Page 51 of Her Three Rangers
Chances were good that he was being sarcastic, but lately I just couldn’t be sure. But even if he hadn’t actually meant that as a compliment, I was going to take it that way today.
He might be able to push my buttons most days, but it was just too nice out, and anyway, I could see right through that tough-guy, bad boy exterior now.
Jaeger might talk a good game, but he was really a teddy bear under all the sarcastic remarks and smart-ass jabs.
I waved to Bill and Bailey one last time as we pulled out of the driveway and onto the road that would take us back to the clinic. Jaeger had insisted on driving today, saying something about how he wished that asshole would try to run him off the road.
And even though if I was being honest, I’d have to admit that thought scared the hell out of me, I wasn’t in such a hurry to get back behind the wheel after my last run-in on this road.
I looked over at him, wondering if he felt on edge about possibly running into Garrick out here, but if he was nervous at all, he certainly didn’t show it. He used his thumbs to drum along with the radio against the steering wheel and tossed me a sexy wink when he caught me looking.
If I had made Bailey’s day, Jaeger had made mine.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked me, quirking an eyebrow as he stole a glance in my direction.
“Nothing,” I lied. “Just… stuff.”
“What kind of stuff?”
“How do you know I was even thinking about anything?” I asked, dodging the question.
“You had that look on your face,” he answered, giving me a half-shrug. “That look that is sort of a smile, but sort of dreamy, too? Like you’re watching a movie in your head or something.”
I laughed. That had to be the strangest, yet most accurate description of a facial expression I’d ever heard. Still, there was no way I could tell him what I’d really been thinking of.
His ego would swell way too much to know that he was the reason I looked like I’d been watching a movie in my head.
“You’re just not gonna tell me?” he asked, jutting out his bottom lip in a ridiculously exaggerated pout.
“Nope.” I shook my head. “And no amount of pouting is going to change my mind.”
He huffed out a short breath, but was betrayed by the corner of his mouth twitching up into what would have been a smile if he hadn’t been pretending to be upset.
“Fine,” he said. “If you won’t tell me, I’m just going to assume you were thinking about me.”
I laughed again. Even though he’d hit the nail on the head, I still wasn’t giving in. “What makes you so sure of that?”
“Well, I was thinking of you, so… it only makes sense that you must have been thinking of me, too.”
I was pretty sure there was some flawed logic in there somewhere, but it was sweet of him to say that, so I wasn’t going to argue.
And I still wasn’t going to give in.
“Turn left on this road up ahead,” I said, pointing at the dirt road that veered off from the main highway.
His brow furrowed. “But that’s not the way back to the clinic. Do you have another client we need to see?”
“Not another client,” I answered. “Just turn left up there. You’ll see what it is soon enough.”
“You’re being awfully mysterious today,” he said, shooting me a sideways glance. “I’m not sure if I hate it or if it’s turning me on. Maybe both.”
“Probably both,” I agreed, smirking as he made the turn. “Now, up ahead there will be another left turn, and you’ll take that. Just past that big pile of gravel.”
The look of confusion on his face deepened. “A quarry?” He sighed. “I know what it is. You got mad because of that goat comment, and now you need a place to dump my body.”
“I knew that wasn’t a compliment,” I said, rolling my eyes. “But no, smart-ass. That’s not why we’re here. You can go ahead and just park anywhere.”
He stopped the truck and turned off the engine, then turned and looked at me with the same confused expression he’d had since I had first suggested turning off the main road.