Free Playing For Keeps (Emerald Lake Billionaires 2) by Leeanna Morgan Page B

ex-husband or ex-boyfriend trouble.”
    Sophie didn’t have time for friends, let alone ex-husbands. It would have made her life easier if she’d known who was trying to find her. Unfortunately, the conversation she’d overheard hadn’t given her enough information to know who wanted her formula.
    “Why don’t you stay here tonight?” Jamie asked. “You could put your sleeping bag on the folding bed that Tanner brought with him. If you sleep in the downstairs office, you won’t have to put up with Ryan’s snoring.” He looked at Ryan and smiled. “No offense, boss. You can’t help it if you sound like a train.” Jamie didn’t pay any attention to the scowl on Ryan’s face, but he did walk quickly outside.
    Sophie looked closely at Tanner. “I suppose you were simply driving past and decided to drop by. What a coincidence that you had a folding bed in the back of your truck.”
    Tanner didn’t look intimidated by the grouchy female in front of him. “If you want my professional opinion, you should stay here. The campground isn’t the best place to sleep if someone is looking for you. I don’t know what’s happened, but I can guarantee you’ll have even more issues if you keep living out of your car. But, at the end of the day, it’s your life.”
    Tanner was wrong. It wasn’t just her life that she had to consider. Her mom and sister were relying on her in more ways than anyone knew. She had to be there for them and stay alive.
    Sophie watched Ryan out of the corner of her eye. He was leaning against the kitchen cabinets, slowly sipping his coffee.
    Sophie left the cookies in the middle of the table. “Okay. I’ll stay here for a week and see how it goes. But no one can find out that I’m living here.”
    Ryan glanced at Tanner. “Your secret’s safe with us. I’ll let Jamie and Danny know so they don’t say anything.” He put his hand inside one of the open boxes sitting on a shelf. “I guess you’ll need these now. Travel safely.” Ryan threw the keys toward her and she caught them in mid-air.
    Sophie wrapped her fingers around the pendant on the end of the chain. “I’ll be back in about two hours. If you need me, call me on my cell phone.”
    “You forgot something.”
    She frowned at Ryan’s outstretched hand.
    “Keys?”
    She patted her pocket and pulled out two sets of keys. She handed them to Ryan and went outside. She had an order to collect and more than one reason to stay by the lake.
    She just hoped Ryan didn’t mind his kitchen being used as a chemistry lab.
     
    ***
    Sophie walked into Angel Wings Café. The bell above the door jingled and three heads swiveled toward her. Two elderly women sitting beside the front window smiled, and Tess looked up from a table at the back of the room.
    “Hi Sophie. How are you?”
    “I’m great. I thought I’d come and say hello.” Sophie looked at the waitress who came across to her table. “Could I have a cappuccino, please?”
    “Would you like something to eat, as well?”
    Sophie shook her head. “No, thanks.”
    The waitress smiled. “I’ll be back soon. Help yourself to a seat.”
    “Come and sit with me,” Tess said. She closed the lid of her laptop and moved some folders off the table. “Did you find the campground?”
    “I did. It’s a nice place to stay.”
    “And what about a job?”
    Sophie put her bag beside her. She didn’t like talking about what she was doing, even with Tess. Ever since she’d left Chicago, she’d been terrified that someone would overhear a conversation and work out that she was as fake as the knockoff Gucci handbag she was carrying.
    She glanced around the room. No one was paying them any attention. “I’m working for Ryan Evans. I help in his office and do some work around the house.”
    Tess tilted her head to the side, studying Sophie like a bug under a microscope. “How did you meet Ryan?”
    “My car ran out of gas as I was driving into Bozeman. The day I met you was when Ryan