MIA CHECKED HER PLANNER. IT WAS FRIDAY AFTERNOON and so far today she’d hustled through three player meetings and two internal staff meetings. It was two thirty and she almost had things wrapped up. One more hour and she’d be out of here.

She knew—had hoped, actually, that her business would take off like a rocket. But she had no idea they’d be this incredibly busy. They’d signed cornerback Clyde Motts at the beginning of the week, and he’d recommended one of his friends, a defensive back from Philadelphia, so they’d made a presentation to him on Wednesday. He’d accepted, and he’d made a recommendation for one of his basketball friends from Los Angeles, who they met with this morning. At the same time they signed a deal with a Texas shortstop and also made a presentation to one of the San Francisco Sabers running backs.

Mia was exhilarated—and exhausted—as she walked into her staff meeting.

“Wow,” she said as she stepped to the front of the conference room. “Busy week, huh?”

“Stellar week, Mia,” John, her finance guy, said, bringing up numbers on the screen. “Better than we anticipated. I don’t know how you managed to get this many people on board so quickly.”

She stared at the numbers and blinked. Holy crap. They had budgeted for a heavy push the first six months, allowing for small or no gains in the first three considering start-up time.

They’d already surpassed their first six months’ projections.

“These numbers are amazing. I wish I had a magic answer, but I can’t take credit for it. Much of the success has to do with client word of mouth.”

“Which means they like what they’re seeing during the presentations,” Monique said.

Mia nodded. “So kudos to our presentation team. What you’re all doing is working, and I thank you for that. Now we need to make sure to deliver on our promises to these athletes. Let’s wrap up early today and talk it all out on Monday morning. I don’t know about the rest of you, but this has been a whirlwind week and I’m wiped. I need a drink.”

They all laughed, but, as she suspected, no one was going to argue with her about getting out early. They’d all put in late hours the past week hustling to get presentations put together at the last minute. Her team deserved to hightail it out of there early on a Friday.

“Got a hot date tonight?” Monique asked.

“Not a hot date. Nathan’s friend Jamal is seeing someone, so he wanted Nathan to double-date with him for this wine trip to Napa. Since he isn’t dating anyone at the moment, I’m going with him.”

“Oooh. That sounds so fun. And relaxing. Maybe while you’re there you’ll get a second chance to ease some of this week’s tension.” Monique waggled her brows.

Mia rolled her eyes. “No, there will be none of that.”

“Shame. You’re very tense.”

Mia frowned. “Who said I’m tense?”

Monique grasped Mia’s hand and leaned in close. “Your best friend. Me. You’re working very hard. You’re tense. Go have a great weekend—and some sex.”

Monique made it sound so simple when it was anything but. Fortunately, she’d been so slammed with work this week she’d had no time to think about her lack-of-sex dilemma, which had suited her just fine.

She went into her office, packed up a few contracts and PR items she wanted to review over the weekend, then headed out the door. She answered some e-mails on the train, and by the time she got home she realized she was hungry. Since it was going to be a while before Nathan picked her up, she grabbed a snack from the fridge and sat at the counter to eat it while she finished answering her e-mails.

While she worked, a text popped up from her mom. She smiled at that and called her.

“Hi, Mia,” her mother said. “I didn’t expect you to call. I figured you were busy.”

“Actually, I let everyone go early today.”

“Really? Was it a slow day?”

Mia laughed. “No, we just had a very intense week and I wanted to give everyone the rest of the day off to enjoy a kick start to their weekend.”

“You’re such a good boss, Mia.”

“I try to be.”

“Tell me how it’s going. You said you had a busy week. Does that mean it’s going well?”

She grabbed her glass of iced tea and moved to the living room so she could sit on the sofa and put her feet up. “It’s going shockingly well.”

She filled her in on the week’s events since she knew her mom would want details.

“I don’t know why you’re so surprised, Mia. You showed your business plan to your father and me. We were very impressed with how detailed it was. I’m not at all surprised that you’re growing already.”

