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"I know next to nothing about football, and even I can see Jack is talented" She frowned "But his father seemed a little intense, didn't he?"

More like drunk off his ass, Ty thought

Julie took a deep breath, see her body signals She was holding so back

"Spit it out"

She laughed "I never kne transparent I was"

"Only toht now?"

Her htly and he almost did it anyway Finally, she shook her head "You can't"

He scowled "Explain toour relationship a secret?"

"You can't seriously need me to explain the boundaries of a client relationship, can you?"

"Do you always treat your clients this well?"

Her hands balled at her sides and she lowered her voice "Why are you acting like this?"

He realized he was being an ass because--God, it felt stupid to even think the words--his feelings were hurt She didn't want anyone to know she was sleeping with a due, either Sure, she was beautiful But people expected hiirls Not women ned their own businesses and knehich fork to use

"It's been a long day out here with these kids," he lied "Forgive me?"

She stared at him and he waited io nuts if she decided he'd pushed her too far

Finally, she nodded "You're forgiven," she said, "but I have to admit I have ulterior motives"

He raised an eyebrow, i naked and sweaty

"Which are?"

"My parents called They're having a big dinner party touest of honor"

"Sounds like more of a command than an invitation"

She bit her lip "I'm so sorry My iveon their face I feel really horrible about this, Ty" Big blue eyes turned to hio It's not your job to make my parents happy I'll find some way to deal with them"

He touched her face, lightly running the side of his palm down her smooth cheek He knew more than his share about how hard it was to deal with parents and their expectations The least he could do was reat all week It was time to take one for the team

"I'o, Julie"

She turned her face into his palm "Thank you"

Her lips brushed against his hand and blood rushed to his head To both of them

Tony called out from the deck off the clubhouse, "BBQ's on at my house"

Ty reluctantly dropped his hand There were about a hundred things he'd rather do right now than eat hot dogs at his old friend's house He'd be able to hang out with his friends forever But where Julie was concerned, the clock was rapidly ticking down

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Julie could hardly believe what a fantastic ti Once, she would have automatically assumed that Ty's friends would be conceited jerks They were all jocks or ex-jocks, after all Instead she found the, confident

But definitely not arrogant There wasn't a chip in sight, even though they were very good at what they did and they'd earned a great deal of money

She chatted with the football wives as the guys loudly cleaned up It suddenly occurred to her that uys she'd dated for the past decade--men in suits, entrepreneurs, fast-tracked vice presidents --were farwith their bodies

After ht to hear in her life, she was just starting to grasp how ame

Her parents had never encouraged her to play sports, and while she certainly put in her ti out was just a way to keep her figure intact

Ty pushed his body with intense concentration and focus Whether he was lifting weights, riding a stationary bike, or swi it easy Being in peak physical condition was his job, and he took his responsibilities seriously

Lucky her