Crazy for Lovin’ You by Teresa Southwick Page A

your fist through a wall kind of protest.
    â€œMitch asked her to be the on-site doc for the championships—wherever they’re held.”
    As much as she liked teasing Dev, that brought her back to her original question. Did she have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting the event for her ranch?
    She kicked at the dirt and gravel in the parking lot with the toe of her boot. “Jen isn’t the only Stevens Mitch has a bone to pick with.”
    â€œI heard about that involuntary dip in the pool.” Dev grinned with genuine amusement.
    She had a feeling she was going to regret teasing him. He could give as good as he got. He hadn’t even lobbed his first taunt and heat crept into her cheeks that had nothing to do with the warm May afternoon.
    â€œJust for the record, I have no feelings for him whatsoever.”
    â€œDid I ask?” Dev said.
    â€œIt’s just a matter of time,” she accused. “Don’t start with me.”
    â€œLook, Taylor. Ten’s a lot of years. I don’t think even Mitch Rafferty can hold a grudge that long. Butprepare yourself either way. Because I’ve also learned that the things we want the most have a way of slipping out of our rope.”
    Taylor wasn’t so sure that Mitch wouldn’t hold a grudge. The intense way he’d looked at her while holding her in his arms didn’t make her believe he’d forgotten, let alone forgiven. The memory of the way her breasts had brushed against the solid, hard wall of his chest sparked heat in her belly even now. Just the way it had about every hour on the hour in the forty-eight of them since she’d last seen him. And darn it all, why couldn’t she separate that conversation from the fact that he’d been holding her close while they’d talked?
    With luck, she would get this—attraction, walk down memory lane, déjà vu, whatever it was—under control before she saw him again.
    She glanced up the street and groaned inwardly. So much for having time to steady herself. Just then, her walk down memory lane sashayed out of the café and was headed toward her. If the thundercloud on his face was anything to go by, Mitch didn’t look too happy. A bad feeling stole over her. Had he finally made up his mind? Was she going to hate the answer?
    As he stepped off the wooden sidewalk, Mitch saw Taylor smile up at Dev Hart. Something inside him went white-hot with anger. What ticked him off the most was that it made no sense. Why in the world would it bother him to see the two of them together?
    He and Dev had been friends ten years ago, and Mitch still didn’t understand why it had worked out. But it had, and they’d kept in contact through the years. Maybe because of what happened that night at the lake a decade ago. He shook his head to clear it of the unwanted memory.
    The fact was, he liked and respected the other man even though Dev had had everything Mitch always wanted—family, roots and money. The roots part made him think about Taylor, and what she’d said to him at the ranch. The angry feeling in his gut intensified. She and Dev had a lot in common—family and ties to the land that he would never understand. She could do a lot worse than a guy like Dev Hart. He’s not a drifter, he thought. Not like me.
    The knot tightened and if he had to give it a name, he’d call it jealousy. But that was laughable. You had to care about someone to be jealous. And the ability to care had died in him a long time ago.
    He stopped beside them. “Taylor. Dev,” he said, holding out his hand.
    â€œMitch,” the other man answered. A wide grin split his face as he squeezed Mitch’s palm and clapped him on the back. “It’s good to see you.”
    â€œYou, too.”
    â€œHow’s it going?”
    â€œNever better,” he said.
    â€œOh? Problem?” Dev asked, raising one eyebrow. One corner of his mouth quirked