“We’re still in the initial few months. I had budgeted for almost nothing in the way of growth this fast.”

“That just means you’re doing it all right. You should be proud of yourself.”

Panicked was more like it, but she wouldn’t tell her mother that. “Yes, it’s great. So how’s Dad doing?”

Her mother launched into a discussion about her dad and the ranch, and Mia was happy to have the topic off herself and the new business. They talked for about twenty minutes, then hung up.

Mia breathed deep, deciding she needed a good workout to ease some of the stress from this week. She changed clothes and walked to the gym. She saw there was a yoga class starting in about an hour, so she warmed up on the elliptical for twenty minutes, then went to work on the equipment for a while. When she was done, she took some time to get a drink in the lounge before heading upstairs where the classes were located.

She was glad to see Cheyenne was leading the class. She’d taken a few yoga classes from her since she’d moved out here and liked her style of teaching. She’d also found a yoga studio nearby that she enjoyed as well.

It was always good to have options.

This class was great. After an hour she was a hot sweaty mess, but she was also calm and relaxed and totally de-stressed. She’d worked all the tension and kinks out of her body and she was ready for the weekend. She thanked Cheyenne for the great workout and walked back home.

She brewed some green tea, checked her phone, saw she’d missed a few key e-mails, so she answered those, then stripped out of her clothes and decided to soak in the tub for a while and read a book. She took her tea upstairs with her, ran the tub and climbed in.

It was steamy hot and perfect. She grabbed her book, read and relaxed, needing this so much after this week. Her phone buzzed so she picked it up. It was a text from Monique.

What are U doing?

She typed back: Did some yoga. Taking a hot bath now. U?

Watching Netflix. Have a fantastic date set up for tonight.

Mia laughed and typed: Lucky you.

Monique typed back shortly after with: Super smart guy and he’s gorgeous. Should be fun. What are you packing for the weekend?

She hadn’t even thought about it. No clue.

Monique replied. Be sure to pack that short dress you bought last week. It’s sexy.

Mia rolled her eyes. I’ll think about it.

Monique typed back: Pack the damn dress and have some fun!

Mia laughed and tossed her phone on the bathroom counter, then picked up her book and continued to read. When the water in the tub went lukewarm, she got out and dried off, then went into her bedroom. She had time yet, so she climbed onto her bed with her book. She was still warm from her bath so she slid under the sheets and started flipping pages. She was at a really good point in the book. It was a suspense novel from one of her favorite authors and it was right at the good part.

She didn’t know when she fell asleep, but she woke with a start. The nap had felt great.

She went into the bathroom to grab her phone to check the time. She had about an hour until Nathan was coming to pick her up.

Plenty of time to get ready and pack. She pulled out her overnight bag and looked in her closet.

Despite Monique’s suggestion, she was most definitely not packing the short black dress. This wasn’t a hot getaway weekend, it was something fun to do together. Nathan explained Jamal and his date had invited him and he didn’t want to third wheel it, so he wanted her to come along to balance things out.

Perfectly understandable since she’d been put in that kind of situation before and it tended to be uncomfortable as hell. She was happy to go along. Plus, there’d be a wine tour, which sounded so fun.

She packed a pair of capris, a sundress, and then figured they’d go somewhere nice to eat. She pursed her lips and stared into the closet.

Well, damn. She grabbed the black dress and packed that, too. Just in case.

She did her makeup and her hair, then got dressed and carried her bag downstairs and laid it by the front door.

She gathered up her planner and her phone and charger and put those in her tote bag just as the doorbell rang. She opened it and Nathan stood there, wearing his signature boyish grin.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Yes.” She nodded and picked up her bag. He took it from her.

“I’ve got this.”

She followed him out to his SUV, surprised to see they were alone.

“Where’s Jamal and his girlfriend?”

“Wendy had a client meeting that went longer than she planned, so they’re going to meet us there.”

“Oh. Okay.”

He put her bag in the back of the SUV. Mia climbed into the passenger seat and buckled up. Since they waited until after six to leave, they should miss most of the traffic leaving the city. Or that was their hope when they planned this out.

