Rising, she slipped on her short, pale blue satin robe, noting as she tied the sash around her waist that Josh's clothes were no longer on the floor. She padded down the hallway and sighed in appreciation when the scent of fresh-brewed coffee wafted toward her from the kitchen. She entered the room, a smile on her lips, but Josh wasn't there. Instead she discovered a note printed on a napkin next to the coffeemaker. She quickly scanned the words.


Good morning, Sleepyhead,

Your cupboard was sort of bare, and for reasons that are entirely your fault, I'm in need of a substantial breakfast. Be back soon with the grub.

Josh


She grinned at the big smiley face he'd drawn next to his name, then poured herself a much-needed cup of coffee. Opening the sliding patio door, she stepped out onto the deck. She loved to spend the mornings on her days off out here, sitting on the comfy green-and-peach-striped lounger, drinking coffee and perusing the newspaper. After settling herself, she enjoyed her first sip as her gaze zeroed in on the hot tub.

A wealth of sensual memories ambushed her and she expelled a long, satisfied sigh. Holy cow. Last night had been… amazing. Even more so than the previous night. Yet more than just amazing. Because they'd shared so much more than just physical intimacy. She and Josh had talked and laughed and joked. Shared childhood and work-related anecdotes. Fed each other popcorn during their hot-tub soak. They'd had fun together. Which was great since fun was rule number one for a fling.

It had been a long time since she'd thought of lovemaking as fun. While she'd enjoyed her physical relationship with Tony, he wasn't one to talk much before; during or after. Josh, on the other hand, had no qualms about asking if he was pleasing her and telling her what pleased him. And he wasn't afraid to laugh, as he had when, during a passionate kiss in the hot tub, her cat Scout had jumped up onto the ledge and interrupted them by meowing loudly next to Josh's ear.

And while sex with Tony had been good, sex with Josh was… incredible. There was a chemistry between them that she'd never experienced before. An intimacy and spark that simultaneously thrilled and frightened her. Thrilled her because she'd clearly chosen the perfect lover with whom to indulge in a fling. And frightened her because it was growing increasingly difficult to ignore the little voice in her head that kept saying, If you think this is just sex, you're an idiot. You're speeding straight toward a head-on collision with heartbreak.

Her eyes slid closed and she blew out a sigh. Damn that annoying little voice. Why couldn't it just shut up and let her have some fun?

I won't shut up because I'm right. And in your heart, you know it.

Another sigh. How could she deny it? She liked Josh. A lot. It was one thing to like a fling-guy in bed, but she liked him just as much out of bed. And the more time she spent with him-both in and out of bed-the more she liked him. In an unwanted, ever-increasing way that could indeed lead to heartbreak. But she couldn't seem to put the brakes on her feelings. It didn't matter that she repeatedly reminded herself that he lived and owned a ranch thousands of miles away from Florida-her home that she had no intention of leaving.

And even if, by some geographical miracle, Montana and Florida were only minutes apart, there was no getting around the fact that Josh was, by no stretch of the imagination, the non-danger-loving accountant/insurance-salesman type. Good grief, he'd spent half his life getting tossed off the backs of huge bucking beasts! And now, here he was, his mind set on conquering the seven seas with a gritty-eyed determination she recognized all too well, thanks to Tony.

"He's my transition man," she muttered. "Nothing more. Fun, wild and temporary."

Yeah, right, her inner voice snickered.

Well, he was. And if it weren't for the fact that she needed the extra money he was paying her for lessons, she'd tell him to get lost. Take a hike.

Yeah, right.

"Good morning," came Josh's deep voice from the patio doorway. "Napping already?"

Opening her eyes, her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him. Freshly shaved and dressed in a snowy T-shirt and snug jeans faded in all the right places, he looked big and tall and lean and good enough to lick. Again.

Smiling she said, "Good morning. Not napping. Just lounging and enjoying the morning sun."

He crossed the deck then sat on the edge of her lounge chair. Leaning down, he kissed her with a lingering, gentle perfection that stole her breath. When he lifted his head, she felt so drugged, she had to struggle to lift her eyelids. "Wow," she whispered. "You're really good at that."

Her heart stuttered at the compelling expression in his dark eyes. "So are you." He brushed his fingers over her lips. "You have the most beautiful mouth I've ever seen. I can't tell you how much sleep I've lost since I met you, fantasizing about that mouth."

He looked so serious, she felt the need to lighten the mood-before she blurted out something inappropriate and stupid like, You're the most beautiful man I've ever seen and I think I'm falling head over heels for you. Clearing her throat, she forced what she hoped passed for a sexy, lighthearted smile. "Well, my mouth made you lose some sleep last night."

"Honey, your mouth about stopped my heart last night." He picked up her hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a kiss into her palm. "In fact, the entire night about stopped my heart."

His warm breath drifted over her skin, and the intense, almost troubled expression in his eyes stilled her. Was he feeling it, too? This unsettling, growing unease that their fling could turn into something more?

She was spared the need to reply, just as well as it seemed someone had tied a big knot in her tongue, when he appeared to shake off his seriousness and smiled. "I stopped at the resort to change and pick up a few things for our sailing lesson. Then I hit the grocery store. No offense, but the contents of your refrigerator looked like a food museum."

Embarrassment heated her face. "Sorry. Free meals are one of the perks of working at the resort, so I don't keep much on hand here. I usually shop on my day off, which is today. It's on my list of things to do."

