The Maverick Meets His Match (Hearts of Wyoming Book 2)(37)

Ty glanced at her, a smirk on his face. “Jealous, wife? I did have a life before Tuesday. One with a few loose ends to tie up, is all.”

She hadn’t really thought about his personal life. And what he was giving up. She glanced again at the bikini blonde, definitely a different size than Mandy. More like a whole different category. Enough to make any woman who didn’t wear size double Ds feel inadequate. And so like the women she’d seen him with over the years. Mandy began to type the message. “Should I say ‘we land’ or ‘I land.’”

Ty huffed. “I land, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“She doesn’t know about me, does she?”

“Not yet.”

“Will she?”

He looked over at her, his brown eyes assessing. “We didn’t talk about other relationships, but I’m willing to keep our vows for the six month duration of the marriage. If you are. I think that would be in keeping with JM’s wishes. And the promise we made. Promises should mean something.”

Like until death do us part?

She hadn’t really thought ahead to the prospect of other men in her life, considering her relationship with Mitch Lockhart had ended. But of course, someone like Ty probably had more than one relationship to tie up. And she certainly didn’t want any more gossip than this quickie marriage would already engender.

“I agree.”

She ended the message with a period—no heart, thank you very much—hit the Send key, and then dropped the cell phone back into its cubby before she was tempted to press the Contact icon to see who else constituted “loose ends.” He probably had similar pictures of the others. She suddenly felt out of sorts. Miffed. Annoyed. Which was just plain ridiculous, but…

“Is that your type?” she blurted out.

“What do you mean?” Ty shifted in his seat. With his aviator sunglasses hiding his eyes, she couldn’t gauge his response, but she guessed this was not a topic the private Ty wanted to talk about. Too bad.

“The well-endowed piece of eye candy clad in the tiniest bikini in the picture on your phone.” Mandy crossed her arms over her chest. Why was she surprised that Ty was like every other man when it came to women—superficial. Why should she have expected anything more?

“Her name is Kendall. And she loaded that picture on there.”

“Is Kendall your type?”

“Is Mitch Lockhart your type?”

“I asked first.”

“I dated her, so, yes, I guess she is my type. For a date.”

“And for a wife?”

He twisted his head in her direction for a quick puzzled glance. “I wasn’t in the market for a wife.”

“Just a trophy girlfriend.”

“What the hell is a trophy girlfriend?” Just as quickly, he returned his attention to the cloud-dotted blue horizon.

“Someone who looks good on your arm and in your bed. Not someone you have a deep conversation with or who necessarily shares your values or who you want raising your kids. You know, someone built for sex, but not much more.”

“Your claws are out, Mandy. Don’t tell me you really are jealous?”

Were his lips crooking up in a smile?

Like she’d be jealous of any woman Ty went out with. She had no cause to feel one prick of jealousy. At least, she shouldn’t. She was trying to make a point, however, for all sensible, smart women. That there should be more to a relationship than just sex.

The irony of her own relationship with Mitch was not lost on her.

“Hardly. But do you even know her values, Ty? What does she want to do with her life? What does she feel is a woman’s role in the world?”

His jaw bunched. “I don’t know. But I don’t know the answers for you either, and I married you.”

“Very funny. Just so you know, I want to run Prescott Rodeo Company, marry, and raise my children to be good upstanding and productive citizens. And I believe a woman’s role in this life is the same as a man’s—to leave the world a better place than she found it—for as many people whose lives she can affect. So what does Kendall care about?”

Okay, so he didn’t know what Kendall’s “values” were. And yes, he’d dated her mainly because she charged his jets. But that’s all Ty was looking for.

Mandy also charged his jets. More than Kendall. Much more. To his way of thinking, her curves were far more alluring—and dangerous. He liked her frankness, admired her integrity. But she was a lot more work, heaven help him. She challenged him, made him uncomfortable for reasons he’d yet to understand. He hadn’t wanted to marry either woman.

So how the hell had he ended up married to the one he hadn’t slept with?

“She met my requirements, Mandy.”

“For a trophy. I understand, Ty. I really do.”

Her smugness was damn irritating. “And Mitch?”

He heard her draw a deep breath before she answered.

“I’m not sure why you keep bringing up Mitch, especially since we are no longer a couple, unlike you and Kendall—”

“I said I’ll fix that.”

“But to answer your question, his goal is to get to the National Rodeo Finals. He doesn’t want to be tied down with a wife and kids, and he believes a guy’s role in life is to have as much fun as he can for as long as he can before he gets lassoed by some woman. Except for wanting to be in the NRF, I’d say you two had a lot in common.”