How was it that her breakup with Tony-a man she'd loved and had planned to marry-hadn't come close to hurting like this.

Because you didn't love Tony the way you love Josh. Because with Tony you knew you'd done the right thing and this time you're not so sure.

Okay, the damn voice had to go. In an effort to shut it up, she pulled the newspaper toward her and flipped through the pages. A small item on page ten caught her attention: Swimmer Suffers Shark Bite. She scanned the words. A fifteen-year-old boy required seventy-two stitches to close a wound to his calf when a shark attacked him the day before in the shallows off a beach about ten miles from the Whispering Palms.

Josh's words came back to her in rush. Sharks are dangerous… a bull might break your leg, but he won't bite it off… every time I see you going off in that boat for a scuba excursion, my gut gets tight. But I wouldn't ask you not to do it.

A frown pulled down her brows. Maybe he'd had a point. Maybe her job did involve some danger. But surely nothing like climbing onto the back of a pissed-off, two-ton bull. Every time her mind replayed the TV footage of him riding that beast, the butterflies in her stomach grew queasy.

The phone rang and, relieved to have her thoughts interrupted, she reached over to snag the handset from the counter. "Hello?"

"Lexie, it's Darla."

Her heart fluttered at Darla's voice. Could this be the call she'd been hoping for? She'd made her offer on the piece of land yesterday, but she hadn't expected to hear back so soon. "Do you have news?"

"I do."

Even though Darla only spoke those two words, something in her tone skittered dread down Lexie's spine. "Please don't keep me in suspense."

"I'm afraid that the owner accepted another offer, Lexie. I'm so sorry."

"Another offer?" she echoed in confusion. "But I offered the asking price!"

"And unfortunately another buyer offered more."

"Well, I'll just make another, even higher, offer," she said, her mind frantically trying to calculate how much more she could afford to spend.

"There's nothing we can do. The owner has already accepted the other offer."

This could not be happening. Lexie pressed her palm against her forehead in a vain effort to stem the throb setting up behind her eyes. "Maybe the other deal will fall through?" she suggested in a hopeful voice.

"That is, of course, always a possibility," Darla said slowly, "and I would certainly let you know, but I don't want you to get your hopes up, Lex. The other buyer is paying cash, so the deal can close quickly. Within a few weeks."

"I see." She felt like a balloon someone had just let all the air out of. "Who's the buyer?"

"I don't know… but does it really matter?" Darla asked, her tone gentle and sympathetic.

Darla had a point. "No."

"Listen. I'm going to scour the listings and we're going to find you another piece of land. A better piece. I'll print out some possibilities today at work, then we'll go out for dinner tonight and look them over. There's a lot of land for sale in Florida, Lex."

True. But she'd only wanted one, tiny piece of it. One tiny specific piece. And now it was gone. "Thanks, Darla, but-"

"No buts. We're going out tonight and that's final. I'm showing up at your door at six sharp. Wear something sexy, because after dinner we're hitting a few clubs."

"But-"

"No buts. The only excuse I'll accept is if you already have a date with Ben Affleck. Do you?"

"No." The word came out as a snarl.

"Then chin up, and I'll see you at six."

Before Lexie could say another word, the dial tone sounded in her ear. Clicking off the phone, she closed her eyes, then dragged her hands down her face.

She wanted to cry, to scream out her frustration, maybe even get up and smash a coffee cup or two, but she remained dry-eyed, silent and seated, trying to come to grips with the numbing, knee-buckling fact that her dream of building her house on her cove was gone.

She wasn't certain how long she stared off into space before the insistent ringing of her doorbell roused her. She rose and made her way to the door on leaden legs. With the way her luck was running, this was probably someone coming to tell her that her car had fallen into a sinkhole.

But what the heck. Her heart was broken, her land was gone, and she forgot to apply sunscreen yesterday so her damn nose was peeling. How much worse could this day from hell get?

She pulled open the door and instantly discovered the answer.

A whole lot worse.

Chapter 12

Lexie stared at Josh, standing on her porch. Josh with his weight propped on a pair of crutches, his right leg wrapped from the knee down in a cast, and a hell of a shiner surrounding his right eye.

What on earth had happened? When she'd seen him on TV, he'd been fine. Had he competed in another rodeo?

She ruthlessly cut off the barrage of questions and gave herself a mental slap. Not your problem, Lex.

Yup, what a relief this guy was no longer on her radar screen-him and his cast and crutches and bruises. 'Cause if he were still on her radar screen, her stomach would be clenching and her heart thumping at the sight of his injuries. And she didn't feel the least bit clenched or thumped. Nope. Not a bit. And the fact that she couldn't find her voice around the lump in her throat? Just an aberration. And that moisture pushing behind her eyes? Just the fact that she hadn't dusted lately.

Raising her gaze from his cast, their eyes met. Dozens of memories she'd thought she'd sorta, kinda, almost filed away under "the past" bounced through her mind. Damn it, why did he have to darken her doorstep and resurrect those images she'd worked so hard to bury?

A sheepish half grin pulled up one corner of his mouth, flashing that damn sexy dimple. "Are you going to invite me in?"

She wanted to say no. Wanted to slam the door in his face, to shut him out of her life and mind. Whatever his reason was for blowing through town and stopping by and flashing his dimple, she didn't want any part of it. Because he would just leave again. How many times was she expected to bear the pain of saying goodbye to him?

