She blew out a breath. “Yes, it does, all right? I had a plan, Zac, and it didn’t include dating.”
“Had is the operative word,” he replied. “Sometimes things don’t happen exactly the way we expect them to, but that’s not always a bad thing. C’mon. Let’s go. I’m glad you wore jeans and boots. A dress sure would have put a damper on things.”
“Why’s that?” she asked.
“You’ll see,” he said cryptically and opened her door. Zac’s musky, masculine scent washed over her the instant he climbed into the cab and closed the door. Her gaze tracked over his strong profile, down his torso to his tanned and muscled forearms, and then to the strong, calloused hands that confidently gripped the wheel. She wondered how those hands would feel stroking her naked body. She tried to ignore her reactions to him, but being this close to Zac ignited a flicker of desire deep in her belly.
This is a mistake. Such a big mistake.
“How’s Romeo doing?” he asked as they pulled out of her private drive and turned onto the road leading to Tom’s place.
“He’s better,” she said, glad for a neutral subject. “He was bellowing up a storm when I picked him up. I think he was homesick. Kevin wanted to keep him one more day to be on the safe side, but I think he’s on the mend.”
Zac’s expression grew tense. “Tell me, Delaney, is there something going on between you and that vet? Something I should know about?”
“Like what?” she asked, surprised and a bit ruffled by the direct question.
“You tell me. I don’t like the way he looks at you.”
“And you want to know if I return his interest?” Delaney asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “I think I deserve to know.”
“All right, Zac. If you really must know, we were sort of seeing each other for a short time.”
“Sort of seeing one another?” He glanced at her, mouth compressed. “There’s no sort of, Delaney. Either you were or you weren’t.”
She fought a smile at this not-so-subtle show of jealousy. “He invited me to go with him to a conference on bovine reproduction last year,” she said. “It wasn’t technically dating.”
“Oh yeah?” His brows rose. “Where was this conference?”
“Padre Island.”
His brows drew tight, making a crease over the bridge of his nose. “Did you go with him?”
“Yes. We drove together.”
He shook his head with a muffled curse. “Let me get this straight. You went away together for a few days yet turned down my invitation to go to Laredo to look at livestock?”
“We didn’t go away together, Zac. I told you it was a conference. It was extremely . . . edifying,” she replied, suppressing a smirk. Since he was beginning to act like a jealous jackass, she’d purposely chosen a word to bait him.
He snorted. “I’ll bet.”
“You want to know if we slept together, Zac? Is that what this mini interrogation is all about?”
“Yes,” he answered, turning his head to face her squarely. “Did you?”
“No,” she replied. “Not that it’s any of your business. I respect Kevin as a vet and value his friendship, but I don’t have any romantic interest in him.”
“But that doesn’t necessarily preclude him from your daddy prospects, does it?”
“Theoretically no,” she replied. “I had considered asking him after Ty declined, but then you came along.”
“Yeah,” he replied with a scoffing sound. “I came along. Are you saying you woulda picked him if I hadn’t?”
At first she was miffed at his irrational display of possessiveness, but then she realized it was born of insecurity. He didn’t know where he stood. She hadn’t intentionally strung him along, but that was probably how he felt. She could relate to that feeling of insecurity. She’d known it well when she was with Ty.
“I’m not saying that at all,” she answered in a softer tone. “I was still mulling over my options. I hadn’t decided anything.”
“And now?” he asked. “Have you decided?”
“I’ve been thinking, Zac. Thinking really hard. I’d planned to do this on my own, but now you’ve changed everything. Complicated everything.” All because he wasn’t content just to be a sperm donor. He wanted to be a father.
“You’re the one who chose to make it complicated,” he said. “I know you’re gun-shy, Delaney. I can understand that and I’m willing to work really hard to help you overcome it, but you need to trust me.”
“Because you have such a great track record?” she replied dryly. “How many serious relationships have you been in?”
“None,” he answered.
“And you’ve been with more women than you can even remember, so maybe you can understand why I have some reservations.”
“Maybe I have been with a lot of women, but I’ve never cheated on anyone.”