetie he is. I decided to take it a step further and asked him for dinner, as you know. We went for a walk first and he even relaxed, let his hair down and walked barefoot on the sand. I think it might have scarred him but never mind.” She took another bite of the cookie. “Last night we got a little bit carried away after dinner and he freaked out.” She popped the rest of the cookie into her mouth and brushed the crumbs from her hands.

  “Carried away, as in s-e-x?”

  April shook her head, glared at Bella. “I do know how to spell you know and not quite sex, although I was willing. More of passionate kiss fest and then he freaked out. Mumbled something about being too different and scared of commitment kind of talk. Said we’d both regret it in the morning or some such rubbish.”

  “You know about his relationship with the doctor in Seattle then?” Bella picked up an antique bottle and turned it over, reading the almost ineligible label. “How she gave him an ultimatum and then dumped him?”

  “He told me. We had an honest conversation about past relationships over eggplant curry. I like a man that puts family first, and so he should have, too. His ex sounds mean.”

  “No doubt. Anyway, Susan feels he’s going to overthink this and blow what chance he has with you. He’s been single for so long, it might be difficult for him to see the woods for the trees.”

  “And that’s exactly why I said I was busy this week. I want him to see what he’s missing, give him a chance to think about what’s happening without me in his space and see if it’ll work for him. Make him wonder if being alone is really what he wants.” She took another bite of cookie and sighed. “Did you know that he wasn’t planning on staying here long-term?”

  Bella’s eyes bugged out. “No way.”

  “Yep. So, I thought about it last night. Actually, all of last night because I hardly slept a wink. The truth is, I like him. A lot. And it occurred to me that even though we’re so different, we get on really well. That’s good, right?”

  “Of course it is.”

  “So I wondered if I take a step back, he might start to reevaluate his future. He knows I want him, and I don’t want to make noises about making him stay or anything. I figure that’s his decisi
on.”

  “Of courses it is. I can’t believe I didn’t know that about him.” Bella took another cookie. “I’m going to have words with Jake about that. Be such a shame to lose our lovely doctor if there’s a way we can convince him to stay.”

  “Yes, it would but here’s the thing. I don’t want to be the one pressuring him to stay here if it’s not what he wants. Not after his girlfriend dumped him for his decisions. If I step back, do you think he’s going to be able to process what’s going on between us?”

  “Perhaps. I don’t know. It could go either way really.” She leaned on the counter and picked up another bottle, turning it over. “And what if he doesn’t? You don’t want to lose him before you have him.” Bella put down the bottle and picked up a small blue pottery bowl. “Your track record isn’t that great, you know.”

  “And yours was?”

  “Not saying it was. I’d hate for you to lose David because you want to try and get him to make a decision, is all.” Bella picked up a small silver teaspoon and held it with the bowl. “I’ll take these please.”

  April took them from her. “Sure. I’ll wrap them for you.” While she was busy wrapping them in tissue paper, she watched her sister checking out the soap display on the old roll topped desk that she’d uncovered. “Try the goat’s milk and rosemary. It’s to die for, and so is the coconut cream and coffee.”

  “Smells pretty good.” Bella brought two bars of soap over and added them to her purchase. “So, tell me more about Susan’s father. I didn’t realize he was such a big deal when she introduced me to him at the cookout.”

  “Come and have a look at what he gave me.” She grabbed Bella’s hand and pulled her into the other room. “Look at that.”

  The bright skull stared down at them and a warm sense of satisfaction rolled over April. In her wildest dreams she never would have thought she could own one. Especially his skull series, which was very sought after.