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She narrowed her gaze at him. “They would never have gotten that far. I’m not naïve, and I’m not stupid. I’m a strong, capable, intelligent woman who wants to be treated as such.”
“Point taken.” He changed lanes and looked at her. “For the record, I believe you’re every one of those things.”
She pushed her long hair over her shoulder. “In the future, remember that.”
“There’s a future?” His voice held a note of teasing.
She rolled her eyes. “No.”
He flashed her a devilish grin. “Never say never.”
That grin did crazy things to her insides, making her stomach feel like it had flipped upside down. Whoa. She’d seen Tyson around plenty but never had an actual conversation with him.
Might as well change the subject and steer things to safer grounds. “Were you at the concert today?”
He shook his head. “Henry invited me for drinks and to meet his nephew, and I took him up on the offer, but he didn’t tell me who his nephew is.”
She tilted her head. “Would that have made a difference?”
“Nah.” He got into the fast lane and passed a slower vehicle. “I was just surprised. Kade Fields is a big name.”
“Couldn’t be a nicer man.” Haylee smiled. “I enjoyed talking with him.”
Tyson gave a nod. “The evening wasn’t so bad.”
She laughed. “Did you think it would be?”
He gave her a quick smile. “Let’s just say that parties aren’t my thing.”
“They are mine.” She lifted her hair away from her neck and let it fall over her shoulders. “I’m an event planner. That’s why I was here tonight—I planned an earlier concert party. I was only at the later one to meet Jen for a drink, and she said she wanted to introduce me to someone before we went home. That someone turned out to be the one and only Kade Fields.”
Tyson looked amused. “A little star-struck?”
Haylee held her hand to her chest. “Be still my heart.” She shifted in her seat to watch Tyson. He had such strong features—high cheekbones, a square jaw, and a cleft in his chin. He had the qualities of a big-time movie star with his looks.
She slowly blew out her breath. “What did you think of Kade?”
“I was impressed.” He glanced at her before looking back at the road. “I expected him to talk about country music and being on the road, but he didn’t. He sounded like a regular ol’ cowboy.”
“I noticed that, too.” Haylee watched Tyson’s big hands on the steering wheel and had the brief flash of an image of his hands on her body instead. Where is this coming from? “I had a feeling the last thing he wanted to talk about was being a star.”
Tyson put on the blinker before the exit that led to King Creek. “I don’t remember seeing you around town as much as I used to.”
He’d noticed? She inhaled, then let out her breath. “I’m in the Phoenix area so much now, thanks to how fast my event planning business has grown, that I’m not around a lot during the day anymore.”
Tyson took the exit. “You must enjoy it.”
“I like working with most clients and love the creative aspects.” She glanced at the reflective markers outside the window before looking back to him. “But my true passion is painting.”
He gave her an amused look. “I’m assuming you don’t mean houses.”
“Only if they’re the subject matter.” She rested one arm on the console between them. “I love to paint desert landscapes in acrylics.”
“I’d like to see your work sometime.” He turned onto Main Street. “Where do you live?”
“I live with my sisters on Oak.” She gave him the address, and they sat in silence as he took the streets to hers. “There it is. The one with the bicycle mailbox.”
He pulled up in front of her sage-green cottage-style home and parked the vehicle. She put her purse strap on her shoulder, and he held up his hand. “Wait right there.”
