Mountains Apart (Mills & Boon Heartwarming) by Carol Ross

bit of a sweet tooth myself. Chocolate?”
    â€œSure. And pastries and pretty much anything with frosting.”
    â€œDogs or cats?”
    â€œOh. No. Please don’t tell me you eat those here, too?”
    He laughed, and she said, “I like them both, but I don’t have time for pets.”
    â€œFavorite color?”
    â€œRed.”
    â€œBrothers and sisters?”
    â€œOne brother—half brother.”
    â€œWere you close growing up?”
    â€œYes, as close as we could be. He’s three years older than me. We had the same dad, different moms. So we didn’t grow up together—he lived in southern Oregon with his mom and I grew up in San Diego with my mom and stepdad. We did see each other, though, as often as we could. Aidan’s mom was great about arranging that.”
    â€œWhere does he live now?”
    â€œUm, Oregon, when he’s not traveling for work.... Why are you asking me all these questions?”
    â€œI’m curious.”
    He flashed her another smile, and the thought popped into Emily’s mind that she liked the way his eyes crinkled at the corners. Curiosity, huh? What did that mean? She knew she couldn’t get involved with him, so why she was even speculating, she didn’t know. It shouldn’t matter. It didn’t matter. And, she reminded herself, either way, it was not professional behavior and certainly not professional thinking. And more than likely he was trying to learn about her for the same reason she planned to learn about him....
    â€œOh, um, why?” she asked, forcing herself back into the moment.
    â€œBecause you’re new in town, and here in Rankins we are known for our hospitality toward newcomers?” he jested.
    Emily made a snuffling sound of amusement and disbelief. They both knew that the welcome she’d received as a representative of Cam-Field had been anything but hospitable.
    â€œOkay, maybe not so much in your case. But I do know that we, meaning you and me, didn’t get off to the best start, so I was thinking maybe we could start over.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œI get the feeling that you could use a friend in this town.” he suggested.
    â€œRight,” she returned sarcastically, “like we could be friends—me working for Cam-Field and you...well, not.” But she had to admit that he did seem a lot different than the hostile man she’d first encountered. Had she dreamed up the fierce opponent who had confronted her in her office a few mornings ago? He was clearly a kind, compassionate and thoughtful guy, as evidenced by his behavior toward her the past couple days. And she had been dehydrated, drugged and delusional, and he seemed so harmless now. She met his eyes again and felt a jolt of awareness course through her. Okay, maybe “harmless” was understating the matter slightly. She recalled the passion he had displayed for this town a few mornings ago and his ultimate intentions where Cam-Field was concerned.
    â€œI don’t see why it has to be a problem,” he said.
    â€œAgain, in case you missed it the first time, we are clearly on opposite sides of a very tall fence here.”
    â€œBut that’s just business.”
    â€œ Just business?”
    â€œYes, business—it’s not personal.”
    Emily flicked her eyes toward the ceiling.
    Bering chuckled. “What?”
    â€œPeople always say that and it’s just such nonsense.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œThat business isn’t personal, but that’s really just a way to explain away actions that otherwise would make them feel uncomfortable. The truth is that business is personal. It’s one and the same.”
    â€œYou’re joking, right?”
    But Emily wasn’t joking. Her work was her life, and she’d been working her entire life. As a child she’d begun doing yard work and other odd jobs for money. By the age of twelve she’d had her own