Lakeside Love (A Mill Creek Crossing Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page B

comfortable chatting with this good looking man.
     
    “I own a real estate company. We buy and renovate homes, and then resell them for profit. I need to get my name in the hands of more homeowners and buyers. Interested in chatting about it?” he asked.
     
    “Sure. But don’t think I’ve forgotten you didn’t answer my question.”
     
    “What question?”
     
    “About your story. You’ve heard mine, but what about yours?” she asked leaning back and crossing her arms.
     
    “I don’t know if you have enough time to hear mine,” he said shaking his head.
     
    “Try me.”
     
     

Chapter 5
     
    Dylan successfully deflected Erica’s question when he “accidentally” spilled wine on the counter. Realizing he obviously didn’t want to talk about it, she let him off the hook. It was getting late, and she had to find a way home.
     
    “You look tired. Ready to get home?” he asked as if reading her mind. It was only nine o’clock in the evening, but she was tired. This was the most activity she’d had in days, but it was also the most fun.
     
    “Actually, yes. But, I’m not sure how I will get there now,” she said with a laugh as she looked at her mangled leg and the dark night sky.
     
    “I could drive you, but it would be much faster going back across the lake,” he said standing up.
     
    “Across the lake? At night?” she asked, terrified by the experience earlier in the evening. Sensing her fear, he put his hand on her shoulder.
     
    “Listen, I know you don’t know me very well yet, but I wouldn’t suggest it if I didn’t think it was safe. I looked at the weather on my phone, and that storm is long gone. But we don’t have to if you…”
     
    “No, it’s okay. I trust you,” she said without thinking. How could she trust a man she just met? It dawned on her she’d never said those words to Max. It was almost like she always knew, at some level, that she didn’t trust Max.
     
    “You do?” he asked cocking his head.
     
    “Yes. Why? Are you saying I shouldn’t trust you, Dylan?” she asked smiling as she stood up and hobbled toward the back door.
     
    “Of course not,” he said in a sinister voice as he laughed maniacally. His dramatics had her in hysterics again as they made their way onto his screened porch and down the four steps leading into the backyard. Thankfully, his outdoor lighting lit up a path straight to the lake.
     
    “Hey, where’s the kayak?” she asked once they reached the shore.
     
    “That’s a good question,” he asked with a hand on his hip as he scanned the lake. The bright moonlight had replaced the storms from earlier, and she could see his beautiful blue eyes sparkling.
     
    Trying to occupy her wandering mind, she looked across the lake too and finally saw the kayak bobbing up and down in the middle. She couldn’t contain her laugher anymore as she saw the irony of the situation they were in. Here he had saved her from being stranded in the middle of the lake, and now his poor kayak was bobbing around in the middle.
     
    “Oh, you think this is funny, huh?” he said bumping her shoulder with his. The touch was enough to send tingles down her spine. What was this man doing to her?
     
    “Kind of,” she admitted.
     
    “You’re a little sadistic, aren’t you?” he said laughing.
     
    “Not normally, but it’s been a rough week. I’m so sorry this happened to you…” she said feeling terribly bad her afternoon canoe excursion had caused such strife in his world.
     
    “Well, there’s only one thing to do now,” he said as he quickly took his shirt off. Before she knew it, he was standing beside her, muscles and six pack abs lit up by the bright moon. He didn’t have the typical “city boy” body that Max did. No, he had a rugged, masculine body that only came with country boys.
     
    “What are you doing?” she yelped as she stepped back and almost fell over a rock. Falling forward, he caught her against his chest. For a