Читать книгу Brides, Babies And Billionaires - Мишель Смарт, Rebecca Winters - Страница 93

Twelve

Just like it had every Saturday for the last three weeks, Kate’s heart sped up when Seth Bolton walked into Zanger Realty. Today was no exception.

Rain had dampened his hair and a few stray drops clung to his eyelashes, and he was impossibly more handsome now than he’d ever been. When his gaze locked on hers from across the office, she could see how much he’d been waiting for this moment, too.

Because she had been waiting for him.

“Ms. Burroughs,” he said, his voice going right through her.

“Good morning, Mr. Bolton.” It was a little game they played, pretending to be professional when there might be someone else around, even though Harold Zanger rarely came into the office on Saturdays. She stood. “We have a busy day ahead of us—two industrial properties I think will work for you. And after that, are you ready to buy a house?”

He was buying the home on Bitter Root. Her house—although it wasn’t hers. Soon, it would be his.

She’d always known she’d be sad when that house sold. But oddly, she was happy that if anyone else had to buy it, it was Seth. He’d take good care of it.

His eyes darkened as his gaze swept over her body. Because he was buying a house today, she had splurged on some new clothes that fit—she’d get her commission before the bills came due. The broomstick skirt with an elastic waist and the tunic top with a deep vee at the neck weren’t outright maternity clothes, but she had read that it was a wise financial investment to buy regular clothing one size larger than she had been wearing because she would probably need them after she had the baby.

And although she knew this wasn’t a committed relationship, she wanted to look her best for Seth. She couldn’t do anything about her rapidly changing body—although Seth seemed to appreciate her new curves far more than she did—but by God she could at least put on flattering clothes. And lingerie. The new lacy black bra—yet another size up—and the matching panties made her feel like she could still be sexy.

Especially when Seth looked at her like that.

“I’m certainly looking forward to celebrating my new home,” he said, his voice low. “You look amazing today, Kate.”

She felt his words—and his desire—in her chest. Everywhere. A shiver went through her—the kind of shiver that promised better things to come. “I’ve always found home ownership to be inspiring.” She couldn’t wait until the ink was dry on the legal documents and the key to his new house was in his hands. Normally, she would buy clients a gift basket to welcome them to their new home—a candle, a few knickknacks that seemed to match the personalities of the buyers.

Today? She wanted to welcome him to his new home in ways that had nothing to do with candles.

His grin deepened and he took another step into the office, leaving wet footprints on the carpet behind him. “Incredibly inspiring,” he agreed. “But assuming the rain moves off, we’ll need to make a small side trip.”

“Oh?”

His grin tightened and suddenly he looked nervous. “My sister’s regular game got delayed because of the storm, but it’s supposed to clear off soon. I promised I’d try to stop by. If they win today, they’re in the championship.”

“This is Julie, right?” They’d talked some about their families, but only enough to scratch the surface. What could she say about her parents? Her mother was a doormat and her father was a steamroller?

His family life seemed vastly more complicated. The man outright dismissed the notion of living in one place for more than six months at a time and yet he was the most devoted big brother she’d ever met. For a man who wasn’t the least interested in setting down roots, he was perfectly happy to spend a crazy amount of money on a luxury home.

After a month of spending time with Seth, she was no closer to understanding him, really.

“Yeah. She and my cousins make up half the starting line. We won’t have to stay for the whole game, but I do want to put in an appearance.”

She was not looking for anything more permanent. She wasn’t. She was appreciating this time with Seth as the gift it was. But still, his offer to include her in a family thing warmed her.

Wait a minute. “Will your parents be there?”

He dropped his gaze. “Yeah. The whole family will be.”

Oh, dear. Of course, once she had figured out she would be spending time with Seth, she had looked up the reality show the Boltons had done a number of years ago—even catching glimpses of the teenage Seth working with his father.

Seth had been a cute boy on the verge of manhood then—but the Boltons? Billy was like an angry grizzly bear, Ben Bolton glowered sullenly anytime a camera was shoved in his face, and Bobby? Well, the last Bolton brother wasn’t dangerous-looking like his brothers—but he was smooth and sharp and good on camera. And their father? He was the epitome of every tough old biker ever.

And Seth wanted her to meet these people?

“We don’t have to,” he said into the silence. “They can be overwhelming—trust me, I know.”

