The Bachelor's Northbridge Bride. Victoria Pade

      This time there was nothing about his teasing that seemed offensive. “That is what I’m trained in, yes,” she said. “And you hurt yourself riding a neighbor’s kid’s skateboard?”

      He grinned, deepening those lines around his supple mouth. “I suppose it was some of that spirit-of-youth,” he countered facetiously. “But I’ve dislocated the shoulder twice before so it doesn’t take much to set it off and when I tried the half-pipe I wiped out a few times. As a result the shoulder is pretty stiff and sore. But usually a therapeutic medical massage helps.”

      The way he said that—with a grin—made her smile, too. It was just so dangerous to be enjoying herself with a grown man who had hurt himself skateboarding. Kate knew it as surely as she knew she was standing there. But could she help it? Apparently not, because she was enjoying herself.

      But just for now, when there was no escape. It wasn’t going beyond this.

      “I’ll be at my office at the hospital in the afternoon tomorrow,” she said, forcing a heavy dose of professionalism into her tone. “I’m booked solid but if you come at six, I’ll stay an extra hour as a favor to Marti, since you’re family,” she said, thinking that maybe it might help to put him into those ranks.

      “Family…” he repeated. “Hmm…I don’t know that I like thinking of my masseuse as family.”

      “That’s what we are, though,” she insisted. “Just plain old family.”

      His smile then was small and amused as he shook his head, and his gaze touched on her hair before he said, “I hate to tell you, but there is absolutely nothing about you that’s plain.”

      The hair always did seem to be a factor, she thought, trying to take his flattery with a grain of salt.

      Rather than responding to his comment, she said, “It’s my turn to take the Reverend home and I’m sure he wants to leave since the cake’s been cut. So what’ll it be? Six tomorrow night or taking care of it yourself?”

      Ry Grayson laughed. Spontaneously, boisterously, wickedly. “Oh, I definitely don’t want to take care of it myself. I’ll be there at six—I’m sure someone can tell me where the hospital is.”

      “It’s on the west side of Main Street, a block up from South. You could walk from here.”

      “I’ll be there,” he assured.

      At some point after the lure of Ry’s confidences, Kate must have pushed herself against the corner walls again without realizing it because she had to straighten away from them now. But Ry had apparently not backed up any because when she did, it put her much closer to him than she wanted to be. Close enough to smell that cologne again. Too close for comfort.

      And he didn’t step away and give her any breathing room. He stayed where he was, looking down at her from a full six-foot-three-inch height that towered over her five foot four.

      His smile this time was boyish and sexy, and it made Kate’s heart beat a bit faster.

      “Absolutely nothing plain about you,” he repeated, more to himself than to her.

      Then he pivoted on his heels like a door opening to let her out, and Kate went past him.

      “Let me know if you change your mind about tomorrow night so I don’t wait around for you,” she instructed.

      “I need the massage, I won’t change my mind.”

      “I’ll see you then, then,” she said, feeling dumb for not finding a way to say that without using the word then twice.

      But once she had moved beyond him, she kept going, searching for her grandfather so she could get out of there before she had to see Ry Grayson again.

      Because while, yes, it was probably good to have established a relatively friendly rapport with her brother’s new brother-in-law, that was as far as it would go.

      He had a skateboarding injury, for crying out loud.

      Even without the other things she’d heard about him, even without both of his over-the-top entrances today, what could scream I-don’t-want-to-grow-up louder than that?

      And not only had she reached a point in her life where she knew exactly what she wanted, she also had experience to teach her what kind of man she could never get it from. Nothing she’d learned about Ry Grayson after meeting him had changed her preliminary opinion of him as that kind of man.

      The fact that he was fantastic looking, and as personable and fun loving as all reports had claimed, on top of it?

      That just made him a triple threat.

      And definitely not a candidate for what she was looking for.

      Chapter Two

      “So now you’re going to be with me for a while, Ry?”

      “I am, Gram,” Ry confirmed for his grandmother. He didn’t point out that it was the third time she’d asked the same question already today and they’d only just finished breakfast. “Marti has gone on her honeymoon and Wyatt went back to Missoula. He’ll be here with us one day this week but otherwise, it’s just you and me, babe,” he joked, making her smile. “Well, you and me and Mary Pat,” he amended then.

      Theresa’s nurse, Mary Pat, suggested she take Theresa to dress for the day. As the two women got up from the table, Theresa said to Ry, “I don’t think you’re going to like it here.”

      That was a new one.

      Ry raised his eyebrows at her. “Why is that, Gram?”

      “It isn’t your kind of place. It’s quiet, things move more slowly. I don’t think it’s going to be enough for you.”

      “You know I can usually stir things up a little,” he said, winking at her because he knew it always tickled her.

      She waved a hand at him as if she were swatting a fly but giggled anyway before Mary Pat ushered her out of the kitchen.

      Ry took a drink of his second cup of coffee.

      His grandmother might not always be in her right mind, but there were still some things she had insight into. And despite his making light of it, he thought the possibility that Northbridge wasn’t for him was one of those things.

      Granted he’d only been here for Wyatt’s wedding three weeks ago and again now for Marti’s, so he hadn’t seen much of Northbridge. And he knew his brother and sister were enamored of the small town. But in spite of the fact that he’d met a lot of nice people, the town itself did seem a little too sleepy for him—too slow and quiet, just like his grandmother had said.

      But whether he liked Northbridge or not, he, Wyatt and Marti had always shared the responsibility of their grandmother. When she’d run away from Mary Pat to come here, he and his brother and sister had agreed that if Northbridge was where Theresa wanted to be, Northbridge was where she should be—even if it meant they had to rotate being here with her.

      Of course with both Wyatt and Marti married to locals now, there was talk of them relocating permanently. If that happened, Ry thought he could hold down the fort in Missoula where Home-Max was headquartered. Then he wouldn’t have to spend much time in Northbridge. But for now, here he was, taking his turn at helping with Theresa.

      And not excited by the prospect of being basically sequestered in the Montana outback—as he thought of the small town.

      It wasn’t that Northbridge was a bad place—from what little he’d seen, it had plenty of charm. But it was a small town and any small town had its limitations. And Ry didn’t like limitations.

      He liked—he thrived on—activity and choices and always having more options for things to do than he had time to do them. Slow and quiet? That was the last thing he wanted.

      In fact, he’d meant it when he’d assured Marti and Wyatt