Wild Hearts

Finding love in the Rockies was not in her plans—and she was a devil with plans.

Delphi Gifford has nearly given up on finding someone she could love as much as her dead husband, Fallon. Certainly local photographer Jeremy Litster could never make the grade, egomaniac that he is--even if he did drive the hottest racing motorbike she'd ever touched.

Jeremy knew George DiCarlo had hand-picked him to marry the gorgeous, buttoned-up Delphi, but hadn't counted on her not being in the loop, causing him to make a major misstep the first time they met. After working together for six months, though, he seriously regrets putting up a wall between them and begins a careful campaign to win her over and convince her to stay when her year there was up.

When a date turns into a car chase as someone tries to take the two of them out, they have to figure out what they did or saw that put them both in danger.

Delphi got out of her car on the narrow mountain road and sighed in relief as she saw the lettering on the window of Jeremy’s Litster’s photography studio. She’d found the right place—not a sure thing in this twisty, crazy town, but another sign said it was closed. She checked her watch. “Looks like punctuality is going to be a problem.” She was right on time for her appointment, so if Jeremy showed up in the next couple of minutes, she wouldn’t hold it against him.

She still hadn’t fully come to terms with her decision to bow to the demands in her father’s will and move to Colorado, but that didn’t mean she shouldn’t act like a professional. She just had to make it through her thirteen-month sentence in Juniper Ridge, Colorado and she could do anything she wanted with her inheritance—whether it was to return to New York to continue as a wedding planner, or not. After spending the past couple of days in one house with all of her half-sisters, Vienna was sounding better every minute. Not that she could stand to be idle that long. All she wanted was to choose her own destiny and this was definitely not her choice.

The low rumble of a motorcycle reached her ears and she turned toward it, soaking up the late-July sunshine as it hit her face. At least the weather wasn’t nearly as humid and oppressive here in summer as it could be in New York.

A gray and charcoal-colored bullet bike came to a stop at the curb, the BMW sports model made her salivate. The lean, black-leather-clad man straddling it wasn’t hard to look at either, she decided when he removed the helmet to show a shock of sun-bleached hair and brown eyes. It wasn’t the kind of face women swooned over, but the planes and angles of his jaw were definitely appealing. He wore blue jeans and a button-down shirt in deep blue under his weathered black leather jacket. A sharp contrast to her Ralph Lauren skirt suit, which was a blush pink today.

“You must be Delphinium,” he said as he got off the bike. His eyes flicked over her, caution in his face.

“Call me Delphi.” She crossed to him with a hand out. Their gazes met and she was intrigued by the punch of attraction. “So you’re Jeremy Litster?” Better and better. As DiCarlo Resort’s events coordinator she’d be spending lots of time in this man’s company in the future—if his work passed muster.

His hand surrounded hers with warm firmness, though he didn’t return her smile of pleasure at the meeting. “Guilty as charged. Sorry about not being here when you arrived.” He tucked his helmet under his arm and turned toward the studio. “I usually arrive early for appointments.”

“Good to know.” Delphi wondered if he was blowing cold or if it was her imagination. And she’d see for herself in the future how punctual he generally was.

They walked in and she studied the warm red tone of the wall behind the counter which contrasted against the off-mustard color of the others. It shouldn’t have worked, but it did. If Jeremy had done the decorating, he had a good eye. And, she decided, if the portraits on the walls were any indication of his skill, that good eye extended to his creativity behind the camera as well. “Nice pics. No wonder Dad insisted I come to you to work with our clients. You have quite an eye. I might bring you in for some publicity shots before we open.” She looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. “I love finding someone who knows their stuff.”

He deposited the helmet under the counter and turned to her, his hands on his hips and a bit of a sneer on his mouth. “Just to clear the air,” he said, “I’m not looking for marriage, no matter how much money your father left you.”

Stymied by his declaration, she shifted her whole body to stare at him. “I don’t recall proposing.” What was with the men in this area? Just because Cami, her older sister—well, half-sister—seemed happy to hook up with Jeremy’s best friend practically at first sight didn’t mean Delphi was looking for love. She still had a boyfriend back home.

“I saw the way you looked at me when I pulled up.” He slid his hands into his pockets and crossed to her. “And I know plenty about your family agenda.” He stopped about a foot away from her, challenging her to deny it.

His arrogance floored her, and made her want to make him squirm, so she decided to give it her best shot. “I was looking at your bike. That’s the BMW S1000RR, isn’t it? Do you race? Because I can’t imagine why else you’d own a bike that’s been known to clock in the 180 mile-per-hour range. And what do you think of the rain setting? Have you had a chance to try it out yet?” What she wouldn’t do to get a chance to drive a bike like that. She’d kept her old Yamaha mostly for sentimental value. It was ready to be replaced, when she decided she could stand to let it go. Right now it would still feel too much like letting Fallon go, so couldn’t do that yet.

Jeremy blinked a few times in surprise and when he answered, his words were a little halting. “Yeah, the rain setting comes in handy on these windy mountain roads. And I’ve been known to join a race or two.”

Feeling triumphant at managing to take him by surprise, she smirked. “It’s a hot ride.”

“Yeah.”

“And for your information,” she said with as much ice as she could gather, still fuming about the way he’d acted. “Your bike is way hotter than you are.” She gave him two heartbeats to absorb that before she gestured to the counter. “Now that we’ve got that out of the way, are you going to show me your portfolio or not?”

His shock lasted only a second more before he appeared to shake it off and moved to grab a big binder. “Of course. That’s what you’re here for.”

“Yes. It is.” Delphi didn’t think she imagined his gratitude for the change of subject. She decided to be the bigger person and focus on work. For now. There would be plenty more chances to make him squirm in the future.