"Well, cross it off your list 'cause it's done. I bought bacon, eggs, muffins, pancake mix, syrup-all the fixin's for a hearty country breakfast." Her dismay must have shown because he asked, "That okay?"

"It's fine. It's just that… well, I'm afraid I'm not that great in the kitchen. Pouring a bowl of cereal is about as fancy as I get for breakfast. I suppose I could scorch some toast if I really had to."

"You don't cook?"

Humph. Obviously he didn't feel that pouring cereal and scorching toast fell into the realm of "cooking." Well, too bad. "I'm sort of the anti-cook."

He rose and pulled her to her feet. Taking her into his arms, he dropped a quick kiss on her nose. "Lucky for you, I'm a great cook."

She squeezed her eyes shut. No. Impossible. He simply could not be gorgeous, funny, charming, nice, sexy, and know how to cook. "You're joking."

"Darlin', I might kid about a lot of things, but food preparation is not one of them. Cowboys take their grub very seriously." He started toward the kitchen, tugging lightly on her hand. "C'mon. I'll make you a breakfast guaranteed to knock your socks off."

She followed him into the kitchen, shaking her head. Great. Just what she needed-another reason to like him.

And damn it, he'd already knocked a heck of a lot more than her socks off.


* * *

Josh leaned back in the comfortable kitchen chair. Over the rim of his yellow ceramic coffee mug, he watched Lexie finish her last bite of pancake, her eyes closed in rapture, a purr of satisfaction rumbling in her throat. If there was one thing he liked, it was a woman who enjoyed food. And he'd never met one who looked more decadent and downright sexy while she ate than Lexie.

"That was, by far, the best breakfast I've eaten in a long time," she said, tapping her napkin against her lips. "Definitely beats cold cereal."

"Glad you enjoyed it. But I thought you got free meals at the resort."

"I do. But I usually eat a light breakfast. Fruit, maybe a muffin. I don't have much time in the morning before the early activities start. Besides, big meals make me sleepy."

"Great! Wanna go to bed?" He waggled his brows in an exaggerated leer.

She laughed, then batted her eyelashes in an equally outrageous fashion. "Why, Mr. Maynard. Are you trying to seduce me?"

"Every chance I get." He glanced down at his watch and shook his head with genuine regret. "Except right now. It's getting late. There's just enough time for me to clean up the dishes while you get dressed. Wear comfortable jeans."

She raised her brows. "Jeans? For sailing?"

"No, jeans for your surprise. We can start the sailing lessons later this afternoon."

"Surprise? What surprise?"

"Now if I told you that, it wouldn't be a surprise."

Leaning toward her, he allowed himself a quick taste of her sweet mouth, then rose before he gave in to temptation and chucked all his fine plans for the rest of the morning. Rising, he carried their dirty dishes to the sink, then turned on the faucet.

She followed him, peering into the sink. "Don't tell me you wash dishes, too."

"Well, only if they don't fit in the dishwasher."

She swiveled her head to look at him. "You load the dishwasher?"

"Unless you've got dishes that know how to hop in there all by themselves." He gave her a gentle swat on the butt. "Go get dressed so we're not late."

"Will you give me a hint what this surprise is?"

"Only that you're gonna love it." He laughed at her skeptical look. "I promise."


* * *

"What the hell is that?"

Lexie looked at the huge beast eyeballing her with unmistakable suspicion and experienced a sensation that felt unpleasantly like an all-over body cramp. Oh, boy. She had a real bad feeling about this.

"That is a horse," Josh said with a smile, running his hand over the animal's glossy brown neck. A teenage boy stood next to the animal, holding the reins. "And I'm going to teach you how to ride her."

"Like hell." Sweat popped out on her brow. "Look, Josh, remember how I told you I'd never been on a horse? Well, that's not exactly accurate. I tried riding. Once. I was eight. I spent thirty seconds on the horse, ten seconds sailing through the air, then six weeks with a cast on my broken arm."

Understanding dawned in his eyes. "You were thrown. And you've been afraid of horses ever since."

The horse pawed at the ground and breathed out a loud snort. Lexie took two hasty steps backward and nodded. "That's it in a nutshell, yup."

"Sort of like the way I got bit on the ass by that snake and never learned to swim."

"I suppose," she admitted grudgingly. "But unlike you, I suffer from B.F.C. Syndrome, a condition that makes it impossible for me to get on a horse."

Instant concern clouded his eyes. "B.F.C. Syndrome? What is that? Some sort of allergy?"

"Big Fat Chicken Syndrome. I'm afraid my case is fatal."

He looked heavenward, muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, "Women! Can't live with 'em, can't kill 'em," then erased the several yards between them. Resting his hands on her shoulders he said, "You taught me what you're good at. Let me teach you what I'm good at."

"I thought what you were good at was getting tossed off the back of bucking Brahman bulls. No thanks."

"Actually, what I was good at was staying on the back of bucking Brahman bulls. This is not a bull. It's a horse. A very sweet, gentle, docile horse."

Her gaze alternated between his earnest face and the horse, who, she had to admit, appeared pretty docile. At the moment. "What's its name?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head as if in pain. "Believe it or not, somebody named this gorgeous animal… Yogurt."

The horse tossed its head and snorted. Josh nodded in clear commiseration. "I know, baby. I feel your pain with that one." He shook his head again, muttering, "Yogurt. Good God."

"Well, that settles it," Lexie said. "I cannot possibly ride a horse named Yogurt."

"Why not?"

"I'm lactose intolerant."

A tiny smile twitched his lips. "If I can bring myself to ride a horse named Yogurt, so can you."