Page 8 of The Bad Boy Prince in Love

He certainly did, just not in the way she wanted.The poor sap!He couldn’t have known he was supposed to disgust and shock her parents.

“You’ve done pretty well for an alien replica,” Hallie replied.

“A what?”he asked, eyebrows coming together in a perplexed frown.

She walked past him to catch the fresh morning air on the porch.It smelled like horses, fresh manure, and grass with a hint of dew.

“I’m really sorry about last night,” Luke said.He followed her outside into the warm morning, standing annoyingly just behind her shoulder.“Did I say something wrong?”

Hallie smirked.“Well, no.You didsing.”

“I sang?Then you have my deepest apologies.”

Hallie chuckled as she leaned forward against the rounded wooden beam that served as a railing, and he joined her.

“But something tells me I did something wrong this morning too,” he suggested, trying to catch her eye.

Hallie stared straight ahead at the barns and pastures.“I just thought you would be more...”

“More what?”

“Never mind.”

“Oh, you mean more hung over?Actually, I was, but I can usually pass for a decent fellow thanks to my ‘quick sobering up’ kit.”

“What’s that?”

“A kit every man should have.”

Only Hallie wished he didn’t have it.

“It’s weird,” she mumbled, “even your breath is fresh.But you were so hammered.”

He laughed heartily.“My sister is freaked out by it too, only she calls it ‘Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde’.I like your alien theory, though.”

“Thanks,” Hallie said bitterly.

“Look, why don’t we start over?”he offered.

Wow, he was being polite, considerate, kind...exactly the kind of guy she didn’t need at the moment.

“Sorry, I don’t think it’s going to work,” Hallie said.“It was a stupid idea, bringing you here.”

“I think it was a great idea,” he said, stretching his arms up as he looked over the landscape.

“Don’t get too comfortable,” she warned.

“You haven’t even given me a chance,” Luke said, leaning into her field of vision.His smooth hair hung down attractively as his grinning face radiated almost palpable currents of charm.“Come on, what do you have to lose?”

“My time,” Hallie retorted.

She wasn’t sure why he wanted to pose as her boyfriend so badly.Was a free stay at the ranch that appealing to him?Maybe he didn’t have anywhere else to go.His boozy lifestyle could account for that situation.

“I could lend you a couple of hundred dollars,” she said, “until you sort yourself out.”

“Huh?”He looked perplexed again.It was strange, most people had a stupid expression when they were confused, but his handsome face held a hint of liveliness, which saved him from looking like a complete idiot.

“I mean, if you need a place to stay...”she mumbled, fearing she had made some kind of goof-up.