He's No Prince Charming Read Online Free PDF

warmth of the sunshine and smiled, barely resisting the urge to spin in a circle like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music. Then she laughed out loud while thinking that fatigue was probably making her a little slaphappy. But for the first time in a long while, she felt a sense of purpose and hope.

    As she crossed the gravel road, Dakota couldn’t resist looking over at Trace’s cabin, hoping she might catch a glimpse of the cranky cowboy. Her heart thumped harder when she spotted him walking, bare-chested and wearing low-slung board shorts, across his back deck. His halting gait reminded her of his leg injury, and she realized he was going for a soak in a large hot tub visible from the road. As if feeling her eyes upon him, Trace suddenly looked her way. Like a shy school-girl, Dakota averted her gaze and quickly entered the wooded trail that led down to the shoreline.

    “He’s just a guy. Stop being so silly,” she grumbled to herself as she walked down a well-worn path, but then smiled when the glistening blue lake suddenly came into view.

    With an excited intake of breath, she hurried forward but then tripped over an exposed root. She let out an alarmed cry as she thrust her arms forward in anticipation of landing hard, and fell in a puddle of mud from a recent storm. She stood up, but winced when her rubber soles sank in the muck. Something weird was on her tongue and she spit it out, dearly hoping it was a leaf. Letting out an exasperated sigh, she stood there for a minute and willed her heartbeat to slow down. So much for a leisurely stroll , she thought.

    “Are you okay?”

    Startled at the sound of the deep voice, Dakota staggered backward, but her flip-flops stayed suctioned in the mud, and she landed on her butt. She looked up at Trace as he took a step closer and frowned down at her.

    “Dakota, what exactly are you doing?”

    “Thought I’d do a little frog gigging,” she answered breezily, while attempting to wipe the mud off of her hands. “A girl’s gotta eat.”

    “Really?” he asked incredulously.

    “No!” she answered with a chuckle, and waited for him to join in, but he only frowned. “I fell, okay? I’m not normally this clumsy, but I’m a bit out of my element.”

    He nodded as if in agreement.

    Dakota tried to shake the mud off her hands, but managed to fling some onto Trace’s bare chest, which she noticed was very nicely defined. As were his abs. She cleared her throat and said, “How in the world did you get down here so fast?”

    Trace jammed a thumb over his head. “There is a direct path from the back of my deck. I heard you yell.” He crossed his arms over his chest, making his biceps bulge as big as softballs, and gave her an annoyed sigh. “Then I thought I’d better see what happened. Again.”

    Okay, that did it. She lifted her chin a notch. “I’m fine. You can go now.”

    He extended his hand but failed to smile. “Come on. My path is easier.”

    “Yeah, that’s what they all say,” she muttered. Briefly, Dakota thought about refusing his offer, but didn’t want to appear petulant, so she allowed him to help her up.

    “Follow me,” he said, but quickly released her hand and turned around before she could refuse.

    A little irritated at his attitude, Dakota felt like rushing past him, but in mud-caked flip-flops and wet jeans, it was all she could do to keep up. She also knew that her attention should be fixed on the lumpy path, but she couldn’t quite tear her gaze away from a butt you could bounce quarters off of. That’s when she tripped on another pesky root and thrust her hands out in anticipation of falling, just as Trace came to an abrupt halt on the hill.

    She was saved from falling by grabbing his butt, which felt as firm as it looked.

    Dakota quickly righted herself as he pivoted to face her. “Sorry!” She blinked up at him, but suddenly found the situation unbearably funny. “Really,” she continued, while laughter bubbled up