Page 7 of Fundamentals in Flirting

“Pluto? You’re pretty nice, huh?” Teddy said quietly, gazing at my horse with a sort of reverential expression.

“So … home? You do have one, right?” I ground out, ushering him from the stable and back into the bright sunshine.

“I do, yes, but I’m quite a long way from my house. I don’t suppose you could give me a lift, could you? Since you’re the one responsible for my broken bike?”

“Me?!” I retorted with an incredulous snorting, equine-like noise.

“I’d say so, yes. A lift is the least you can do.” He had crossed his arms over his chest, which was fairly expansive in the Lycra T-shirt he was wearing. Was he intentionally flexing his biceps?

I mirrored his stance, narrowing my eyes at him. “I’d say you were one hundred per cent the cause of the accident, actually.”

Teddy bit his lip, clearly trying not to laugh at my haughty tone.

“I’d say it was more like sixty–forty, in favour of me,” he countered smoothly.

“Maths was never your strong point.”

He just grinned in response.

“You’re not going to make me walk all the way home, are you? I’m bleeding, and town is miles and miles away. Especially since I’ve been such a gentleman and escorted you and Pluto back safely.” Then he pouted. A full-on Victoria Beckham pout. It should have been ridiculous, but it just made him more gorgeous.

How is that even possible? Infuriating man!

“Fine,” I replied, purposefully turning my back on him and marching around to where I’d parked my car.

What else could I do? Because, even though every cell in my body was screaming that I should be getting away from him as quickly as possible, and that being around him was dangerous and foolish, he did have a point. I couldn’t leave him stranded, could I? I’d just have to reawaken my inner ice queen, which shouldn’t be too hard if I let myself think about my school days and how miserable I’d been the last time I’d seen him. I could do this; I could be around Teddy Fraser again and not succumb to his overt charm and epic levels of sexual potency, right? I bloody hoped so.

“Hannah, what is all this stuff in your boot? Do you live in your car?” Teddy was scratching his head as he stared into the cavernous, yet overflowing recesses of the back of my car. “Where will I put my bike?”

“I’m a veterinary surgeon, Teddy. This is all the equipment that I have to cart around with me in order to treat sick or injured animals,” I replied, accompanied by an exaggerated and decisively condescending eyeroll.

Oh yes, the ice queen has cometh.

He looked over at me. Was that admiration on his face?

“You’re a vet?”

“Yes.”

“Wow. Ok, well, I guess I can take my bike to bits and put it on your back seat?”

“Fine.”

Taking a small multi tool out of the zipped pocket of his shorts, he began to quickly dismantle the bike. His deft fingers made light work of the nuts and bolts, muscular forearms flexing as he stacked the bike’s component parts into a more compact heap. He dusted himself off then neatly loaded everything on top of a plastic horse feed sack inside my car, looking altogether very pleased with himself.

Sliding into the driver’s side, I glanced at Teddy as he made himself comfortable, shooting the passenger seat backwards to make room for his long legs. I couldn’t help but stare until he caught me, his face breaking into a mischievous grin. The car suddenly seemed very small and stifling.

“Since you’re a medical professional, have you got anything in your supplies to treat my injuries?” he asked, now twisting his upper body to look at me as I put the key in the ignition.

“I’m a vet. I don’t treat humans.”

“Oh, ok. But you could just patch me up a bit though, right?”

“No.”

“Please, I think I may need stitches.”

“You don’t need stitches.”

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