They did hit some traffic in the city, but once they got over the bridge, it wasn’t too bad. Mia still couldn’t believe she lived here. It was so beautiful and as she looked out over the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco Bay, she took a deep breath and reminded herself how lucky she was to be living her dream.

“What are you thinking about over there?” Nathan asked.

She turned her attention toward Nathan. “I was thinking about how lucky I am to live here, and to realize my dream of starting up MHC. The past several months I’ve gotten bogged down in all the stress of the start-up and I’ve forgotten how much this all means to me and how fortunate I am to have the opportunity to do it.”

He nodded. “Yeah, we’re both lucky.”

“No, you’re talented. I’m lucky.”

He changed lanes and moved into the carpool lane. “Bullshit. You think you’d be able to do what you’re doing if you didn’t have the smarts and the talent? Come on, Mia. Give yourself some credit. You worked hard for this. No one hit the books in school more than you did. You were always focused and driven. It’s one of the things I admire most about you.”

She looked down at her hands, feeling her face warm from the compliment. “Thank you, Nathan. But I wasn’t fishing for compliments. What I meant was, it took a lot of good timing and things to fall into place for me to be able to start up this company. For you, that athletic ability was either there or not. You’ve had it your entire life. And look what you’ve done with it. You want to talk about drive and ambition? That’s you. You knew what you wanted to do and you made it happen.”

“I don’t know. I think we’re both talking about the same thing. We both have talent. It just manifests itself in different ways. I could never do what you do.”

“Oh, come on. You have the book smarts. You could have gone into the draft after your junior year. Instead, you stayed and got your degrees. And they aren’t fluff degrees, either. They are in finance and math.”

“That’s only so I could pick up the smart chicks. Like you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Was not and I know it. Though it was fortunate that you and I met in Differential Calculus. I saved your ass in that class.”

“That you did. And then I saved yours in Geometrical Statistics.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I hated that class.”

He laughed. “I remember.”

“Then how about we never revisit it again? How did your day go today?”

“It was fine. I worked out and met with some PR people.”

Her ears perked up. “PR people?”

“Yeah. Some new team that wants to hire me now that I’m going to be the starting quarterback. They had some marketing ideas about how to get me more exposure, commercials, shit like that.”

“That sounds . . . vague.”

“It was. I don’t think I’ll use them. They didn’t have anything concrete to offer.”

“Do you have other people to talk to? Other companies in mind?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t thought much about it.”

She sighed. She didn’t want to do this, but she was more concerned about Nathan’s career than crossing that line between friendship and business. “You should let MHC do a presentation for you.”

He gave her a quick glance before turning his attention back on the road. “You mean have your company manage me?”

“At least see what we have to offer. We’re very good and now that you’re going to be the starting quarterback, you need a company that will handle you right, from your public relations to brand strategies to your financial future. I know you have a great agent and he’s worked with our team with some of our other clients and prospective clients. He could sit in on the presentation.”

“I know you’ve mentioned it before, but I’m still wary about mixing business and our friendship.”

“I understand your concern, but I think we could make it work without any trouble. You need good representation, and I believe we’re the best. So . . . think about it.”

“I’ll do that.”

“Okay. Enough work talk.”

His lips curved. “And I was just going to ask about your day.”

She laughed. “It was hectic.”

“Tell me why it was hectic.”

“I thought we were done talking about work?”

“We’re done talking about your work as it relates to me, not as it relates to you. Tell me why your day was hectic.”

She told him about her entire week and when she was finished, that tension she’d worked so hard to dissolve was back.

“You’re a badass, Mia. Maybe I will consider letting MHC present to me.”

She couldn’t resist the satisfied smile that crept onto her face. “Take the weekend and think about it. But I told you, we’re good.”

“You’re good.”

“It’s not just me. I’ve got a really good team and they’re the ones who would be taking care of you. Not me.”

He looked over at her again and the look he gave her didn’t have anything to do with business. “What if I want you to take care of me?”

