She’d never said anything remotely that bold to a man. She made beeline back to the Jacobs’ table, her emotions vacillating between rattled, embarrassed and just plain annoyed. She was a grown woman. Where did he get off protecting her from herself? As though she wasn’t capable of making up her own mind? She knew her sister was marrying his brother. So what? She and Reed were adults. From the empty round table she caught a glimpse of him far across the ballroom. His gaze scanned the cavernous room, stopped on her and he immediately headed her way. She took a bracing sip of her champagne. Annoyed. She was definitely going with annoyed. Her brother Travis dropped down in the chair beside her. “What’s this I hear about you being afraid of horses?” he asked. “What’s this I hear about you riding bulls again?” “Who told you that?” “Mandy said you did the rodeo down in Pine Lake.” “At least I’m not afraid of them.” “You ought to be. You’re not eighteen anymore.”
