Page 62 of The Bad Boy Prince in Love

“Ah, this is the life!”said Luke.“Boston cream donuts and coffee for lunch.What more does a man need?”

“You haven’t told me your favorite pastry,” Hallie remarked.“Is it xuixo?”

“What!How did you know?”

She chuckled again, convincing him that she was an evil sorceress.“You had a really fond look in your eye when you talked about xuixos.”

“Damn!You’re good.”Maybe it was the coffee, but he was feeling bold, and he asked, “Do you see a fond look in my eye when I look at you?”

“Don’t push your luck,” she said.

Luke realized that going out for donuts was only a friendly gesture, and he decided not to push his luck.He needed a new plan.

Chapter 31: Taming a Wild Horse

Luke was almost outof ideas.How could he get Hallie to see him as anything other than a womanizing jerk?And it probably didn’t help that her first impression of him was that of a literally falling-down drunk.He was not an alcoholic, just a guy who liked to party once in a while.But Hallie probably wouldn’t believe a single word that came out of his mouth.

When one of the ranch hands invited him to a barbecue, Luke thought it was a good opportunity to relax and take a break from chasing that stubborn blond.

Johnny drove him to the neighboring ranch where the party had already started.It was another sweltering day, but some of the cowboys were practicing saddle bronc riding in a nearby corral.

Luke and Johnny went over to see the action, grabbing a couple of beers on their way.Pretty soon, they were chatting with the owner of the ranch, a guy in his thirties called Paul and a few of his buddies.

Luke noticed one of Travis’s friends who had threatened him that time at the dance.He was a little leery at first, wondering if another fight was inevitable as the big guy came towards him.

“You’re Ken, Travis’s friend, right?”

“Yeah, nice to see you again.I gotta say, you gave him quite a walloping, but he doesn’t hold it against you, and neither do I.Let bygones be bygones, I say.”

“I agree,” Luke said, shaking his hand.He didn’t want to hold a grudge against Travis, so he was okay with that.

He watched the bucking horses burst out of the chute as the cowboys swayed and lurched on the mighty animals’ backs.It was pretty remarkable to see it up close.

“Would you like to have a go?”Paul asked, looking at Luke.

“Uh...no thanks.I feel kind of bad about the horses being tied with those straps.”He didn’t forget that people were likely to take offense at his criticism, but he didn’t care.