Tanner was probably asking for trouble.
Okay, he was definitely asking for trouble, but right then, he didn’t much care. Something about her seemed to shake all the good sense right out of his head. She brought out the impulsiveness that he thought he’d left behind with his early rodeo days, and for some reason he didn’t want to fight it.
Madeline, on the other hand, seemed determined to fight it for him. He could practically see her earlier resolve cool the warmth that was there when she’d laughed a second ago.
Back to square one, he thought grimly.
Stepping back, she shook her head decisively. “I’m not going to get my purse, thank you, and I’m definitely not going out to eat with you.”
She said it as though he’d suggested they skinny-dip in the town’s memorial fountain at high noon. It hit him all wrong, especially after the playfulness they’d just had. He crossed his arms and scowled at her. “And why is that?”
“Tanner, I thought I made this clear. I don’t want to be seen with you. If you hadn’t wooed me with promises of free yard work, you wouldn’t even be here now.” She blew out a short breath, stirring the loose hairs around her face. “It was a stupid move on my part, and I’m not going to make it worse by going out with you.”
He gritted his teeth together. Well, if that didn’t beat all. Here he was, offering to feed the woman after slaving away in her yard all day, and suddenly she was acting like she’d as soon dine with a raccoon than eat with him.
What had happened to the fun, sexy stranger he’d spent the night with? The chemistry was still there; that was for damn sure. He’d seen the widening of her eyes and the quick rise of her chest when he’d trapped her against the cabinet. He’d felt the pull between them, clear as day.
But something else was in her eyes now as she looked at him with her chin lifted and her shoulders ramrod straight. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say it looked a lot like regret. Why? For having him over now, or for tangling with him in the first place?
Hell, she probably thought she was too good for someone like him, what with her fancy car, designer clothes, and Ivy League education. She saw little more than a man in a sweat-stained tee shirt and old, worn-out jeans and boots—his favorites, of course—sullying her kitchen while his old Chevy hunkered in her driveway.
He shook his head, wondering why he had bothered when she’d so clearly wanted to avoid him this morning. Pride and the love of a good challenge were a dangerous mix of personality traits.
“Thank you for the clarification,” he said tersely. “My apologies for imposing myself on you. You can rest assured I won’t do it again.”
With a curt tip of his hat—manners were manners—he turned on his heel and stalked outside, letting the screen door slam behind him. He paused long enough to gather up the last two bags of lawn debris before making his way around the house to his truck. He tossed the bags in the back with more force than necessary before slamming the tailgate shut with a satisfying thud.
He wasn’t used to rejection. Women liked him, and he liked them. But this was more than just a woman turning down his attentions. Madeline was something different. There was a sizzle between them that had robbed him of his better judgment. Spending time with her gave him the same sort of risky thrill riding a bucking bronco always had—a feeling he’d missed like hell since leaving the circuit.
Even so, he’d be damned if he’d butt in where he wasn’t wanted.
He walked around to the driver’s side door and pulled it open, ignoring the familiar squeak of the old hinges. The truck had belonged to his father, and he loved everything about the old rust bucket. And really, after all his years on the circuit, Tanner could relate to the truck’s wheezes and groans.
He put one foot up on the running board when the sound of his name brought him up short. Glancing up, he saw Madeline jogging around the side of the house, her ponytail swinging. He narrowed his eyes but stayed where he was. Now what? He rested his elbows on the ledge of the open window and waited for her to reach him.
She stopped just on the other side of the car door. “That came out all wrong,” she said, a little out of breath. She paused to draw in a steadying lungful of air before setting her golden gaze squarely on him. “It’s not you. I’m just…overly protective of my reputation here.”
“Ah, the old ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ line,” he drawled, one eyebrow lifted.
“I’m serious,” she said, stepping closer in her earnestness and setting one hand on the door ledge beside his elbow. “I like you, and I’m sorry if I came across as ungrateful or rude, but it was a shock having my coworkers dissect my personal life. This merger is the biggest thing ever to happen to my career, and I won’t derail it by losing my colleagues’ respect.”
He wanted to make another smart remark but stifled it. It was big of her to come after him like this, and he really couldn’t fault her for not wanting to be gossiped about. He’d spent his entire adult life doing the same. “People won’t respect you less for making friends, Madeline.”
She gave a short laugh. “Is that what we’re doing?” she said wryly. “I want the people here to take me seriously, and I don’t think that’ll happen if I get involved with the local heartthrob. I’m not giving all the local Tanner fans further reason to hate me, thank you very much.”
“Heartthrob?” he said, letting out a crack of laughter. “I suppose I should be flattered.”
Rolling her eyes, she said, “As if you didn’t know what the women in this town think of you.” Her lips tugged into a small grin.
“I’m more interested in what you think of me,” he replied lightly, only half teasing. “But all that aside, you, Miss Harper, jumped to conclusions.”
Her eyebrows tilted up. “About what?”
“You assumed that I was ignoring the fact that you wanted to stay beneath the gossip radar. I understand that you don’t want to draw attention to us, and I respect that.”
“But you asked me to go out to eat with you. How else was I to interpret that? There are like two restaurants in this whole town. It’d be impossible not to be seen.”
“Now, see, that’s where you’re wrong,” he said, letting the words percolate in a bit of mystery. He climbed into the truck and pulled the door closed. Leaning his head through the open window, he gave her a challenging grin and nodded toward the passenger side. “Get in.”
She looked unconvinced, but he could see he’d piqued her interest. “I don’t have my purse. Or my phone, for that matter. And where do you want to go?”
He turned the key and the old truck roared to life. “You don’t need either where we’re going. Just trust me.” For some reason, it was important to him that she have a little faith in him. If she didn’t, then he’d know for sure that she didn’t believe he was a man of his word.
For a few seconds, she stood rooted in place. He held his breath, wanting her to agree, but wanting more for her to want to agree. Finally, she shot him a wide, adventurous smile that he felt all the way to the pit of his stomach. She’d taken the bait.
Coming around to the passenger side, she pulled open the door and climbed in. “Alright, cowboy. I’ll trust you. Don’t make me regret it.”
Triumph and excitement warmed his blood as he sent her a crooked smile and thumbed the brim of his hat. “Yes ma’am. You have my word.”