Ty found himself stupidly touched by Imogen’s assessment of his character. But hearing he was profiled as a commitment-phobe and bringing up his ex-fiancée had him feeling tight in the chest and edgy. He didn’t want to get emotional, lose control of the situation. So he tamped that all down and hid his feelings, giving her a slow grin.

“You see all those things in me yet you still didn’t target me? Damn, I’m offended.”

“I can’t target you, because I am trying to objectively follow the rules of the dating manual to see what level of success I achieve with them. Therefore, I need to stay uninvolved and unbiased in regard to the men I flirt with, and I cannot achieve that with you.”

Ty didn’t think he could be more shocked by anything Imogen said, but she always managed to find a way to do just that. “Wait a goddamn minute. So you are planning to use the dating rules to hook a man? Just not me?”

“No, of course not. I don’t actually want to catch a man. I just want to see if the initial chapters regarding preparation, meeting, and flirtation have any level of success as part of my research for my thesis. I only intend to flirt a little with some of the drivers and see what reaction I get.”

Ty was feeling his blood pressure rise with each ridiculous word she spoke. “I can tell you exactly what’s going to happen! You’re going to have drivers crawling all over you, hoping to get a piece of your classy ass.”

She frowned. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Me? I’m being ridiculous? You’re the one flirting for your thesis. What the hell kind of degree is that anyway? A doctorate of dick tease?”

It was a petty thing to say and he knew it, but what exactly was her objection to flirting with him?

Imogen gasped. “I beg your pardon?”

“It doesn’t sound like science to me, babe. But what do I know? I’m just a stubborn driver who has commitment issues.”

“I’m a sociologist. I study and observe the patterns of behavior of humans. And your behavior right now is irrational.”

Ty felt a tic start in his eye. He wasn’t sure how they had gotten there, but he was going to finish the conversation because he couldn’t contain his frustration much longer. She hadn’t even gotten a tiny peek at irrational yet. “Just one more reason why you can flirt with everything that walks but I’m leprosy.”

This would be the point where every female he had every dated either (a) threw something at him or (b) started screaming expletives.