Page 41 (1/2)

ONE

GAVIN RILEY KNEW ELIZABETH DARNELL HAD BEEN avoiding him for the past several months And he knehy

She was afraid he was going to fire her just like his brother, Mick, had

Oh, sure, Mick played in the NFL and Gavin played Major League Baseball, so in a lot of ways they were si brother, ht Gavin followed Mick’s lead, especially in business matters After all, Mick had hired Elizabeth first, and Gavin had followed suit

But people assu Gavinhis brother did Even if Liz had irlfriend and her son, and had done just about everything huized and set things right with Mick, Tara, and Tara’s son, Nathan, but it had been a case of too little, too late

There were things a sports agent did that were valuable to an athlete’s career But screith an athlete’s love life could be the kiss of death for an agent

Liz had never once touched Gavin’s love life In fact, Liz threomen at him like a pimp Beautiful women Actresses, ood Gavin had no co for Mick until Mick had fallen in love with Tara Lincoln and put an end to Liz coupling Mick with the latest and greatest starlet on the cover of whatever et hiet Tara and her son out of Mick’s life, which had resulted in Liz getting fired

And that’s why she’d been avoiding Gavin, no doubt afraid Gavin had sided with Mick and was ready to do the sa Elizabeth watched over her clients like a hawk, and for her to go to co the vultures swoop in and take over her prime real estate

Not that Gavin was the best player around, but she’d sat on hiet within talking—or signing—distance

Maybe it had soht Mick had fired her

Mick had walked out of the locker roo Elizabeth alone with Gavin

Liz had cos that were totally uncharacteristic of her

Then she’d kissed him And walked away

Not that he’d thought about that kiss over the past months

Much

Except after that she’d disappeared, hadn’t called him, e-mailed him, seen him, or stalked him in any way—also uncharacteristic of her So had it been the kiss that had sent her into hiding or the fear if he saw her he’d fire her?

Did she really think he couldn’t hunt her down if he wanted to cut ties with her?

It was time for her to come out and face the music

She couldn’t avoid him forever, especially not at this sports banquet where she had several clients—hi her best to steer clear of him

He’d lain lowher flit around and focus on a few of his baseball peers He always enjoyed watching her work a room full of hotshot jocks Elizabeth commanded attention It didn’t matter whether a roouy would have to be either limp-dicked or dead not to notice her Hair the color of his favorite red sports car, incredible blue eyes, creas a man could only hope to have wrapped around him someday And she showed it all off with practiced precision She was a walking sex bomb with a wicked brain A lethal combination

Gavin would be lying if he didn’t ad tempted by Liz But he never mixed business with pleasure, and he took his opportunities elsewhere Liz had been a great agent, had locked hiue Baseball teae, and she’d worked her ass off to et him product endorsements, and keep him in his position at first base He never wanted to do anything to change that

Besides, he doubted Elizabeth was his type

Gavin was pretty da women like Elizabeth? Definitely not his type

But they needed to get a few things straight, and she could only avoid hi

The banquet inding down, andLiz ith Radell Ja toward theback, unobserved, while she said her good-byes

She looked good tonight in one of her usual business suits Black, which seemed to be one of her favorite colors, and tailored to within an inch of its life The skirt hung just above her knee, and those shoes she wore played up her toned calves, too She walked through the front doors of the hotel and outside with Radell and his wife

Gavin stepped outside unnoticed while Liz talked with Radell Gavin stood in the background and watched until Radell and Teesha’s taxi arrived

After they left, Liz leaned against the brick wall and closed her eyes She looked tired Or defeated Her guard was down

Time for Gavin to make his move He stepped in front of her

“You’ve been avoiding me, Elizabeth”

Her eyelids shot open, and her eyes widened with shock She started to push off the wall, but he pinned her there by placing his hand on the wall by her shoulder There was a planter on the other side, so she had nowhere to go

“Gavin What are you doing here?”

“It’s the sports banquet You kneas here In fact, I’d say you danced around tables doing your best to not run into ht”

She blinked Her sweetly paintedcame out for a few seconds He didn’t think he’d ever seen her at a loss for words before Her gaze darted fro for escape

Finally she relaxed and the old Elizabeth was back, her gaer down the lapel of his jacket

“I wasn’t avoiding you, sugar I picked up a new client, so I had to babysit hiht s to discuss that were important I’m so sorry we haven’t had a chance to catch up Did you need ?”

“Yeah We need to talk”

In an instant, the warmth fled Her expression narrowed “About what?”

“You and me”

So hot he’d never seen before

Or one

Maybe he’d just is, and what he’d seen caused a tightening in his balls It was like the kiss that night, throwing hiht about her He’d always maintained his distance from Liz because they had a professional relationship Besides, she didn’t pay much attention to him other than in a professional capacity She never fawned over him in the saured she didn’t have a personal interest in hi wo him

But what he’d just seen in her eyes had beeninteresting