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She looked at hi"

Was it? "Not really I think you got the wrong idea about h to make hiht you were running some sort of clinic over there or were an artist who painted nudes or so out of your driveway at least twice a week"

He tried to stay cool but found hi defensive "Not always a different woman Sometimes it was the same woman twice" Her derisive snort made him realize how lame that sounded "Okay, so I had company sometimes No one serious, and like I said, it’s been a while I’ to see the aze, refusing to look away

She shifted and gripped her bottle tighter, her knuckles going white "I’lad to hear it" Her voice was soft, and a little husky Her eyes full of confusion Not unlike the night they’d been in the sauna at the costuht had ended up with hi to take it as a step in the right direction

"But I’ my breath for you on the whole relationship front," she said with a brittle laugh "I’m not sure you have it in you to wake up with the sahts in a row"

Okay, a small step then She’d spackled that wall the second he’d cracked it He didn’t let the disappointot to get offroo about the latest additions to the Love Will Find a Way roster, and he listened with one ear while he drank his beer He was glad the business was doing so well, but at the sahts on Catue, there was no way to get back on topic, so he let it slide Maybe once they went out tonight, after a few drinks, she’d loosen up enough to tell hi close to how sheher to understand what he’d done and why he’d done it

He hoped

"I’o Serena is going to meet us there around seven If you want to leave Skeeter here tonight to play with Gandalf, that’d be good too"

He would do that Then, it would give hiot hoht, she would wind up in his arain Gracie and Trick

For real this time

Chapter Nine

When they walked into the Brewhouse, the place was packed Their favorite server, a pretty redhead named Anya, waved from behind the bar and motioned to the last empty table in the corner

Trick led the way, and Grace trailed behind him It wasn’t on purpose so she could look at his ass That was more a side benefit Odd how, thearound Trick Granted, she’d always thought he was hot She’d have to have cataracts not to see that But that had always been tempered by the fact that she knew they’d make a terrible couple She’d friend-zoned him for a reason, and it wasn’t because she wasn’t attracted to him It was because he was attracted to her…and everyone else She had kept that fact in the forefront of her s could turn She needed to hold on to that last tattered bit of heart she had left Or so she’d thought

But now she wasn’t so sure Especially after Trick’s see a serious relationship She tried again to recall the last ti it out of his house and came up empty How had sheBecause even early on, every ti his house, it left a tiny nick in her heart Better not to focus on his love life and focus on her clients’ instead Taking the business fro to a flat out success had taken up most of her mental real estate for months now Maybe Trick really had turned in his player card when she wasn’t looking and had started thinking about settling down And if that was the case…her stomach fluttered restlessly

"You okay?"

She looked up and realized Trick was standing in front of their table, staring at her with a be for her to sit

She nodded, her cheeks going hot "Yeah, just thinking about what to get"

They sat down on the art deco chairs that belied the hoed a menu from the center of the table

"We had a call at noon, so I skipped lunch I haven’t eaten since ten," Trick said, scanning the list of dishes

She wanted to pluck the et the saet a buffalo chicken sandwich, extra blue cheese,"

Hold the tomato, she recited silently

"But no tos What she and Trick had was the best They knew each other as well as any couple and had a blast when they were together, but there was none of the other relationship negatives to go along with it She didn’t have to wonder what--or who--he was doing If they took it to the next level, all that would change

But you’d be able to touch him And kiss him And more

Tradeoffs that, she realizedto lass of wine at her elbow and a beer in front of Trick "Is her Highness corin