Foolish Expectations Read Free Page B

her dress inched upward and stretched tight across her slender thighs. He blew out a slow breath and nonchalantly adjusted himself, hoping to alleviate the uncomfortable crowding going on in his jeans. But as she slid into the seat, closed the door, and turned to grab the seat belt, her skirt only rose higher.
    He gripped the steering wheel harder, forcing himself to keep his eyes on the road as he drove out of the parking lot.
    “So, do you want to tell me why I deserved the public humiliation you unleashed on me back there?”
    She grimaced. “Look, I’ve had a rough day, okay? I’m sorry if I took it out on you, but I don’t want to talk about it.”
    “Okay, fair enough. Where are you from?”
    “How about we just forget the talking altogether?”
    “It’s a simple question.”
    She stared out the passenger window and sighed. “Here.”
    “Here, as in Flat Rock?”
    “No, here as in the mesquite tree we just passed,” she said, her tone ringing with sarcasm. “Of course I meant Flat Rock. What kind of question is that?”
    Her sharp words came out almost hateful, littered with an untrusting, smart-ass zing, but he recognized the attitude for what it was. Someone had done something to get this energetic young woman’s back up, and Nash would bet almost anything that someone had been a man. Judging by the ugly scowl on her pretty face, she’d had just about enough of them.
    “Houston isn’t far away, you know. Or you could have been from any of the surrounding cities. Flat Rock isn’t all that big compared to most places, yet I’ve never seen you around town.”
    “There’s fifteen thousand residents in Flat Rock. I doubt you know the other fourteen thousand nine hundred ninety-eight of them. Or did you pick them all up in a bar, too?”
    He grinned. “Well, I can see conversation comes naturally to you.” Then he leveled a sardonic gaze at her and shook his head. “Why don’t you relax a little? I’m not the bad guy here.”
    “ That has yet to be determined,” she said coolly.
    Nash thought about that for a moment. “Want me to prove it?”
    “How? You going to put on your ‘I’m not the bad guy’ badge?” Her smile teetered between irritation and amusement. “Or maybe you’re going to show me the superhero leotard under your clothes? Is that it—you’ve got your spidey-roos on?”
    He shook his head. Christ, she’s a smart-ass. A long-legged, sexy smart-ass with a sharp tongue and a curvy little body that he wanted pressed against his. “I have something a little different in mind, but I think it’ll convince you.”
    “I doubt it.”
    He shrugged and turned right on the next street. “Nothing more fun than proving someone wrong.”
    A few minutes later, they veered onto a long caliche-paved driveway and followed it up to a red brick ranch-style home, complete with an old wooden barn and fenced pastures. Several curious horses lifted their heads at the sound of the approaching truck. Nash pulled up in front of the house and shut off the engine.
    She glanced around warily. “I…I thought you were taking me to a bar?”
    “Sweetheart, there’s not a bar in this city you can go into wearing a dress like that and not get hit on by some idiot. You’re safer having a drink here.”
     “Where’s here ?”
    “My house,” he said, smiling at the panic that flashed across her face. “Calm down. It’s not what you think.”
    “Oh, really?” The panic quickly changed to irritation. “Like you even have a clue as to what I’m thinking?”
    He leaned his arm on the steering wheel and looked directly into her eyes. “You’re thinking I brought you here with the intention of putting the moves on you so I could get you into bed. You’re wrong. I brought you here to show you I can be a gentleman.”
    “Okay, so let me get this straight. You’re proving that you’re a gentleman by taking me home with you?” She shook her head. “You’re fucking delusional.”
    “No, I’m