It was tempting to say that they wouldn’t have time for a side trip. Or to say she wasn’t dressed for standing in a wet field. Or that she wasn’t feeling up to it. All of those would be perfectly fine excuses to save her from meeting the Boltons en masse. Because meeting the whole family—that felt huge. Far too big for a casual relationship like the one she and Seth had.

But family was forever. Or, for a long time—until they disowned you, anyway. And she’d feel terrible if she caused any sort of trouble for him with his extended family just because she might be a little intimidated by a group of bikers. He was willing to go above and beyond for his family, and she couldn’t fault him for that. If anything, she admired him all the more.

So despite her misgivings, she put on a smile and said, “We can do that. But we better get going if we want to have time.”

* * *

When Seth opened her car door for her, she was past panic and straight over into stark terror. “You’re not introducing me as your girlfriend,” she told him, staring at his hand. “That’s not what this is, right?”

He didn’t answer for a long moment, and she suddenly didn’t know how he’d answer that question.

Worse, she didn’t know how she wanted him to answer that question.

“Right,” he finally said, slow and serious. “You’re my real estate agent.”

Oh, this was a mistake. An epic, huge, grandiose mistake.

But she was going to make it anyway.

After he helped her from the car, they began the long trek to the playing field. Apparently showing up late meant that they got the worst parking spot. Although she’d worn boots to walk around the potential museum sites, she still had to hold her skirt by the hem to keep it from getting wet in the tall grass.

Which was fine because if she was holding her skirt, then she wasn’t accidentally holding Seth’s hand.

When they reached the playing field, Kate looked around. “Is that them?”

Most of the parents on the sidelines were regular-looking people sitting on folding chairs with coolers. But at the end of the field, there was a group of big, burly men around a cluster of pickup trucks with the tailgates down. The trucks were massive and even at this distance, she could tell they were top-of-the-line.

And the Boltons were loud. Kate could hear them bellowing words of encouragement to the players on the field.

“That’s them. Don’t be intimidated. They’re a lot nicer than they look. All bark, no bite—that sort of thing.”

She shot him a look.

They paused at midfield, and Seth turned her toward the game. “We’re rooting for the green team, the Mustangs. The forward? That’s Julie. The right guard’s Eliza and the left is Clara—my cousins. They’re unbeatable.” He said it with obvious pride when any other man his age might have been embarrassed or at least put out to have to give up part of his Saturday on a regular basis to watch little girls kick a ball around. But not him. He really did love his family.

The thought made Kate unexpectedly sad. She hadn’t played soccer when she was young—but she’d had dance recitals and choir concerts, and had even acted in a few plays in high school. Her mom had come—but not her dad.

As they watched, Eliza passed the ball to Clara, who faked out a player on the other team and then kicked the ball to Julie, who bounced it off her chest and then kicked it in just past the goalie. The green team erupted into cheers—as did the parents on the sidelines. Especially the group of Boltons at the end of the field. Seth let out a tremendous whoop and the girls on the field pivoted as one and waved at him before their coach bellowed something and they all trotted off down the field.

“They seem pretty good,” Kate said as they began to make their way toward his family—and her doom.

No, no—not her doom. Just a really awkward meeting with her not-boyfriend’s parents. No need to panic.

“The Mustangs came in second in the championship last year. I think they’re going to win it this year. Julie’s unstoppable and Eliza is a monster on the field.”

Kate kept an eye on the game. Julie and Eliza looked a great deal like each other but Clara? Kate had a feeling that if they all stood still next to each other, she’d be able to see the resemblance, but Clara was much lighter in coloring than the other two.

And then it was too late to turn back because the biggest of the three men stood up from the tailgate and bellowed, “Seth! About damn time. Where the hell have you been?”

Kate recognized him. It was Billy Bolton, the biggest and meanest-looking of the brothers. He was older than he’d been in the reality show, his grizzled beard shot with silver—but he was still a force to be reckoned with.

Then Billy’s gaze landed on Kate and she froze like a deer in the headlights.

One of the women—petite and brown and who looked a great deal like Seth—put her hand on Billy’s knee. “Language, honey.”

A kid about eight or so looked up from the book he was reading. “Seth is here? Yeah!” He hopped up and gave Seth a high five and immediately began telling him about some complicated...card game? Kate couldn’t tell.

