Free Any Man Of Mine by Rachel Gibson Page A

this time. Of course, it wouldn’t last. “No one asked me out tonight.”
    “That’s because of the repellent.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “Your man repellent.”
    She blinked. “My what?”
    Shiloh’s mouth fell open. “I thought you knew. I thought you did it on purpose.”
    “Did what on purpose?”
    “Put on the man repellent. You know, sprayed yourself with ‘stay away’ vibe. If my friends and I are out, and we don’t want to be bothered, we put out the vibe.”
    “I have a vibe?” She put a hand on her chest.
    Shiloh shook her head, and the light caught in the sparkly headband she favored. “No! Geez, sorry.” She walked farther into the room. “Forget it. Forget I said anything.”
    “That’s like saying my face looks like a dog’s butt, then telling me to forget you said it.”
    “Your face doesn’t look like a dog’s butt. You have a really pretty face and a smoking body—and I mean that in a totally nonlesbian way.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Which is why I thought you put on the repellent. To purposely scare men away. We all do it sometimes.”
    She scared men away? Seriously? When had that happened? She’d thought she wasn’t dating by choice. Not because men found her repellent, but come to think of it, she hadn’t been asked out in a really long time.
    “I’m soooooo sorry, Autumn. Are you mad?”
    “No.” She wasn’t mad. Just a little shocked and a whole lot confused. She couldn’t even recall the last time a man had even flirted with her.
    Shiloh gave a weak smile, then asked in an obvious attempt to change the subject and fill the awkward silence, “So, what’s your brother doing tonight?”
    She reached for an empty binder and pulled the rings apart. “Out somewhere.” She’d have to ask Vince if she had a bad vibe. He’d tell her the truth, maybe. “Why?”
    “I thought I might call him.”
    “You know he’s a dog?” She reached inside a desk drawer and pulled out a planning packet. She looked up, and added, “Right?”
    “Sure.” Shiloh shrugged. “I don’t want to marry him. Just maybe have dinner.”
    Uh-huh. Vince didn’t do dinner. “Shi—” She should warn her assistant. She liked Shiloh, and Vince wasn’t relationship material. He had issues.
    “Yeah?”
    Shiloh was a nice woman, and Autumn didn’t want to lose her as an assistant, even if she did think she sprayed man repellent on herself, but who was she to give anyone advice? “Nothing. Have a good night.”
    “See ya Monday,” Shiloh said over her shoulder as she walked away.
    “Lock the door on the way out.” She placed a business card in the binder sleeve, a packet inside, and snapped the rings shut. She hadn’t had a date in a really long time. She’d thought it was because she was just too busy. That she wasn’t ready. That it was her choice. Was there more to it? Did she really give off some sort of vibe?
    No. Yes. Maybe. She reached inside another desk drawer and pulled out a remote. God, I don’t know. She turned on the television across the room and clicked around until she found the Chinooks’ game. She watched for a few moments, hoping to see Conner’s face in the crowd. She was a single mother. A small-business owner. A very busy woman. Way too busy for a relationship just then, but that didn’t mean she wanted to repel men.
    “ The puck is shot up ice by LeClaire, who tries to pass to Holstrom, ” the hockey commentator announced just before the whistle blew. “ Five and a quarter left in the second period, and icing is called. ” The camera zoomed in on Sam’s jersey. On the Chinook swatting a puck with its tail, then the lens panned up to his face beneath the white helmet resting above his brows. His blue gaze looked up at the scoreboard. The Dallas Stars were up by a goal. “ That man right there is a huge part of the Chinooks’ cup-winning defense ,” the commentator continued. “ He’s always one of the biggest,