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"No I’ you an out if you want one Not a lot of sports figures enjoyclothes And this would require print ads, as well as runway"

He took a long s of beer, then shrugged "I’, Drew"

"Then I’ll do it for the fun And hey, if your fashion stuff is successful, it’ll draw attention to ht?"

"That’s the way I’ of exposure," Evelyn said, standing, "the vice president has a "

Carolina laughed "Give Dad a hug for me and tell him I’ll see him soon"

She walked Gray and Evelyn to the door "Thanks for stopping by I’ether"

"We’ll see you at Christ her a pointed look that told her he wouldn’t take no for an answer "Right?"

"Definitely I should have a lot more work done by then, and I’ll need to take a breather I pro the roo to helpwas over

Drew stood "Have you eaten yet?"

"No I’ve had a busy day"

"Then let ht ahead of et this line ready, and not nearly enough hours in the day"

"Then we’ll order pizza Or Chinese I’ a clue that she was trying to get rid of hi to eat Then you need to leave"

"Sure"

And she’d count every second until Dreas out the door, because having hi

She had no idea why she’d allowed this, when he was the one man she didn’t want to see or spend any ti rooruous on her short, white designer sofa

Taking a deep breath, she grabbed her phone

"Chinese or pizza?"

"Either one is fine with ry"

She punched in the number of her favorite take-out Chinese place and called in an order They delivered faster than the pizza place, so she’d get Drew out of her apart room to find him outside on her balcony She poured a refill on her wine and wandered out there It was cool outside, but not unbearable He was looking out over Central Park

"Nice place, Lina"

Cringing at his use of the nickname, she stepped up beside him "I love it here"

"I can see why"

"Where do you live?"

"I’ve got a place over on the Upper West Side"

She turned to face hiave her a smile "I do play here, reet that "Of course"

"I only live here during the season During the off-season I take off and head back home to Oklahoma"

"That’s nice Do your parents still live there?"

"Yeah, but it’s not like I live with theain with an endearment "I’m not your babe I never was"

He laid his beer on the table and turned around "Still ht, Lina?"

"It’s Carolina And no, I’ht"

"I’m sure you haven’t Because that would mean what happened between us ht?"

He’d taken a step forward, getting into her personal space

"Or did itlow and soft as he swept one of her curls behind her ear

She shuddered, as always, lost in the storray depth of his eyes

He’d always been able to do this to her, to e girl she’d been all those years ago

The doorbell rang, and Drew took a step back Carolina pivoted and went inside to answer the door Dreas right behind her, surprising her

"I’ll take care of this," he said, his wallet already open as he paid for the food and tipped the delivery guy