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straight for his room. After closing the door, he leaned against the wood panel and shut his eyes. How was he going to get through another three days with her torturing him at every turn?

Chapter 6
     
    Jamie found Tate cooking breakfast in the small kitchen the next morning.
    “Hey.” He turned from the stove with two heaping plates of eggs, bacon and toast. “Glad you ’re up. C’mon. I thought we’d eat out on the patio.”
    He was dressed in a pair of faded blue jeans and a white button shirt open showing off his broad chest. She shivered as she caught a glimpse of the line of dark curls running from his pecks down between his six-pack to disappear under the open top button of his low-riding jeans.
    Sweet Jesus!
    She swallowed hard and followed him out the French door to the small round table, where he’d already put butter, silverware and mugs for coffee. “You should’ve gotten me up.”
    He set the plates on the table and pulled out one of the cushioned chairs for her. “Nah. I figured you needed to sleep after last night.”
    S he sat and picked up the carafe of coffee and poured some in their mugs. Trying desperately to keep her eyes off his chest as he sat across from her, she looked out over the lake. “I’m sorry that I kinda lost it. Thanks for staying with me last night.”
    “I’m sorry you had to find out like that. Iq thought he’d have told you...” He shook his head and leaned back in his chair. “If you’d like to leave? I’ll call John to come and pick us up.”
    The lake glittered like a million flashing lights in the morning sun. Lush green mountains surrounded the water. Overhead, an eagle soared on the warm breeze. The view was breathtaking and she suddenly never wanted to leave. She picked up her mug with her left hand, the sun reflecting off the three-carat diamond on her ring finger. The setting was way too fancy for her and she rarely wore the thing, but she’d slipped it on yesterday morning after she talked to Tate on the phone. It was the symbol of her commitment to Robbie, but she was glad he wasn’t here.
    Meeting Tate’s intense green eyes, she realized a terrible truth. She was glad Tate had kidnapped her, and she wasn’t ready to leave quite yet.
    “No. Daddy was right. I need a vacation. Let’s enjoy the days we’ve got here, but when we get home, my father and I are having a nice long talk.”
    He picked up his fork and a slice of toast. “Your dad’s tough, Jamie. I know he’ll beat this thing.”
    “I hope so.” She looked at the plate of food and her belly growled. She was suddenly starving. As she dug into her eggs over medium--cooked just the way she liked them--she smiled. “So, Mr. Travel Agent, what do you have planned for me today?”
    He chuckled and pointed toward the lake with his fork. “See that waterfall on the other side of the lake?”
    In the misty distance, water cascaded from the river feeding the lake. “Yeah.”
    “ If I remember correctly, you’d mentioned something about tanning? That would be the perfect place to do so.”
    She swallowed a bite of her eggs. “So would that beautiful beach right here. ”
    He shrugged and finished his breakfast. “Sure, but if we take a boat to get there, then it’s more of an adventure. The pictures of the fall are beautiful.”
    “Why can’t we just drive over there?” She finished her toast.
    “Apparently there’s no access road to it. The only way is to boat there.”
    “And you know how to boat us across the lake?” As far as she knew, Tate knew nothing about boats. “Why can’t we just ride horses over there? I know they offer trail riding up the in the mountains.”
    “Can’t be too hard to figure out, can it.” He sipped his coffee. “Besides, I thought we’d go riding tomorrow. Taking a boat sounds fun.”
    ****
    Jamie had tried her level best to convince Tate to ride horses over to the fall, but the pigheaded idiot was determined he could drive a boat across the lake.