“I don’t want to play anymore,” Harper said once they finished their game of Candy Land. Mari wasn’t surprised. They’d been playing for a good half hour before Hank had joined them.

“I know what we can do,” Hank said.

Harper pushed her long, blonde hair behind her ears. “What?”

Hank looked at Mari, making her heart do a little flip. “Let’s figure out where your art studio’s going to be.”

Thrilled that he was taking the initiative, Mari smiled. “I think that’s a fabulous idea.”

Hank’s mouth quirked up. “I thought you might.”

He stood, and Mari stood as well, then Harper leapt to her feet and slid her hand into Hank’s.

Warmed by the sight, Mari followed the pair toward the French doors that led to the backyard.

“It’s outside?” Harper asked, her little face gazing up at Hank.

“Yep.” He opened a French door and stepped outside, stopping and turning to Mari.

Wondering where this art studio was going to be, Mari crossed the threshold and stopped beside him, noticing how big and strong he was, how masculine. And when he looked at her, those eyes appraising, she attempted to squelch the attraction that bubbled to the surface.

She failed miserably.

Even though London had warned her that he was charming but selfish, she had yet to see the selfish side. In the short time she’d known him, all she’d seen was a man who worked hard and loved his daughter. An extremely attractive man whose very presence made her sit up and take notice.

“The game room should work as an art studio,” he said as he looked at her. “Let’s check it out and see what you think.”

Using all her self-discipline to rein in her feelings, she nodded. “Okay.”

The sun had set, but he turned on the exterior lights, and as he walked past the pool and across a large patio area to the building he’d pointed out on their tour the night before, Mari couldn’t help but think how romantic this setting was. Too bad this time with Hank had no romantic undertones.

“Here we are,” he said as he opened a door and flipped on the lights. “You can’t tell now, but during the day there’s lots of light in here.”

Mari looked around the spacious room. Large windows lined two walls, and though there was a pool table, a ping-pong table, and an air hockey table in the room, there was still plenty of open space as well.

This would make a perfect art studio.

Thrilled, she turned to Hank with a smile. “Where do you want us to set up?”

* * *

Hank could see that Mari was pleased with his idea to use his game room as an art studio. Glad he’d been able to accommodate her, he shrugged. “Wherever you’d like.”

She slowly turned in a circle, and when she faced him again, enthusiasm was written all over her face. “We could even use the space outside.”

“Sounds good to me.” He had no idea what an art studio would be like. “Do you need any supplies?”

“I brought most of what we need, but an easel for Harper would be great.”

He took his wallet out of his pocket and removed some cash, then handed it to her. “You can get what you need tomorrow.” He paused. “You mentioned yesterday that you have your driver’s license.”

She laughed. “I’m from Los Angeles. Of course I do.”

He smiled. “Never know. You can take the SUV. Mrs. Stillman knows where the keys are.”

“Great. Thank you.”

Smiling at Harper, who was playing with a ping-pong paddle, Hank said, “What are you doing, Princess Pink Rose?”

She turned to him. “Can we play ping-pong?”

“It’s time for bed,” he said, “but I can play with you when I get home tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Her voice was resigned.

Chuckling, he turned to Mari. “Tomorrow I’ll be home before dinner, but on Saturday I’ll be heading out of town for our first game and I won’t be back until Sunday night.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Do you ever get time off?”

How much did she know about football? Not a whole lot, it seemed. “Officially, Tuesday is our day off, but I work out and study game film. But if we win our game on Sunday, then Monday we have a shorter day, just some workouts and such.” His lips lifted in a half smile. “So, in answer to your question, I don’t get a whole lot of time off. Not during the season, at least.” At the look of surprise on her face, he added, “It’s intense, but I love it.”

* * *

Mari admired his dedication. Then again, for him to achieve the level he had he would have to be dedicated. Like, insanely dedicated. Which made the time he spent with Harper, the way he was so sweet with her, all the more meaningful.