Raising her brows, she lifted her chin and forced a coolness into her voice. "I suppose I'd better invite you in. If I don't you might lose your balance on those crutches and topple into the flower bed." She stepped back to give him room to enter the foyer.

"Thanks." The rubber tips of his crutches sounded a soft splat against the ceramic tile.

"Would you like some coffee?" she asked, closing the door, trying her darnedest to ignore her traitorous heart, which seemed to thump out in Morse code, He's here! He's here!

"Coffee would be great."

She followed him into the kitchen, absolutely not noticing how at-home he looked in her house, instead forcing herself to note the fact that he handled himself on those crutches like a pro. No doubt due to lots of past practice from a long line of rodeo-related injuries. Yup, good thing he was no longer her problem. She might love him, but that would fade in time.

Yeah, like in a hundred years, her inner voice snickered. While he settled himself in the kitchen chair he'd always occupied during their fling, she measured out scoops of fragrant grinds into the filter. Why was he here? And why didn't he say something? She at least had a reason for her silence-the big lump blocking her throat. What was his excuse?

She added water, then switched the coffeemaker on. Unable to put it off any longer, she turned around and faced him. Their eyes met. Just looking at him, her heart tumbled down to her toes, taking her stomach and a few other vital organs along for the ride.

When he still remained silent, annoyance trickled through her. Whatever he wanted, it was time he spoke up. Then left her alone. And clearly she was the one who was going to have to get things moving along here.

She cleared her throat. "So you injured yourself in the rodeo. I have to admit, I'm having a very hard time not saying 'I told you so.'" Humph. Take that and stick it in your Stetson, hotshot.

"Didn't get hurt in the rodeo."

She pointedly eyed his cast. "Slipped on the deck while sailing the Mediterranean?"

"Nope. I fell at the airport. Here. Last night. Tripped over my damn duffel bag." He leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. "Was all your fault, I'll have you know."

Her eyes goggled. "My fault? That you tripped?"

He nodded solemnly. "I'd set down my bag to dig out my cell phone. I was dialing your number when, through the windows, I saw this gal getting into a cab. I didn't see her face, but she had your curly brown hair. I thought it was you-"

"It wasn't."

"I realized that when she turned her head, but unfortunately I'd already started forward. I tripped on my duffel and went down like a hog-tied calf. What followed was more embarrassing than anything I've ever faced. People all gatherin' around and starin', then the ambulance arriving. Talk about feeling like the south end of a horse." He shook his head. "I spent the whole friggin' night in the emergency room getting X-rayed and outfitted in this cast. Definitely not the way I'd hoped to spend the evening. I would have called you, but I, uh, know how you feel about getting calls from the hospital. So I waited until I was discharged, and… here I am."

"Yes, here you are." Looking big and vital and wonderful, albeit bruised, making her heart perform acrobatic leaps. "May I ask why you're here?"

Without taking his gaze from her, he slowly rose, then hobbled toward her. He stopped when only a foot separated them, then leaned forward, bracing his hands on the countertop on either side of her, caging her in. She pressed her backside harder against the counter, but there was no escaping, unless she wanted to give him a shove. Given the facts that he was injured, and her traitorous body was very happy to have him standing so close, she opted against the shove. Instead she gazed into his serious eyes and prayed he couldn't hear her heart pounding.

"I'm here," he said in a low, husky voice, "because this is where you are. And where you are, is where I want to be."

Elation and something akin to panic collided in her. Clearly he wanted to continue their fling. And while her body and mind were all for it, her heart wanted no part of the inevitable battering it would receive when he left again. And damn it, she resented that he obviously believed he could just pop into town and drop by. As if they were still involved. As if their fling hadn't ended.

Forcing a calm detachment that surely deserved an Academy Award, she said, "Is that so. And how long are you in town for this time, cowboy?"

His gaze never wavered. "That depends."

"On what?"

"You."

The intensity of his gaze burned her. Heat emanated from his body and although he hadn't touched her, she still felt scorched. His clean, masculine scent filled her head, notching up her temperature another few degrees. She had to resist the urge to fan herself.

No doubt about it, he was potent, and his nearness was nearly impossible to resist. It would be so easy to fall back into his arms, to touch him and to be with him, to resume their fling. But nothing between them had changed.

She raised her chin. "I fail to see how I would affect the length of your stay. Our relationship ended a month ago."

"No. A month ago, I had to leave. Now I don't have to. Unless…"

"Another rodeo comes along?"

"No. Unless you want me to. And even then, I gotta tell ya, you're going to have a hell of a time gettin' rid of me."

A flicker of hope sparked in her chest, but she ruthlessly extinguished the tiny flame like a blown-out candle atop a birthday cake. "Look, Josh. I'm not interested in another temporary fling."

Whatever reaction she'd expected from him, it certainly wasn't the relief-filled smile that relaxed his features. "Well, now that's exactly what I wanted to hear. 'Cause I'm not interested in another temporary fling, either. And not to put too fine a point on it, but I believe we'd agreed at some point that we were dating."

"And it didn't work out. And nothing about our situation has changed. I don't understand-"

"Oh, but everything about our situation has changed," he broke in.

"Really? How do you figure that?"

"Well, for starters, I've hung up my spurs for good." Clearly her doubt showed, for he added softly, "And I can only ask that you take my word on that, Lexie. I don't make promises I can't keep, and my rodeo days are done. Not because I have to, but because I want to. I beat Wes Handly in Monaco, and set a new record while I was at it. I'll always love the rodeo, but it's time to move on." His gaze rested on hers. "To other things I love."