Debbi Rawlins - Alone with You

“I’m sorry,” he said to Kimberly. The blush staining her cheeks worried him. So did the way she jerked back when he touched her wrist. “I don’t know this whack job. We’ll ignore her and—”

Kimberly inhaled sharply. “Maybe another time.” She backed away, rounding the rear of the convertible and hurrying toward the arena gate.

“Nice.” Disgusted, Tanner stuck the Stetson back on his head as he watched the redhead of his dreams make tracks. “Thanks. Good job.” He turned to the brunette, hoping she’d embarrassed herself.

She was checking out his ass. “Clean you up a bit and this could work,” she murmured, then lifted her gaze and stared at him with eyes as clear and blue as the summer sky. “What?” she asked. “Her?” She cocked her head in the direction of the arena. “Oh, please, you can get laid anytime.”

He snorted. “From your lips to God’s ears.” He watched her dig inside a purse big enough to be a briefcase, then pull out a folder. “Who did you say you were?”

“Alexis Worthington.”

“Am I supposed to know you?”

“No, but you should be familiar with the company for which I work.”

For which I work. She was one of those. “And which company would that be?” This woman wasn’t from one of his sponsors. He only had two left and he knew their reps. He glanced down at her dusty conservative shoes, then swung a longing look after the redhead. But she’d already disappeared.

“The Worthington Group,” she said as if it was supposed to mean something.

“Yeah...so?”

“That doesn’t ring a bell?”

“Look, lady—” A pair of lanky kids ran up for autographs, stopping him from telling her to get to the point or get lost. He smiled, scrawled his name, jokingly asked them if they were bull riders. The question tickled them, like he knew it would, but mostly he wanted to drag out the conversation and annoy the proper and impatient Ms. Worthington.

“Is there someplace private we can talk?” she asked the second the kids ran off.

He spread his arms. “What’s wrong with my office?”

“Funny.” She didn’t even crack a smile, only glanced around the parking lot. “I have a rental car. We can sit in there and not be interrupted.”

“You still haven’t told me what this is about. Hey, wait a minute— I know who you are. You guys make that crunchy green alien cereal, right?”

“Not exactly our claim to fame, but yes, one of our divisions is responsible for the Out of This World brand.” She wrinkled her nose, and he hated to admit it, but she was kind of cute. “You’ll recognize the name of a former subsidiary. Sundowner Leather Accessories.”

“Oh, yeah, sure...they used to be one of my sponsors.”

“Technically, they still are.”

“I thought they went belly up.”

“No. We chose to discontinue the line.”

“Same thing.” He shrugged. “Just a more polite way of saying someone screwed up.”

She blinked, then continued to stare at him. “Where did you get your business degree, the local drugstore?”

“No kidding...you can get ’em there?” He grinned at her exasperated sigh.

Then he noticed two sweet young things standing off to the side, waiting, the taller one wearing a come-hither smile that eliminated the guesswork. Oh, yeah, maybe the night wouldn’t end up a loss. But only if he could get rid of Mary Poppins here.

“Tell you what...” He brought his attention back to the Worthington woman, again caught off guard by the color of her eyes. “Is it Alex?”

“Alexis or Lexy. Either is fine.”

“Okay, Lexy, how about I call you in a couple hours and we’ll set something up?”

“Right,” she drawled, glancing at the women. “Yeah, I’m not buying it.”

“I’m offended.” Rearing back, he gave her his best wounded expression. “You have my word.”

She let out a surprisingly unladylike snort. “Still not buying it.”

“Ma’am, a cowboy gives you his word, you can take it to the bank.”

She laughed. “You’re funny,” she said, sizing him up again, then gesturing toward the women. “Go ahead. I’d like to see you in action.”

Tanner stared at her. “You wanna what?”

“Come on, turn on the charm, give me a ten in the sex-appeal department.” She slipped her sunglasses back on and shooed him with her other hand.

“Are you nuts?” He shook his head, not sure what he’d do if she didn’t leave on her own. “That’s rhetorical, by the way, because, lady, you are certifiable.”

She smiled, her eyes now hidden behind the dark lenses. “Your fan club is starting to look bored. Better hurry.”

The rodeo had ended and people were pouring out of the arena and into the parking lot. His window of opportunity was shrinking. Though in truth, he’d lost heart for chatting up the two young ladies.

It finally dawned on him. Lexy Worthington wasn’t crazy, just manipulative. Determined. A potential pain in his ass. Better to get rid of her and be done with it. “All right, you win. What do you want?”

Her smile widened. “My rental is right over here.”

“Can’t you just spit it out?”

“I’d rather not,” she said, her gaze sweeping the swelling crowd. “This is business, and discussing it out here would be inappropriate.”

Unease itched the back of Tanner’s neck. Maybe he was in trouble. If Sundowner really wasn’t kaput he should still be wearing their logo on his shirt. He had on a belt they made and wondered if that counted.

Hell, his brother had brought the deal to him. Right after Doug had passed the bar exam, he’d negotiated the contract with a Sundowner bigwig. It hadn’t amounted to much. But Doug had been eager to show his appreciation for Tanner’s financial help so Tanner had rolled with it.

“All right,” he said. “Lead the way.”

She nodded, shifted the gigantic purse to her other hand and turned. “It’s the white sedan right over—” She made a full circle, her gaze bouncing from one white car to the next. “This is absurd.”

“Take it easy. It’s a rental. Could happen to anybody.”

“What could?”

“I’m assuming you don’t know which sedan is yours.”

She whipped off her sunglasses. “I’m wondering why so many people would buy bland white cars.”

Tanner chuckled. “You remember the make?”

“It’s domestic. I think.” She looked at the plastic encased tag attached to the key. “Here’s the plate number. Right?”

He took her wrist and turned her hand so he could see better. Her skin was really soft and she smelled awfully good. “Tell you what...let’s go to my trailer, talk, have a beer. By then the lot will have thinned out and you can take whatever car’s left.”

Narrowing her gaze, she yanked back her hand. “I’m glad you find this so amusing.”

He grinned. “No sense getting worked up over it. I have a fifth wheel sitting across the street. It’s got plenty of room.”

“First, what’s a fifth wheel? And plenty of room for what?”

“Not what that warped mind of yours seems to have conjured.” It tickled him the way her cute little nose went up in the air. “But I’m sure we can come to an agreement.”

“Oh, we already have, Mr. Tanner,” she said, suddenly all sweetness. “For the next ten days, I own your ass.”

3

SURPRISE WASHED OVER Tanner’s face, and Lexy tried not to react. She needed to take control of the situation and not waste the lifeline Norma had thrown her. Time was important. She was operating on a tight schedule and an even tighter budget. The longer it took her to drag his butt down to Houston for the photo shoot, the more money it would cost her. Money she didn’t have. She didn’t even have a credit card with wiggle room as backup. All because of her idiotic pride.