Sweet Serenade (Riverbend Romance 3) Read Online Free PDF

taste.”
    Her fingers felt chilled where his touch no longer rested. But, yeah. She couldn’t sit and stare at him much longer. She pierced through the layers of the dessert and popped a bite into her mouth. Reed was right. This was beyond amazing.

    ~*~

    Reed parked the truck among the trees at the put-in spot. He hurried around the vehicle to open Carly’s door for her, and she rewarded him with a smile from her gorgeous mouth. He needed to stop noticing that.
    She slid out of the truck and strolled over to the riverbank. Looking downstream, she shaded her eyes.
    Good girl. She didn’t blindly trust his expertise in the canoe but expected to do her part. “Want to walk the trail first and get a feel for it?”
    Carly nodded. “Good idea.” Then she slid her hand into his.
    Reed’s heart nearly stopped before his fingers tightened around hers. Oh, man. It was going to be a very good thing they’d be sitting a meter or two apart in the canoe, plus they’d be keeping busy if they intended to stay dry. Otherwise he’d be insanely distracted.
    He led her down the portage trail, pointing out the rocks they’d need to avoid and places where the water churned beneath the surface. Enough red osier dogwood and taller trees crowded the bank that Carly sometimes seemed unable to see where he was pointing. He found himself with his arm around her and his head close to hers as she followed his finger.
    This was kind of a lot like bliss. Her floral scent mingled with the aromas of willows and water. Her red-gold hair was just as soft against his cheek as he’d dreamed about.
    He was in trouble, and he didn’t want to get out. Forget that whole going slow thing. He liked her, and he was pretty sure she liked him back.
    Running the river had been a dumb idea. All he wanted to do was talk to her and hold her close like this. Not exactly like this, but with her gazing back into his eyes, not craning her neck to see the next section of rapids.
    Time. They had lots of it. Reed took a deep breath. He was going to spend as much of it with her as he possibly could.
    Carly stepped out of his encircling arm and reached for his hand again. For a second their eyes met and the universe stopped turning. Then she smiled. “Looks like a challenging set of haystacks around the bend.”
    Haystacks. Right. Time to get his head back in the game if he didn’t want to spend the afternoon banging into rocks, damaging either his canoe or his skin. “We run this section on the east side.” He pointed out the rock formation. “We’ll need to back ferry over after that V to nail the chute.”
    She nodded. “Looks doable. The next section just looks fast. What’s after that?”
    They walked the kilometer-long portage path and talked through the strategies they’d need for running the rapids.
    “Ready to give it a try?”
    Carly swung his hand. “Absolutely.” She beamed up at him. “I’m so glad God made rivers, aren’t you?”
    Reed chuckled. This was his kind of woman. “Yep. And I’m also thankful for the guy who invented the canoe. Rivers and canoes are made for each other.”
    Their eyes caught for a long moment. He hadn’t meant to send the message he apparently had. But what was in his heart had surfaced, if only a little. He managed to grin. “Don’t you think?”
    “Oh, yes.” Her voice was barely louder than a breath. “No fighting it.”

Chapter 5

    Carly pressed her paddle across the bow of the canoe as she stepped in and knelt against the braces. The river looked different from this position than up on the bank, but she was used to that. Dad taught her to read rivers a dozen years ago. This one looked like a good run. She glanced over her shoulder as the canoe shifted.
    Reed settled against the stern seat, kneeling rather than sitting to keep the center of gravity low. He flexed his shoulders as he picked up the paddle, and his eyes gleamed. “Ready?”
    “Oh, yeah! So ready.”
    The current caught the canoe in