She felt a rush of heat, of need and desire mixed with the memory of his mouth on hers. All of those feelings were very bad. “Nathan. We aren’t going there.”

“What? I meant it in an entirely professional way.”

“Did you?”

“Of course. What did you think I meant?”

Maybe she’d read him wrong and it had been entirely in her own mind. “Nothing.”

“Not nothing. You were thinking about you and me, weren’t you?”

It didn’t surprise her he’d pick up on that. “Yes.”

“You already made it clear that wasn’t gonna happen, so I really was talking about you taking care of me from a business point of view.”

“Okay. But no, I don’t deal with the athletes once they’re on board. Everyone has their own point person. My function is overall management of the company. I’m there in the beginning, during the presentation and signing of the contracts, to be sure it all runs smoothly. After that, I hand you off to your designated managers.”

“I see. Sounds very well organized.”

She smiled. “Of course it is. I totally have my shit together.”

Professionally, anyway.

The drive to Napa Valley took a couple of hours. It was always enjoyable to spend time with Nathan, because their interests were similar, even down to liking the same music. They sang together in the car, though Nathan sang off-key. Not that he cared much, which made Mia laugh. They talked current events and families. She’d known Nathan long enough to know everything about his, and he knew all about hers. Of course, he already knew one of her brothers personally since they played on the same team.

“So my Aunt Jenna is pregnant.”

Mia blinked. “She is? Really? That’s fantastic. I know you told me she and Tyler were talking about having kids, but she was focused on her music and the club so they couldn’t decide when.”

“Yeah. I guess it was kind of a surprise, but they’re both really happy about it.”

“Aww. That’s great. When’s the baby due?”

He shrugged. “Uhh, no idea. I know my mom told me, but I forgot. I think it’s during hockey season, so Tyler will probably miss some games.”

She rolled her eyes. “Well, that’s not at all specific since hockey season runs from October until next April.”

“Hey, you can text my mom. She’ll tell you.”

“I might just do that.” She’d never met Jenna or Tyler, but from conversations she’d had with Nathan she felt as if she knew them. She had met Nathan’s mom, Tara, though, along with Nathan’s dad, Mick. They were wonderful people.

“How’s Sam?”

Nathan grinned. “Feisty. He’s doing great. Loves school.”

She shook her head. “They grow up fast.”

He laughed. “That’s what my mom said about me.”

“She did space you and your little brother out quite a bit.”

“Yeah. It took her a long time to find the right guy to fall in love with. Then she found my dad.”

“You have a great family, Nathan.”

“Thanks. I think so, too.”

Mia smiled and leaned back in her seat. She loved the story of how Nathan’s parents met and fell in love. Even though Mick Riley wasn’t Nathan’s biological father, Mick and Tara had met and fallen in love when Nathan was fifteen. Nathan’s biological father wasn’t in the picture and had never been, so Mia was happy that Nathan had such a strong father figure in Mick Riley, who had adopted Nathan after Mick and Tara got married. And then Nathan’s little brother, Sam, came along.

There was nothing better than a real-life happily ever after.

Nathan adored his little brother. She’d met Sam one family weekend at college, where she’d also met his parents. Seeing the way Nathan doted on Sam reminded her of the way her big brothers had treated her when she was little. There was a lot of teasing, but also genuine love and tenderness.

It was one of the reasons she had kept Nathan in her life. A man who wasn’t afraid to show that kind of love to both his parents and his brother was a man worth keeping as a friend.

They rolled up to the lodge and Nathan parked out front.

“Let’s go get checked in,” he said.

She was more than ready to get out and stretch her legs. They went inside to the reception desk.

“You still have time to attend the wine hour,” the person at the reception desk said. “Complimentary wine from our vineyard, along with snacks. We also have information there about our wine tours.”

Nathan smiled and nodded. “We’ll be sure to check that out, thanks.”

“I do want to attend,” Mia said as he grabbed their bags.

“Then let’s drop the bags and go.”

