Meredith noticed ashift in Wade as they drove down the country road.
After he’d almost made her pee with laughter, he’d been pensive.Maybe he regretted partnering with her.Maybe he wished he was with Stacy, getting showered with fawning looks and suggestive comments.He hadn’t seemed surprised by Stacy’s silly behavior.He’d barely reacted to her flirting, as if he’d grown accustomed to women falling all over him.Meredith wondered how often it happened.
She studied him from beneath lowered lashes.He’d changed into a khaki uniform shirt that should have looked drab but didn’t.The tailored fit accentuated his broad shoulders and trim waist.He wore a bone-colored Cattleman instead of his usual Stetson.With the gun belt and badge, he reminded her of a movie-star cop.He would turn heads wherever he went.She remembered how he’d looked earlier this morning, shirtless and rumpled.She’d tried not to stare at his bare chest over breakfast.He was lean and taut and perfectly muscled, with a smattering of hair on his flat stomach.
“Do all women throw themselves at you?”she asked.
“No.”
“Just most of them?”
He shrugged, noncommittal.
“Does it bother you?”
“What?”
“The attention.”
“Does it botheryou?”
“Why would it bother me?I don’t care if women act stupid around you.”
“I meant attention from the opposite sex.Are you uncomfortable when men stare at you?”
“Yes.”
He nodded, as if he’d suspected as much.“It’s different with women.Nonthreatening.”
“Because they don’t cross the line?”
“Not really.Most women are polite and respect your boundaries.Every once in a while, a lady goes overboard.”
“Oh?”
“Just last night, I was subject to a random groping.”
Her mouth dropped open.“That was an accident.”
“Was it?”
“You know it was!”
He arched a skeptical brow.“I can see how a hand can end up in the wrong place.But the squeeze?Come on.”
Her cheeks flamed at the memory.“I didn’t mean to do that.”
“If you say so.”
“It was a reflex.”
“It was a grope.”
“I couldn’t help it!”
He drummed his fingertips against the steering wheel.“The thing is, I have some experience with accidental contact.I was a starting quarterback throughout high school and college.There’s this football play called the quarterback sneak.”He gave her a sidelong glance.“Are you familiar with it?”
“What’s your point, Wade?”
