“Well, there’s a couple of reasons why they want me. I don’t doubt that. But after Nikki, I’m feeling a little gun-shy. Like maybe while I’ve been so busy avoiding getting to know a woman too closely, they’ve all been doing the same. Like maybe I’m just a target for attention seekers and gold diggers.”

“Of course women enjoy the prestige of a driver, and there will always be attention seekers and gold diggers, but if Suzanne and Tamara are any example, they would have loved their husbands regardless of their occupations. Of course there is a woman out there who will value you as a human being as opposed to a commercial commodity.” The very thought irritated her in multiple ways. One, that he would doubt that. Two, that there were women who would try to use him, like Nikki. Three, that he might find the woman who wouldn’t, fall in love with her, marry, and have little McCordles. And that woman wouldn’t be Imogen.

“Maybe Ryder and Elec got the only two who will.” His voice had more of a teasing quality than concern.

Imogen snorted. “I imagine some other wives in the sport might dispute that.”

“Of course. What else are they going to say? Admit to greed?” He took a hard left turn. “But no, I’m not really serious. I know most of the guys who are married are all sorts of happy and so are their wives. Maybe I’m just starting to wonder what’s out there for me, for real.”

It clearly wasn’t her, for more reasons than she had fingers to count. Obviously he felt the same way or he wouldn’t be discussing it with her. That just wasn’t something you did with someone you felt might be a potential candidate. Imogen knew all of that in reality. It wasn’t like she had completely lost her senses and thought that she and Ty could actually have any sort of long-term relationship—they couldn’t even manage to have sex—yet it still stung. Just a little.

“You’ll find the right woman for you. And I imagine she’ll be a lot like Suzanne.”

“Suzanne?” Ty’s upper lip curled. “No, thanks. Women like Suzanne are not my type. Too uneven, all those ups and downs of their temper. It would give me an ulcer, all that trying to guess their mood, and wondering what the hell I’d done wrong. No, I want me a nice even-tempered woman. Someone who says what she means, but without the sting.”

Imogen’s throat was tight. “I’m sure you’ll find her.”

“When I least expect it? Isn’t that what people always say?”