Their rooms were right next to each other, so Mia keyed into her room and put her bags inside, then met Nathan outside his.

The wine reception was great. There were several varieties to choose from, and she was happy to see there were snacks left, because she was hungry. She ended up choosing a cabernet and filled her plate with a few hors d’oeuvres. Nathan grabbed a glass of wine and then went back and filled two plates.

“Hungry?” she asked as she found them a place to sit on the outside patio.

“Starving.”

“We could have stopped someplace to eat along the way.”

He shrugged. “I figured we’d eat when we got here. This will do for now.”

His phone buzzed so he pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the message. “It’s from Jamal. They’re on their way. He said don’t wait on them to eat because it’ll take them a while to get here.”

“Okay. What would you like to do about dinner?”

“I think there’s a restaurant here. Or we could go exploring.”

“I’m all about exploring.”

“Okay. We’ll have our wine and snack, then we’ll drive around and see what’s for dinner.”

“Sounds great. But I’m going to go to my room and change clothes.”

He nodded. “You do that.”

Since he was wearing jeans and a button-down shirt, he looked fine for dinner. She’d thrown on capris and a T-shirt, so she finished nibbling on her snack and drank her wine, then dashed upstairs. She unpacked and hung up her dress and some of her clothes, then put on a pair of black pants, a black tank and red button-down silk top. She slid into her flats and brushed out her hair, fixed her makeup and added some lip gloss and jewelry, then went back downstairs.

“You look hot,” he said with a smile.

She couldn’t resist smiling back at him. “Thanks.”

They got into his SUV and he took off down the highway. Mia got out her phone and looked up some places where they could stop and eat.

“What are you in the mood for?” she asked Nathan.

“A beer.”

She laughed. “Food-wise.”

“Don’t care. I’m just hungry.”

“Okay.” She scanned the list. “We could do fancy, like French food, or something simpler like pizza.”

“What are you in the mood for?”

She thought about it. “Actually, I don’t want to eat anything super rich and heavy since we had those snacks. How does pizza sound to you?”

“I love pizza.”

Her lips curved. “I know you do. One night in college I watched you polish off two large pizzas by yourself after a game.”

“That was the night our O-line wasn’t playing their best and I spent most of the game running for my life. I burned a lot of calories so I was starving.”

“Oh, please. You could eat an entire pizza by yourself even without having played a game.”

“True. So we’re having pizza?”

“Yes, we are.” She gave him directions to the Italian restaurant, which fortunately wasn’t far, because now that they’d started talking about pizza, she was really hungry, too.

She wasn’t sure how busy they’d be, so she made an online reservation, which they had available.

They pulled up and parked, then went inside.

“Busy place,” Nathan said as they gave their name and hustled over to the side to wait to be called.

Mia looked the place over, from the concrete floor to the wood-fired pizza oven to the giant copper bell that lit up the place. It was quaint and beautiful, and waiters hustled back and forth to serve their customers.

It wasn’t long before their name was called and they were seated at a small table near the back. They looked over the menu and a waiter came over to take their drink orders. Nathan ordered a beer and Mia decided on a glass of wine.

“You should probably order your own pizza,” Mia said as she put her menu to the side.

“I can share, you know.”

“Oh, I know. But I’m having spaghetti.”

“Fair enough.”

They put in their food order when the waiter came back with their drinks. Mia had ordered a glass of Syrah, which was delicious and just what she needed to cap off the night.

“Good?” Nathan asked.

“Perfect.”

He lifted his beer. “To a fantastic weekend.”

She tipped her glass against his beer. “I’ll definitely drink to that. I feel like it’s been nonstop frantic for the past six months. This is the first weekend I’ve taken off in . . . I don’t know how long.”

“Then you’re overdue and I’m going to make sure you party your ass off this weekend.”

She smiled at him. “I’m so ready for that.”

When their food arrived, Mia realized she was hungrier than she thought. She dove into her plate of spaghetti, while also ogling Nathan’s sausage pizza, which looked amazing.

