Trixie wondered if he was being honest. She’d never known Nick to lie, but men did weird things when it came to women. She downed the rest of her drink, trying to shake off the unfamiliar scratch of jealousy.
“Speaking of unique brands of magic, did Trix tell you about her party pony idea?” Shane asked with an amusing lilt to his voice.
Trixie shrugged out from under his arm, scowling as she set her bottle on the bar. “They’re not party ponies. They’re miniature horses.”
“Get it right, bro.” Amusement glimmered in Jeb’s dark eyes. “They’re going to be unicorns with pretty colored manes and tails.”
Her brothers laughed. The band started playing, and Nick’s expression turned even more serious as he listened to her brothers tossing jokes back and forth about her business idea.
“Y’all are asses,” Trixie finally snapped. “They’re therapy horses.”
Nick looked at her and said, “Wait. What exactly is your idea?”
“Why? Do you want to make fun of it, too?” It was a knee-jerk reaction, and she deserved the scowl it earned.
“Aw, come on, Trix,” Jeb said. “We’re just teasing.”
“I think it’s a brilliant idea,” Lindsay said. “We’re going to partner for unicorn photo sessions and birthday parties.”
“Thank you, Linds. Brilliant is so much better than cute.”
“You want to put horns on miniature horses and call them unicorns,” Shane pointed out. “You’ve got to admit, it’s a funny premise, and a cute idea.”
Trixie glowered at him. “I know you mean well, but if I hear you say my idea is cute one more time, I’m going to do some serious damage to that pretty face of yours.”
“His cute face,” Jeb joked, sparking laughter from Shane and a litany of other cute jokes, all of which circled back to Trixie’s business idea.
Just when she was about to lay into them, Nick put a hand on her back and said, “Let’s go,” quietly and firmly into her ear.
Even with her brothers’ comments grating on her nerves, his touch sent prickles of desire through her traitorous body, and her thoughts stumbled. Shane and Jeb made another joke at her expense, and Lindsay lit into them.
“Dance floor. Now,” Nick said gruffly, dragging her away from the others.
Trixie cocked her head. “Excuse me? I’m not your property.”
“Don’t make me take you over my knee.”
“You wish.”
She turned to walk away, but he tugged her into his arms.
“What the hell, Nick?”
“I didn’t like the way your brothers were making fun of you.”
His words softened her toward him, and he began moving those dangerous hips to the slow country song. But she didn’t want to soften toward him. She needed to stop thinking he was so wonderful.
“I don’t need protecting. I’m a big girl.”
“No shit, Trix. I know you can hold your own. Do you want a miniature horse business or not?”
“Hell yes, and nobody’s going to stop me from putting my whole heart into it. So if you think you can talk me out of it, don’t even try.”
“Why would I do that? Am I an asshole?”
“Well, you are a man,” she teased.
He held her tighter. Irritation and something deeper that she couldn’t read simmered in his eyes. “You’re too smart for bullshit, Trixie. You can tell the difference between an asshole and a gentleman in seven seconds flat. Figure that shit out, and don’t you dare put me in the wrong category.”
Sometimes she wished he didn’t know her that well, but that was one of the reasons she’d fallen for him in the first place. He got her. He saw in her the potential she felt. She knew her brothers did, too, but Nick had never taken a chance of hurting her feelings by making cutting remarks, even if joking around. When she’d wanted to learn stunt riding, her brothers had tried to dissuade her from the idea. She knew they’d done it out of love, of course, because they hadn’t wanted her to get hurt. But when she’d told Nick she wanted to learn, he’d gone over the dangers, and then he’d taught her to ride. As her resolve softened, she became more aware of his strong arms around her and the feel of his body moving deliciously against her.
“You okay?” he asked.
She tried to fortify the walls between them, but it was like lifting liquid bricks that instantly drained from her hands. “What are you doing, Nick? Why do you care about my idea?”
“I’m a businessman, and you’re a damn good rancher. You’ve got a special touch with horses, and if you’re putting your huge fucking heart into something, it’s not going to fail. I want to hear your business plan.”
Through a roaring din of shock, one word slipped out. “Really?”
“Have I ever lied to you?” he said sternly.
As far as she knew, he hadn’t, but jealousy slithered in, and there was no holding it back. “Maybe. You and Sable?”
His brows knitted. “You’re not serious.”
“Dead serious.” Her pulse quickened.
“Sable’s great. But she’s not my type.”
“So you just screwed her? I heard her comment about your hips.”
“What? No. We danced together at my brother’s wedding. Christ, she’s family.”
Now she felt stupid, but she couldn’t help needling him. “Then what is your type?”
He laughed softly. “Trix, you want to talk about your business? Want to make it happen? Or do you want to talk about nonsense?”
Her pulse sprinted as she debated keeping the conversation going, chipping away at his likes and dislikes and picking up the pieces in an effort to construct the answers she sought. But what if his answers hurt even more than not knowing? It was one thing to get the vibe that he wasn’t attracted to her, but did she really want to hear him say it?
“Trix?” he said, reminding her he was waiting for an answer.
She was being stupid. Nick was a take-charge guy who pursued and conquered the things he wanted, and she was obviously not one of them. She wasn’t his type. Period. Shoving those hurt feelings down deep, she focused on her business and said, “Let me tell you about my business idea. Remember last year when I delivered a pony and a horse to that family with two little girls, one who had cancer and the other who was in a wheelchair? Elsie and Cara? In Echo Beach?”
“How could I forget? You talked about that family nonstop. They’d adopted the girls, right?”
“Yes. They really had an impact on me. When Elsie saw the pony, she lit up. Just petting him and being near him changed everything about the way she carried herself. I could see her happiness in the way she acted and hear it in her voice. And when Cara sat on the horse? Oh, Nick.” She sighed. “Imagine a little girl who can’t walk seeing the world from the saddle, experiencing that type of freedom for the first time.”
“It can have a life-changing effect.”
“It did. Their mom told me that they both struggled with acceptance from kids their age, but the connection between the girls and the horses was immediate. An hour later, I could still feel their renewed energy, and the light in their eyes was even brighter. The girls talked about the future with such hope. It was obvious that was new for them, too. When I finally left later that afternoon—”