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He regretted his caustic words the moment her mouth dropped open in horror.
“That’s not it at all!”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”
“I would be proud to be seen with you, and you know it.” Her temper flashed to match her red hair.
“Proudmay be taking it a little too far.” He winked, hoping to lighten the mood again. “Not embarrassed is good enough for me.”
“Yeah, right!” Her eyes narrowed to smoky gray slits. “As if you aren’t aware of how hot you are, showing off your muscles in that tight shirt. And then you wonder why women act like idiots around you.”
“What are you talking about?”
He gave his head a shake to clear it, but Carly’s outraged face was still glaring up at him.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about.” She lowered her voice but poked a finger at his chest for emphasis. “Those kinds of muscles don’t happen overnight. You have to work hard to bulk up like that. How’s a woman supposed to ignore them when they’re all in your face? I’m telling you, it’s not easy!”
“It’s not?” All her bluster sounded like a roundabout way of saying she found him attractive. The woman was an enigma, rejecting him one minute, declaring him hot the next. Maybe she wasn’t like his ex after all. But how would he know the difference?
“No, it’s not! And then to go fishing for compliments is like rubbing salt on the wound.”
Was she being serious or simply teasing him?
“I promise I never meant to rub salt anywhere.”
In the silence that followed, he battled his lips and cheeks, commanding them to stay in a solemn position. “Just so you know, I exercise my upper body so I can make up for losing my leg strength. I have to do a lot of heavy lifting with my arms and torso on a daily basis.”
Her clamped jaw went slack, the skin on her face progressing from a rosy flush to a deep shade of crimson. “So you don’t work out just to look all ripped?”
“I’m afraid not.”
She buried her face in her hands. “I’m so embarrassed! I can’t believe I just said you were ripped!”
“The adjective I really liked washot.”
“I did not use that word!” She turned her face toward him, but kept her protective fingers in place.
“Whatever you say.”
“Did I?” She groaned into her hands. “I did, didn’t I?”
Grinning, he shrugged. “I believe you did.”
“Please kill me now and put me out of my misery.” She tucked her chin further down and sandwiched her head between her bent arms. “This is like that dream where you go to school in your underwear.”
“I never had that dream.” He leaned close to her ear and put gravel in his voice. “But I wouldn’t mind watching yours.”
Chuckles erupted from inside her arm-cocoon, and one hand reached back to slap playfully across his chest.
“I’m just saying the hotness goes both ways.” His grin was wasted on her shielded eyes.
“My goal is to keep my face hidden until the end of time,” Carly said. “Or at least until after we land.”
“Fair enough. Glad to help any way I can. Maybe I could fasten your seatbelt so you don’t have to move your arms. I’ve been told my muscles arerippedand my fingers areimpressive.”
The hand delivered another swat, and more muffled chuckles filtered from behind her arms.
“That’s not funny,” she mumbled.