“Want a slice?” Nathan asked.

“Definitely.” She ended up scooping some of her spaghetti onto his plate, but in the end, it was Nathan who finished off all of the pizza and the majority of her spaghetti. She had another glass of wine, though, which was heavenly.

“Are you sure you had enough food?” he asked.

“More than enough.” She sat back in her chair, feeling entirely relaxed for the first time in months. This weekend was a brilliant idea. If she’d stayed home she’d likely be on her laptop about now, going through financial projections and staffing, and reading proposals for next week’s meetings.

This was so much better.

When the waiter came and asked if they were having dessert, she fully expected Nathan to say yes, so she was surprised he declined.

“No dessert?”

He shook his head. “Nah. I’m good for now.”

When the waiter laid the check on the table, she grabbed it and took out her credit card.

Nathan frowned. “I can get that.”

“Or I can get this one, and you’ll get the next one.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

She liked that he respected her enough to let her pay and that he wasn’t one of those guys whose ego got out of joint when a woman paid the tab.

They left the restaurant. It was a nice night. The air was crisp but the stars were amazing. Nathan headed for the car, but Mia grabbed his hand.

“I’m so full. Let’s take a walk.”

“Sure.”

The grounds of the hotel the restaurant was located in were amazing, with places to sit by the pool and waterfall. There were walking paths so they traversed those while Mia occasionally looked up to gape at the night sky. As they wandered, she caught sight of some of the rooms. What she could see of them anyway. They were shrouded in privacy with tall walls and shrubbery.

“I did a little reading on this place on the way over. They have both indoor and outdoor showers. Plus a massage table in every room.”

Nathan’s brows rose. “Yeah? We should stay here next trip up.”

“I thought so, too. I love a good massage.”

“You should book one while we’re here.”

“I’ve considered it. I need to work out the kinks.”

They made their way to a fire pit, and since she was chilled and no one was there, she led Nathan to a cozy bench in front of it so they could sit.

“This is awesome,” Mia said as she warmed her body in front of the fire. “I need a fire pit.”

“Where? In your living room?”

She laughed. “No. It’s a someday thing. When I have a house and a backyard.”

“Why didn’t you buy a house?”

“I had enough going on trying to find the space for MHC, getting the company up and running and hiring staff, plus moving here. The last thing I wanted to do was go house hunting. Leasing the town house was enough for now. Eventually, though, I do want to buy.”

Nathan leaned forward, closer to the fire pit. “We’ll have to go house hunting.”

She lifted a brow. “Oh, we will, huh?”

“You’d buy a house without my input?”

“Of course not. You being such an expert on house things.”

“Hey. I know house things.”

She gave him a skeptical look. “You do, huh? Like what?”

“You might be surprised to know I’ve learned a few important details about home ownership over the years from my dad and my uncles.”

“Which means they used you as free labor.”

“You got that right. But if you do go house hunting, you might want to bring me along. I have mad skills and can tell you if plumbing is crap or if an A/C unit is a piece of shit.”

“I’ll definitely keep that in mind. But it’s going to be a while, so cool your house-hunting jets. I have enough on my agenda to keep me busy.”

“Yeah, I get it. You’re in building-an-empire mode right now.”

“I don’t know about building an empire, but not having my company sink in the first year is a good start.”

He scooted closer to her and put his arm around her. “Babe. You’re not gonna sink. Look at how busy you are right now. You’ve already said you’ve gotten more business than you thought you would right out of the gate.”

“True.” She turned her attention from the fire and focused on Nathan. “But can I keep the momentum going?”

“Of course you can. Word of mouth is what breeds success in a business like yours. And the more clients you bring on board, the more they’ll talk about your company, and that means other athletes will want to know about you.”

She inhaled a deep breath, then let it out. “I hope you’re right.”

“I’m always right.”

She laughed. “I’m going to bring you into my Monday morning meetings as a motivational speaker.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Are you Nathan Riley?”

Mia looked over to see a guy with a camera. And not just a random fan, either.

