Hard and Fast (Fast Track #2)(6)
Author: Erin McCarthy

“‘Not till God make men of some other metal than earth,’ ” she quoted to Ty.

Ty looked at her blankly. “What?”

Imogen had always loved Beatrice’s witty replies to prying and often insulting questions, so she continued to use her words, getting into the monologue, despite the clear incomprehension on Ty’s face. “‘Would it not grieve a woman to be overmastered with a piece of valiant dust? To make an account of her life to a clod of wayward marl? No, uncle, I’ll none.’ ”

“It sounds pretty when you say it, but I have no clue what the hell you’re talking about.”

“It’s Shakespeare,” she said.

“Well, I was pretty sure it wasn’t Kenny Chesney. Still doesn’t tell me what it means, though.”

Imogen shifted in her seat, her damp sweater and hair uncomfortable, her attraction to Ty McCordle even more so. He didn’t look annoyed with her, just bewildered and, maybe, a little amused. She really didn’t understand what he was doing sitting in her car, but since he was there, she figured she might as well enjoy the picture of manly perfection he presented, even if he had put his shirt back on.

“Beatrice is telling her uncle she will get married only when God makes men out of something other than dirt.” A little harsh perhaps, but having briefly tried online dating, Imogen could see where she was coming from.

“Ah. A man hater.”

That took Imogen aback. “Man hater? I don’t think that’s entirely true.”

“Of course it is. She is lumping all men together, calling them all dirt, not giving any guy a chance. And probably walking around with a sour look on her face all the time and a big old chip on her shoulder, so she gets negative attention from men, which in turn pisses her off more and convinces her that her theory is right.” Ty nodded. “Man hater.”

Imogen was speechless for a second, horrified at the realization that while Ty’s explanation was simplifying the situation, he might actually have a point. Beatrice had a wicked tongue and was almost always on the attack.

“I think you’ve just shattered my entire perception of Much Ado About Nothing.”

“I wasn’t trying to shatter anything. But it’s pretty obvious the chick is bitter because guys aren’t knocking down her door.”

“How do you know they aren’t knocking down her door?”

Ty gave her a long look of disbelief. “Come on. If they were, she wouldn’t be so bitchy. Am I right? She’s spending Saturday night with her BFF instead of getting some action, right?”

“Well, it’s usually her cousin, actually. And you have to consider the context. A woman at the time couldn’t just sleep around without serious consequences.”

He scoffed. “Yeah, like that ever stopped anybody. Just ask any senator.”

Imogen laughed. “True.” Then since she was curious and he didn’t appear to be leaving her car at any time, she asked, “But why are you asking about marriage in the first place? Are you thinking of proposing to Nikki?”

His reaction was so extreme it was comical. His face went into a series of contortions and his hand came out. “No. No, no, no. She brought it up, which means she is way more into this relationship than I thought, which means I have to break up with her, which I hate to do, because I don’t like hurting anyone’s feelings. But the truth is, Nikki and I have nothing in common. Except for one thing, really.”

“Sex?”

Ty grinned. “Yeah. I love that you just threw it straight out there.”

Well, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that one out, and Imogen, while considering herself shy, had always been curious enough to be direct with people. She got more information that way and, most of the time, was unable to resist the urge to pry a little in her quest to understand the people around her.

“It seemed logical to me that sexual attraction was what drew you to each other.”

He shot her a funny look, like he was trying to read her expression and couldn’t. “Yeah, that always seemed to work out pretty well for us. As for conversation or hanging out together, well, we were always stumbling a bit there, you know? So why the hell she thinks she wants to be stuck with me day in, day out in a marriage is beyond me.”

Imogen thought it was damn obvious. Nikki wanted the prestige and money of being a race car driver’s wife. But it seemed incredibly rude to point that out to Ty, especially if he hadn’t figured it out on his own already. “Maybe she’s in love with you.”

Ty gave a laugh and stuck his index finger out at her. “Now that’s funny. That girl has more genuine affection for her shoes than for me.”

She couldn’t tell if he was just stating a fact, or if it bothered him that Nikki wasn’t emotionally invested in him. So she made light of it. “Good shoes are really hard to find.”

“Look at you, calling up your inner smart-ass.” Ty grinned at her. “I like that from you.”

“Well, it’s true.” Imogen smiled back at him. “When you’re shoe shopping, there are all these choices but it’s so hard to find the perfect pair. They don’t match your outfit right, or they’re too casual or too dressy, or they’re out of your price range. The store is out of your size, or they pinch your toes or rub your heels or give you blisters or make your feet sweat. The heel is too high or too low, or they make your ankles look fat.”

“You’re scaring me,” he said. “This only goes to show that women spend far too much time worrying about a whole lot of nothing.”

She wanted to laugh, but she wasn’t finished making her point, so she added, “It’s important because shoes affect the way a woman feels when she steps out of her house. No single pair of shoes covers the gamut of outfits in your closet. Not even close. So you need at least a half-dozen pairs to cover most of what you wear on a daily basis. Which makes me wonder if women should do the same with men. Have a different one for each of her moods.”

The laugh that Ty gave was full and genuine and made Imogen smile back at him.

“Now there’s an idea,” he said. “So what mood would I be? Casual Friday?”

No, he would be for the days when she wanted to play  p**n  star, but she wasn’t about to say that out loud. “I imagine it depends on the woman who might want to wear you.”

She didn’t mean that to be suggestive, but the moment the words left her lips, she knew it would sound that way, and it did. Ty’s eyes darkened and his eyebrow went up.