www.millsandboon.co.uk

      To my husband, Tom.

      I love you—first, last, always.

       Chapter One

      “I really like what I see.”

      Adam Stone wasn’t just talking about the apartment for rent. The same applied to the pretty lady renting it. Jill Beck was hot, and not just because of all that curly red hair. The thought of asking her out crossed his mind, but that wasn’t why he was here. A truck with his stuff was on the way from Dallas to Montana and he needed to find a place to live here in Blackwater Lake before it arrived.

      “Isn’t this a little too small for you, Dr. Stone?” When Jill settled her brown-eyed gaze on him, he momentarily lost the power of speech.

      The two of them were standing in a spacious living room. One window looked out at a dense forest of evergreen trees, and the other had a view of the wide expanse of sparkling blue water known as Blackwater Lake. Only the woman in front of him was a better view than either.

      “Call me Adam.”

      He glanced at the body of water that gave the town one hundred miles north of Billings, Montana, its name. Then he looked around the apartment again. It seemed like just what the doctor ordered. The unit had an eat-in kitchen plus two bedrooms and baths. The walls were painted a light olive-green and trimmed with wide white baseboards that butted up against the pinewood floor. Crown molding highlighted the nine-foot ceilings.

      The stairs up to this apartment were located to the side of her front door. He’d seen her place and it was identical to this one, although her walls were painted a particularly sunny shade of yellow that was appealing. He’d thought it suited her, until he turned serious about becoming her tenant. Wariness now replaced her cheery expression.

      He folded his arms over his chest and looked down at her. “I’m a single guy. How much room do you think I need?”

      “I have a feeling it’s more than you can find in my upstairs.” The clouds swirling in her beautiful eyes definitely wouldn’t drop precipitation in the light-to-moderate range.

      Adam could tell he was in for a hard time. A family practice doctor learned to listen, note verbal cues and read between the lines. He was a really good family practice doctor and knew her jeans were in a knot about something. Maybe when they’d climbed the stairs she’d caught him checking out her butt.

      It was in his top five, hovering around one or two in the shapeliest category. He was a guy and guys were hardwired to notice girls, especially pretty ones. As far as looks, Jill Beck wasn’t in the top ten, but there was something about her. And not just her chest. Yeah, he’d noticed that, too, but had been very careful to look at her face during this conversation.

      The positive part of that was appreciating the cute splash of freckles on her upturned nose. But admiring her butt and the freckles on her face wasn’t a hanging offense, so he was at a loss about what was bugging her.

      Talking was the best way for him to find out. “If I was a family man instead of a family practice doctor, your upstairs would present some space challenges. But that’s not the case. I was told it’s the best place to rent and I can see why.”

      “Someone at Mercy Medical Clinic told you about me?”

      “Yes.” The retiring doctor he was replacing had given him the scoop. Along with two thumbs-up from the receptionist and the nurse.

      “Have you looked anywhere else?” she asked.

      “I have,” he admitted. “But there’s not a lot available.”

      “There are a couple of houses,” she said helpfully. “And the Blackwater Lake Lodge probably has a room until you find just what you’re looking for.”

      “Yeah. But the houses aren’t as convenient to town and the clinic. The lodge—” He shrugged. “I want to settle somewhere. By process of elimination, that puts this property in the lead.”

      “Lucky me.” Her tone struggled for upbeat but fell way short.

      Adam could feel his stubbornness kicking in, and that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. “I’d like to rent your apartment, Miss Beck.”

      If she noticed he didn’t call her Jill, she didn’t say anything. She shrugged. “The lease is on my desk. I suggest you read it before making a final decision.”

      There was a warning in the words, but he followed her downstairs to the computer desk tucked into a corner of her living room. This furnished twin of the upstairs apartment gave him an idea how homey it could be.

      A chocolate-brown sofa sat in front of the fireplace with a flat-screen TV on the wall over it. The couch partitioned the room into work and relaxation spaces and with warm touches in both. Brass lamps with scalloped shades on tables. In framed pictures covering the walls he recognized the lake outside and the surrounding mountains. Photographs were everywhere. On the desk beside the computer was one of Jill with a little boy whose curly red hair gave a clue who his mother was. As far as he could tell, there were no photos of the boy’s father.

      She handed him the paperwork. “Look it over carefully.”

      Adam didn’t need a microscope or a magnifying glass to see that the terms of the agreement favored the landlady. Big-time.

      “I wasn’t aware that this was the down payment on purchasing the property.”

      “A landlord needs some safeguards,” she explained.

      If she was a single mom, that would account for the financial safeguards stipulated in the agreement. “That’s quite a hefty security deposit.”

      “But necessary.”

      “And this penalty for early lease termination seems excessive in addition to spelling out that a tenant is on the hook to pay the agreed-upon rent for the duration of the contract or until an alternative renter is secured.”

      “Also necessary,” she said. “The costs of cleaning and painting between renters adds up. Then I have the costs of advertising to fill the vacancy on top of the lost revenue.”

      “But I’m not going to skip out on the rent.”

      “That’s what they all say.” Even if the tone hadn’t given her away, skepticism was there in the expression on her face. “This covers the winter months. In spring and summer there’s