“You have a game this Sunday, right?”

“Yeah.” Then he chuckled. “Have you ever watched an NFL game?”

Not wanting to admit the truth, she knew she couldn’t hide it. “Uh, no.”

One of his eyebrows quirked up. “Not even with your dad?”

“He was too busy working to watch sports.”

“Huh.”

At the look of true astonishment on his face, Mari laughed. “Not all men are into sports, you know.”

His lips pursed. “I know. It’s just…not what I’m used to.”

“What, uh, what channel will it be on?”

His head cocked. “You’re gonna watch my game?”

Shyly smiling, she nodded. “I think I should, don’t you?” To her surprise, she wanted to watch it.

“Uh, yeah. I do.”

“Then I will.”

When he smiled, his focus completely on her, Mari’s pulse skyrocketed.

He told her the channel, then said, “I’ll be curious to hear your thoughts.”

“How will I know which player is you?” Had she just admitted that she’d be closely watching him? Heat rushed to her face.

“Look for number thirty-one.” Then his eyebrows rose. “I’m the one the quarterback hands the ball to, although sometimes he throws it to me.” His eyes narrowed. “Do you know which player’s the quarterback?”

Mari had been to a few football games in college, so she could answer with certainty. “Yes.”

“Okay. Then you should be fine.” The look on his face showed he was unsure if he really believed that, but she didn’t care. All she cared about was that he knew she was interested.

Wait. Interested in what?

In him. Admit it, girl. You think he’s incredibly hot.

Frantic to turn her thoughts in another direction, she asked, “Is it okay if Harper watches the game with me?”

* * *

Hank looked at Harper, then back at Mari. “I doubt she’d be interested, but if she wants to watch, that’s fine.”

“Okay.”

He loved the idea of Mari watching him play, especially since she hadn’t watched an NFL game before. Though he wanted to impress her, he would have to put all thoughts of her out of his head while he was playing. That wouldn’t be difficult. When he was playing he was hyper-focused. Still, knowing she would be watching sent an unexpected thrill through him.

Not wanting to think too hard why that was, he said, “All right. It’s time for Princess Pink Rose to go to bed.”

“That’s right,” Mari said, then she smiled at him. “Tomorrow we’ll set up our art studio, and when you get home you can see how it looks.”

“I will.”

After he tucked Harper in, Hank went into his bedroom to call Simone. It wasn’t that he necessarily wanted to talk to her just then, but he was desperate to try to cleanse Mari from his mind. Maybe if he spoke to Simone he’d be able to get himself back on track, to put Mari in her proper place within his head. To forget the way her grey eyes seemed to glow when she talked about painting, or the tender way she was with Harper, or the soft curve of her jaw, or the way her rosy-red lips begged to be kissed, or…

He had to stop. He had to relegate her to the role of Harper’s nanny. Nothing more.

“How was your day?” he asked Simone after their initial greeting.

“Same as usual. Talking to designers, placing orders, fixing all the screw-ups.” Simone was a buyer for a major department store.

“Sounds like fun.” Hank stretched out on his bed and stared at the ceiling.

“You know what would be more fun?” Her voice had dropped to a deep, sexy tone.

“What?”

“Spending time with you. You’re done early tomorrow, right? Let’s go out and have a good time. Forget the stress of the week.”

It would be fun to go out with Simone, but his priority was Harper. “My daughter’s in town. She’ll be here for the next few weeks.”

“That’s great, Hank. I know how much she means to you.” She paused a beat. “We could go somewhere after she goes to bed.”

Maybe that’s what he needed. Time with Simone. Time playing. “That would work. I’ll pick you up at nine.”

“Ooo,” she purred. “I look forward to it.”

They chatted about other things, and as Hank disconnected the call, it wasn’t an image of Simone that filled his mind. Instead, Mari’s face, sweet and smiling, was the only thing he could see.