"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."

A huge smile lit his face. "Sweetheart, you're about to have the best five minutes of your life. So good you won't want to stop."

Holding tightly on to his hand, she allowed him to lead her back to Yogurt. Yeah, she could believe that five minutes wrapped in Josh's arms could win the Best Five Minutes of her life award. She just prayed these weren't about to be her last five minutes.


* * *

An hour later, Lexie leaned back against Josh's hard chest. With the back of her head resting against his shoulder, she tipped her face up to the sun, closed her eyes, and enjoyed the warming rays filtering through the palm frees against her skin. The only sounds were the chirping birds, the rustling leaves, and the squeak of the leather saddle as they moved slowly along the shady path.

But the sun wasn't solely responsible for the almost drugging warmth seeping through her. No, that sensation was caused by Josh. His body touching the entire length of hers. Her back to his chest. Her hips and thighs nestled snugly by his. His strong, sinewy, golden-brown forearms cradling hers. His calloused palms and fingers wrapped around hers on the leather reins.

He surrounded her like a down-filled quilt on a chilly night, infusing her with warmth and security and comfort. His heartbeat thumped against her shoulder, his chin bumped her temple with Yogurt's gently swaying gait. With him holding her like this, her nervousness hadn't lasted long. And indeed, at the end of those first five minutes, all she'd wanted was to feel more. More of sharing this experience with him. More of him showing her the proper way to hold the reins. More of feeling him pressed intimately against her back, his clean, masculine scent all around her. Him all around her.

His lips brushed against her temple. "You okay?" His warm breath caressed her cheek.

"Very okay." Turning her head, she lightly kissed his jaw. "So okay that I hereby give you permission to say it."

He didn't pretend to misunderstand, and chuckled. "I told you so."

His deep voice vibrated against her, adding another layer of warmth. Opening her eyes, she noted a flash of deep turquoise between the trees. "This path leads to the water?"

"It does. It's the reason I chose this place for your lesson. They own a stretch of private beach we can ride on. I figured you'd like that."

"How did you even know about this place? And that they owned a stretch of beach?"

"Two wonderful little inventions called the telephone and the Yellow Pages."

Surprise and pleasure washed over her at the fact that he'd gone to such trouble to arrange this outing, and not just at any stable, but one by the beach. For her.

They rounded a corner and suddenly sparkling aqua water and bright white sand stretched in front of them. "You know," he said, "I practically grew up in the saddle, but I've never ridden on a beach before."

Straightening, she smiled at him over her shoulder. "So in a way, this is a first for you, too."

He didn't return her smile. He just studied her for several long seconds with an unreadable expression. She couldn't look away from him, and her smile slowly faded, her heart thumping hard under the weight of his serious regard. Finally he said, his voice low and husky, "Yeah. This is a first for me."

Heat pulsed through her. Heat that had nothing, yet everything, to do with his nearness, his quiet dark eyes, his compelling voice. Leaning forward, he whispered in her ear, "Hang on, sweetheart. Here comes the next best five minutes of your life."

Lexie wasn't sure how it happened, but one second they were standing still, and the next they were racing across the sand, wind whipping her hair into chaos, exhilaration stealing her breath. Safe and secure in Josh's strong arms, they galloped along the shoreline, Yogurt's flashing hooves kicking up sprays of water.

She savored every second of the experience, all of her senses vibrantly alive. The strength of the man behind her and the horse beneath her. The ribbons of golden sunshine reflecting on the azure water, in sharp contrast to the stark white sand. The scent of horse and leather and tropical heat and Josh. The beach was deserted, a pristine sanctuary just for them to share.