“I am.”

“Okay, thanks.” He took a quick photo. “Is this your girlfriend?”

Nathan frowned, stood and took Mia’s hand. “Let’s go.”

They started walking back, the guy following them. Mia heard the click of the camera as they walked along. They got into their car and drove off.

“Who is that guy?” Mia asked.

“Paparazzi would be my guess.”

“I thought those guys only took photos of famous people, like TV and movie stars.”

He shrugged. “They take pictures of anyone they think will earn them a buck.”

Nathan parked and they made their way inside the hotel.

“Nathan, that was so weird. I mean, I’m no stranger to cameras. My brothers have had their photos taken by fans and press photographers before. But not in the middle of dinner or on the street.”

“I’m sure it’s because the season is starting soon and there’s this whole idea of me stepping into my dad’s shoes. This guy’s thinking he’s got a story to tell, and he got a lucky shot of me out in public, that’s all.”

“I guess.” But still, it worried her. For a lot of different reasons.

“Come on, let’s step into the bar,” he said. “I need a beer.”

They grabbed a table and a waitress came over. Mia ordered a glass of cabernet and Nathan ordered a beer.

Mia sat and pondered the run-in with the photographer. What did he want and how had he found Nathan up in Napa?

The waitress brought their drinks, and Mia sipped hers, lost in thought.

“Hey,” Nathan said, laying his hand over hers. “What’s going on in your head?”

“Oh. Thinking about that photographer. I mean, how did he even find you?”

Nathan laughed. “I don’t think he was specifically looking for me. He probably trolls all the hotels and restaurants hoping to spot someone he can photograph. Likely he knows sports, so he recognized me. That’s all.”

She took another sip of her wine. “You’re probably right.”

“Don’t worry about it, okay?”

“What? Me worry?”

He laughed. “It is kind of your middle name, isn’t it?”

Her lips curved and she felt the tension begin to dissolve. “At least three people mentioned that to me in meetings at work this week.”

“Hey, you’re just organized. That means you worry about every detail. Nothing wrong with that.”

“I do tend to get a little obsessive, but that means I’m doing the best for my clients. You should see me in meetings. I’m very good at my job.”

“I know you are.” He quirked a smile at her and swallowed the last of his beer. Then he stood and held out his hand for her, pulling her to stand. “I could think of a lot of fun things to do with you, Mia, but biz meetings isn’t one of them.”

Maybe it was the wine buzz, but she moved in closer to him. “Is that right? What kind of fun things?”

He put his arm around her and tugged her close. “Depends. If it’s friends only, then it’s hanging out. If it’s friends with benefits, I could show you.”

She’d had a rough week, and the thought of Nathan helping her release all that pent-up tension sounded very appealing. She laid her palms on his chest. “Well, since you mentioned it . . .”

His phone buzzed. He ignored it and she lost herself in the depth of his gaze. But his phone continued to buzz.

“Shouldn’t you get that?”

With a sigh, he removed his hand from around her back and took a step back. “It’s probably Jamal.”

He answered the call and she took a minute to breathe and recover her senses. If that call hadn’t come in, she might have told Nathan she wanted to have sex.

Which she did, of course. But not with Nathan.

She really needed to get over this desire for him.

Nathan hung up and slid his phone in his pocket. “Jamal and Wendy checked in, but Wendy’s wiped out so they’re going to meet us for breakfast in the morning.”

Mia nodded. “Sounds good. I’m a little tired myself.”

He gave her a look that told her he knew she’d had an abrupt change of mind from their conversation before the phone call. “Sure. Let’s head upstairs.”

She appreciated that he didn’t push her about it, and on the ride up in the elevator he was quiet. But he didn’t seem upset. They got off on their floor and headed to their rooms. Nathan waited until she slid her key card in and opened her door. Then he smiled at her.

“See you in the morning, Mia.”

“Good night, Nathan.”

She closed and locked her door, wishing she could be brave enough to take what she wanted without worrying about the repercussions. But that was just too big a risk to take.