Beauty and the Bull Rider by Victoria Vane

knew you were a flatterer, Zac.”
    â€œI’m not,” he said. “I just call it as I see it.”
    She cocked her head in confusion. “What are you doing here?”
    â€œYou didn’t change your mind about dinner, did you?”
    â€œNo,” she replied. “I was just about to drive over.”
    â€œThen I got here just in time,” he said.
    â€œIn time for what?” she asked.
    â€œTo pick you up,” he replied.
    Secretly flattered, she shook her head in mock exasperation. “I can drive myself, Zac.”
    â€œI know that, but last I knew, it was still proper protocol to pick a woman up when taking her out.”
    â€œTaking me out?” She shook her head in confusion. “I thought it was just a dinner at home.”
    His mouth compressed. “Does the idea of a date with me make you that uneasy?”
    She blew out a breath. “Yes, it does, all right? I had a plan , Zac, and it didn’t include dating .”
    â€œ Had is the operative word,” he replied. “Sometimes things don’t happen exactly the way we expect them to, but that’s not always a bad thing. C’mon. Let’s go. I’m glad you wore jeans and boots. A dress sure would have put a damper on things.”
    â€œWhy’s that?” she asked.
    â€œYou’ll see,” he said cryptically and opened her door. Zac’s musky, masculine scent washed over her the instant he climbed into the cab and closed the door. Her gaze tracked over his strong profile, down his torso to his tanned and muscled forearms, and then to the strong, calloused hands that confidently gripped the wheel. She wondered how those hands would feel stroking her naked body. She tried to ignore her reactions to him, but being this close to Zac ignited a flicker of desire deep in her belly.
    This is a mistake. Such a big mistake.
    â€œHow’s Romeo doing?” he asked as they pulled out of her private drive and turned onto the road leading to Tom’s place.
    â€œHe’s better,” she said, glad for a neutral subject. “He was bellowing up a storm when I picked him up. I think he was homesick. Kevin wanted to keep him one more day to be on the safe side, but I think he’s on the mend.”
    Zac’s expression grew tense. “Tell me, Delaney, is there something going on between you and that vet? Something I should know about?”
    â€œLike what?” she asked, surprised and a bit ruffled by the direct question.
    â€œYou tell me. I don’t like the way he looks at you.”
    â€œAnd you want to know if I return his interest?” Delaney asked.
    â€œYeah,” he said. “I think I deserve to know.”
    â€œAll right, Zac. If you really must know, we were sort of seeing each other for a short time.”
    â€œ Sort of seeing one another?” He glanced at her, mouth compressed. “There’s no sort of , Delaney. Either you were or you weren’t.”
    She fought a smile at this not-so-subtle show of jealousy. “He invited me to go with him to a conference on bovine reproduction last year,” she said. “It wasn’t technically dating.”
    â€œOh yeah?” His brows rose. “Where was this conference?”
    â€œPadre Island.”
    His brows drew tight, making a crease over the bridge of his nose. “Did you go with him?”
    â€œYes. We drove together.”
    He shook his head with a muffled curse. “Let me get this straight. You went away together for a few days yet turned down my invitation to go to Laredo to look at livestock?”
    â€œWe didn’t go away together, Zac. I told you it was a conference. It was extremely . . . edifying,” she replied, suppressing a smirk. Since he was beginning to act like a jealous jackass, she’d purposely chosen a word to bait him.
    He snorted. “I’ll bet.”
    â€œYou want to know if we slept together, Zac? Is that what this