Playing With Fire (Tangled in Texas #2) - Alison Bliss Page 0,27
mine had just kicked into high gear. I shook my head and pulled the jacket from around my shoulders, shoving it into his chest. “Here. I guess it’s safe to say that I can go now.”
He took the jacket and reached for my hand. “Anna, wait…”
“Just leave me alone,” I said, walking quickly away from him.
Chapter Five
“Got my book?”
I’d seen Cowboy come through the library doors, but had refused to allow myself to acknowledge him until he spoke first. Even then, I only reached beneath the desk and handed him the book with the red spine.
“Guess you’re still mad,” he said.
I continued ignoring him.
He braced his hands on the counter. “Are you going to at least let me apologize for last night?”
“No.” I grabbed a couple of returned books I’d already scanned back into the system, rose and headed for the far aisles, away from prying eyes and bent ears.
He followed behind me, not giving up. “I talked to Bobbie Jo.”
“Good for you.”
“She vouched for you, so I’m letting it go…this time. I closed the report on the dumpster fire and chalked it up to an accident. She trusts you.” His tone sounded almost angry about it.
I kept walking, but glanced over my shoulder at him, noting his questioning eyes and the way he held his mouth in a flat, grim line. Suspicion and mistrust lit up his perfect face like a flashing neon sign. “Yet you still don’t.”
He didn’t even bother denying it. “Do you blame me? You avoid my questions every chance you get, and you won’t stay in one place long enough for me to have a decent conversation with you.” When I walked faster hoping to get out of everyone’s earshot before he spoke another word, he said, “Damn it, Anna. Why are you always running from me?”
“I’m not. I’m—”
“Afraid I’m going to ask you out?” he asked, as if he were finishing my sentence.
My heart skipped a beat, but I pretended to be unfazed. I stepped inside an alcove and placed one of the books on the shelf where it belonged. “Don’t be absurd,” I said, lowering my voice.
“So it’s okay for me to ask you out, then?”
“What? No, I…I didn’t say that. Don’t put words in my mouth.” I marched down the aisle with him hot on my trail. “You’re not asking me out.”
“Why not? Since I closed the report, there’s nothing stopping me from doing so.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
He groaned. “What the hell is your problem with me?”
I stopped and turned to face him, lifting my brows. “You really have to ask that?” Then I moved further down the aisle.
“I’m trying to apologize for last night,” he said from behind me. “If you would just stand still long enough…” He grasped my shoulders and turned me to face him. “Look, I’m sorry. I was wrong, okay?”
“Fine. Apology accepted.” I spun away from him and scanned the shelves. When I found the spot I was looking for, I slid the book back into its rightful place. I pivoted and walked toward him, then passed right by him on my way back to the circulation desk.
“That’s it?” Cowboy asked.
I paused and looked back, shrugging nonchalantly. “What more is there?”
“Have dinner with me tonight.”
My stomach fluttered and I smiled, but didn’t hesitate with my answer. “No, thank you.”
He sighed. “Why? Because of last night?”
“No, not because of that,” I said, straightening a book on a nearby shelf.
“Just dinner. I’m not asking for anything more.”
Yeah, sure…yet.
To say I didn’t trust men was the understatement of the year. And Cowboy was definitely all man. Good-looking. Charming. The kind of guy who made hearts bleed in every female within a hundred-mile radius. Even with his lack of commitment and my plans to leave town, it would still never work between us. So why waste either of our time?
“I’m sorry, Cowboy, but my answer is still no.”
His face twisted in genuine confusion, as if he’d never been told “no” before. He hesitated and then said, “It’s because you think I’m butt-ugly, isn’t it?”
I bit my lip to keep from giggling at him. He couldn’t be “butt-ugly” if he tried. “No, that’s not it, either. You just…need to stop asking me out.”
“Why? What did I do wrong?”
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Then what? Am I too damn pretty for you? Come on, there’s got to be something.”
I sighed at his arrogance. “Listen, Cowboy, what you did for me last night was sweet and I appreciate it. But we both know you carrying me away