The prime rib was top quality and expertly prepared but Seth’s appetite had vanished the moment Adam had sat down next to Lauren.
Since Adam had come alone, Seth couldn’t fault Lauren for inviting him to sit with them. It had been the hospitable thing to do. It was that same spirit that had sparked his own invitation. When he’d seen Kimberly Sizemore looking for a place to sit, he’d invited her to join them.
He’d known Kim casually for almost a year, ever since she’d first moved to Sweet River to handle the payroll and accounting for Henry Millstead’s dude ranch. Their paths had crossed at several parties, and during those conversations he’d learned she was having difficulty adjusting to small-town life. Friends were in short supply. Boyfriends nonexistent.
When Lauren had first started her compatibility surveys, Seth had hoped Kim would get matched. On more than one occasion she’d hinted that one of the reasons she’d moved to Montana was to find someone special.
“Was it hard for you to leave Kansas City and move to Sweet River?” Adam asked Kim.
It was the opportunity Seth had been waiting for. All through dinner, Adam had had Lauren’s undivided attention. Of course, much of that had to do with Adam. Whenever Seth would even open his mouth to say something to Lauren, Adam would hit her with another question. Over the past ten minutes it had become increasingly apparent—at least to Seth—that Lauren was tiring of the game. He’d noticed she’d begun answering Adam’s questions with one-syllable responses and her gaze kept wandering.
Adam had finally gotten the message, though when the professor turned his attention to Kim, it seemed to be more in an attempt to make Lauren jealous than out of real interest in the shy accountant.
Seth wasn’t about to wait around and see if it worked. This was his window of opportunity and he was seizing it. He pushed back the metal folding chair, stood and extended his hand to Lauren. “Dance with me?”
She leaned close and he caught a whiff of her perfume—the same sultry scent that had driven him crazy on the car ride over.
“Are you sure you feel up to it?” Lauren whispered against his ear.
Her words would have been disheartening except for the fact that she’d already risen to her feet and put her hand in his.
“It’s a slow one.” Gazing into her emerald eyes, his heart skipped a beat. Though they’d been here for over an hour, it felt as if the party was finally getting started. “You can hold me up.”
Lauren chuckled and tightened her grip on his hand.
His spirits soared. When they reached the dance floor and he pulled her close, his body hummed with excitement. They swayed in silence for a minute before Lauren leaned back in his arms.
“How well do you know Kim?” she asked.
Seth lifted a shoulder in a slight shrug. “We’ve talked at a couple parties. I think she’s pretty lonely. Moving here has been quite an adjustment for her.”
“Why do you think that is?” Lauren asked, sounding truly interested.
Seth thought for a moment. “She’s a nice person, but not very outgoing. That makes it hard for her to meet new people and make friends.”
“I hope I get the chance to visit with her,” Lauren said with a rueful smile. “I tried to at the table, but Adam was into playing twenty questions.”
If she was fishing for his opinion of the professor’s behavior, Seth wasn’t biting.
“I think you’d like Kim,” he said instead.
Lauren bit her lip and gazed up at him through lowered lashes. “Think she’s interested in you?”
For a second Seth was struck dumb. He hadn’t expected that question from Lauren. Josh had once teased that Kim had the hots for him, but that was just Josh being a guy.
“She may have been interested at one time,” he said slowly. “I didn’t give her any encouragement and it never went further.”
“She didn’t make a fool of herself and proposition you.” Though the words were light and teasing, the hitch in Lauren’s voice told him the incident between the two of them still weighed on her mind.
“That’s because I didn’t lead her on,” Seth said. “My actions led you to draw the wrong conclusion. I was feeling that electricity, too, and I let it affect me.”
“I’m feeling the sizzle now,” Lauren admitted with a rueful smile.
“Me, too,” Seth concurred. “Look how well we’re handling it.”
He expected her to laugh or say something smart.
Instead her eyes narrowed and her hand curved around his arm. “I don’t like the looks of that.”
Seth turned and followed the direction of her gaze. Adam was helping Kim put on her coat and they were both laughing. “It’s good to see her having fun for a change. What’s the problem?”
“I’m just not sure what he’s up to.” Lauren tilted her head and her expression turned pensive. “I don’t know Adam well, but I don’t think he’s interested in her.”
“How can you know that?”
“Because he asked me out.”
Chapter Twelve
Seth stumbled on the dance floor but quickly brought his footwork and his emotions under control. “When?”
“Pardon me?”
For a second Seth considered dropping the subject. What Lauren did on her own time was none of his business. On the other hand, she was living under his roof, if only temporarily. That meant he had an obligation, no, a duty to protect her from men like Nordstrom. “When did he ask you out?”
“Shortly before you walked in.” Lauren pulled her gaze from the couple who were now walking out the door. “Jacob Weitzelman, a well-known psychologist, will be speaking in Bozeman next weekend. Adam thought I might like to see him.”
“What did you tell him?”
The band shifted into another romantic ballad, but Seth didn’t mind, especially when Lauren rested her cheek against his chest.
“I told him I needed to check
