“Darlin’ …” His Texas drawl came out deep, smooth, and sexy as he propped his arm on the seat behind her and leaned in. “You can deny it till the cows come home, but you are as hot for me as I am for you.”

She opened her mouth to protest, then clamped it shut because she’d never been a liar.

“But let’s get one thing straight between us besides the obvious,” he continued. “It’s not going to happen.”

“I know,” she said, leaning away just so she wasn’t tempted to close her eyes and play a game of Pin the Lips on the Hot Guy.

“Do you?” His head tilted just a smidge, and a silky strand of hair slipped from that loose ponytail. His gaze never left hers as he tucked it behind his ear. “Because, darlin’, you aren’t just sending signals, you are skyrocketing them.”

“I’m tempted to laugh at your audacity to believe I’d just jump into bed with you. I’m not a jumper. Although that’s what I’m sure you’re used to with these small-town girls.”

“Small-town girls are no different than big-city girls. They all want the same thing; just some of them go about it differently. Some are more open. And some are just … uptight.”

Before she could snap out a comeback, he closed the truck door.

When he reappeared in the driver’s seat, she planned to keep her lips zipped, get the evening over with, and refuse to rise further to any bait he might dangle. She tightened the lock on her folded arms and gave an imaginary so there nod.

“I’m not uptight,” she said. Geez. What was with the mouth’s not listening to the brain?

“Uh-huh,” was all he said as he turned the key in the ignition and pulled away from her father’s house. Two seconds later, he broke the mental breather she’d been allowed and said, “But you are hot for me.”