A little girl, maybe five, squirmed out of Ben Bolton’s arms and came charging up to Seth, who caught her easily. “Set!” she crowed. “Spin me!”

Kate’s heart clenched at the sight of Seth making a little girl squeal with joy while simultaneously carrying on a very important conversation with a kid. Of course he was great with kids. He was perfect, apparently.

And she was...not.

The woman who’d shushed Billy Bolton stood and made her way over to Kate and instantly, every hair on the back of Kate’s neck stood up in warning. “Ignore my husband. Hi, I’m Jenny Bolton. And you are?”

“Kate.” Kate swallowed, trying to remember who she was supposed to be right now. But that wasn’t easy because every single pair of eyes at this tailgate party were now staring at her. Two other women, both about the same age as Jenny Bolton, closed ranks, standing behind Jenny. “Kate Burroughs,” she finally remembered when the one woman with long, dark brown hair raised an eyebrow at her. “Of Zanger Realty. I’m Mr. Bolton’s real estate agent.”

Someone snorted, but Kate kept her focus on the women. Because it suddenly occurred to her—why had she been worried about the Bolton brothers?

She should have been worried about the Bolton women. Including but not limited to the three younger ones running up and down the field.

But maybe not the littlest one. Seth paused in spinning what Kate assumed was another cousin just long enough for the girl to grin at Kate and say, “Your skirt is pretty. Does it twirl?”

“I’m not sure,” Kate answered honestly. “Twirling makes me dizzy.” And God knew her sense of balance wasn’t what it had once been.

“But that’s the best part!” The girl giggled and then she and Seth were off again, making big, dizzying circles.

“Real estate?” Jenny’s eyes narrowed as she took in everything about Kate. The woman looked too much like Seth not to be his mother. The woman to Jenny’s right was taller, more statuesque, perhaps a little lighter in coloring, but she bore a strong resemblance to Jenny. The woman to Jenny’s left, however, had vivid blue eyes and an almost icy demeanor. To a woman, however, they were wearing stunning tops underneath their coats. Kate looked longingly at Jenny Bolton’s soft peach sweater. She had a feeling that no matter how much her commission was, she wouldn’t be able to afford a sweater like that. The same went for the diamonds in Jenny’s ears and around her neck. And that had nothing on what the woman with blue eyes was wearing.

Kate refused to be intimidated by the unified wall of womanhood that was currently looking her up and down. Crap—could these experienced wives and mothers tell she was pregnant? Or were they just judging her by regular feminine standards?

“We were looking at an industrial property not far from here and had time to check in on the game before we signed papers on Mr. Bolton’s house this afternoon.” All of which was 100 percent the truth and had nothing to do with how good Seth was in bed.

After a moment’s hesitation that spoke louder than any niceties could, Jenny said, “I see,” in a tone that made it clear that she did—far too well.

Kate swallowed. This was not going well. Feeling desperate, she turned her attention to the rest of the group. “No need to get up,” she said when it was obvious no one would, anyway. She gave a little wave. “It’s a pleasure to meet you all. I enjoyed your show.” Bobby Bolton, still as handsome as ever, grinned—but his brothers both groaned. Kate pressed on. “And I’m excited to help your company move forward into its next venture.” There. That was a perfectly professional thing to say.

No one reacted. “Kate’s done an amazing job finding the right properties,” Seth announced into the awkward silence.

She could feel her face heating up. Somehow, turning tomato red didn’t seem to be the reasonable reaction here.

Then it only got worse because in the middle of that quiet lull, her stomach growled so loudly that it briefly drowned out the sounds of the game. “My apologies,” Kate said hastily, wondering if a woman could actually die of embarrassment at a soccer game. “We haven’t had time to grab lunch. We should go...”

But the words had no more gotten out of her mouth than the Bolton women descended upon her. “We have food,” the paler one said in a surprising British accent. “I’m Stella—Bobby’s wife. Clara’s mother.”

“Besides,” the other added, “Connie won’t turn loose of Seth for a good twenty minutes and Davey has to talk to someone about Pokémon—all the better if it isn’t me. I’m Josey—Ben’s wife. The rest of this brood is mine.”

“You should sit,” Jenny said, moving forward to put a hand on Kate’s arm and leading her to a folding chair. “We have chicken or burgers.”

And just like that, Kate wasn’t on the outside anymore.

She had no idea if that was a good thing or not.