In Over His Head

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.'

'That's the problem. I can't ride a horse by any name. You can. You're a cowboy. You could ride a horse named Bone Crusher.' She took a few more steps backward. 'Besides, you're brave. I'm a-'

'B.F.C.?'

She narrowed her eyes at him. 'Are you calling me fat?'

He settled his hands on his hips, looking skyward. 'No. And don't think I don't recognize one of those 'girl trap' questions when I hear one.' Taking her hands, he gave them what she was certain he meant as a reassuring squeeze.

'Lexie. You're nervous. I understand. But if I didn't honestly think you would love this, if I didn't know you'd be perfectly safe, I wouldn't ask you to try it. Remember what you told me during our first lesson, about how having an experienced instructor will give you the confidence to overcome your fears? Give it five minutes. Give me five minutes. Let me show you how exhilarating riding can be. I'll be sitting right behind you, my arms around you. I swear I won't let anything happen to you. If, after five minutes, you hate it, we'll stop.'

Looking up into his handsome, earnest face, her heart performed a slow somersault. How could she possibly refuse him? Besides, with Josh right behind her, his strong arms around her, she'd probably forget she was even on a horse. Probably.

Disgusted for feeling like such a total wimp, but unable to stop the question, she asked, 'You won't let go of me?'

'I won't let go of you,' he promised softly, his eyes filled with an expression that stalled her breath.

Swallowing hard, she summoned her courage, then jerked her head in a nod. 'All right. I guess I can stand anything for five minutes.'