“Yeah…”
“I’m guessing I should just leave.” She strode across the room towardthedoor.
Her hand was on the doorknob when hesaid, “Wait.”
She turned. “Wait for what? Wait for you to lecture me about fucking strangersinbars?”
“What if I’d been a serial killer? You shouldn’t get into a stranger’s truck in a town you don’t know. I could have driven you out to the forest, raped you, and then dumped you in the river. No one would find you until spring and I’d never becaught.”
“I see you’ve thought this through,” she saidsarcastically.
“I watch the news. It happens. A woman aloneisn’tsafe.”
“Oh, God. You’re one ofthoseguys.”
“What doyoumean?
“You’re one of those guys who thinks women can’t live alone, that they need a man around to protect them.” She stepped forward. “I can take perfectly good care of myself without a man. So don’t start withthatcrap.”
He moved closer. “I never said that. You’re one of those bra-burning feminists,aren’tyou?”
Her jaw dropped. “If I’m a bra-burning feminist, then you’re a malechauvinistpig.”
“Maybe I am,” hechallenged.
She huffed. “You know what? Screw this job. You can have it. Have a nice life,asshole.”
She turned and yanked open the door. As she tromped through the snow, she cursed under her breath. Jerk. Even dealing with her sister would be less of a pain in the ass than dealing with thisjackass.
Footsteps crunched through the snow behind her. She picked up the pace as much as she could in heels. Why hadn’t she worn boots? Clearly it would have made more sense. But she’d worn business suits at her banking job, so she figured a suit and heels would work for any job interview. Apparently notthisone.
She jammed the key in the car door and yanked it open. It slammed back shut. Shocked, she turned to find Mack towering over her. He was breathing hard and for a moment, her traitorous body felt him sliding into her, spreading her, claiming her, and making her come. Why did God always attach a perfect cock to anasshole?
* * *
“Wait,”Macksnapped.
He couldn’t let her get away. Although the idea of spending another second with her turned his guts to stone, he needed her to run the B&B. No one else had applied and it was supposed to open in less thanaweek.
“Why?”
He stepped back and ran his fingers through his hair. “I didn’t mean what I said about you being a bra-burningfeminist.”
She laughed. “Could’vefooledme.”
“Why did you lie to me atthebar?”
“Because, I’ve never done anything like that before and I didn’t want you to know myrealname.”
“You’re not a verygoodliar.”
“Youare.”
“I only lied about my name. You lied abouteverything.”
She put her hands on her hips. Firecracker. That’s what she was. His bear had sensed it the moment he’d walked into the bar. And his bear had gone nuts when he’d let her walk away a minute ago. He didn’t understand how his bear could size up a person in seconds, but he somehow knew he could trust her. He was also desperate. He couldn’t run the ranch and the B&B at the same time. Even with his brothers helping out, it was toomuchwork.
“Can we put this all behind us? I acted like a bit ofajerk—”
