"Honey," Alice said after they hugged, "I don't even need to ask how you are. You're glowing. Whoever he is must be incredible in the sack."

Melissa nearly choked on her wine. "Good to know I'm so transparent."

"Do I know him?" Alice asked.

Melissa shook her head. "No. At least I don't think you do." She cleared her throat and added in a much softer voice, "Although you might have seen him on TV. Or in some magazines."

Alice turned to the nearest waiter."We're going to need a full bottle." She refocused her attention on Melissa. "You didn't sleep with one of the Outlaws, did you?"

Alice didn't have a very high opinion of football players, even though Melissa was pretty sure she'd never been to a game. Melissa's guilty face gave her away.

"His name?"

Melissa looked at her friend. "You won't know who he is, what does it matter?"

"It matters because that way I can hunt him down and kill him if he ever treats you badly."

"Dominic is a good man," Melissa instantly defended him.

Alice tapped one manicured nail on the frame of her glasses. "Dominic. Hmm, that rings a bell. Is he tall, dark, and handsome?"

Melissa giggled. "You've just described half of the team."

"Are you in love with him?"

Melissa closed her eyes. "I don't know," she lied. "I don't think I should be." She opened her eyes. "I'm not sure it matters either way. He's not the marrying type."

Alice topped up their wineglasses. "How soon can I meet him?"

One of the things Melissa had always admired about Alice was her ability to make quick decisions. Melissa liked to mull over things to death, shred her worries to pieces in her mind until she was left with nothing but pulp. Introducing Alice to Dominic was too risky. It would mess with her plan to bury her head in the sand and enjoy all the naughty sex until he found someone else and the decision was taken from her.

On the other hand, what if Alice saw something she'd missed? Maybe Alice's impartial eye was exactly what she needed.

"There's a charity event tonight at the new aquarium," she said. "I suppose you could come with me. I'll have a client with me, though—another football player. So you'll have to promise to be on your best behavior."

Alice smiled, a wicked glint in her eye. "Hell, if sleeping with a football player will make me look half as good as you do right now, I'll be extra nice."

Summer passing camps were usually a vacation from the grueling practices during the season, and Dominic always enjoyed the chance to hone his skills.

Not today. He'd never fumbled so many balls, never lacked chemistry with the quarterback like this. Dominic poured a bottle of water over his head, trying to drown out the inner voice that said he was screwed, that sleeping with Melissa had jinxed him in some way, had stolen his mojo.

Ty waited until everyone else had left the field before razzing him. "She anyone I know?"

Dominic went still. "Just getting old." For once, he was glad to use his age as an excuse.

Ty didn't buy it. "Took me a while to get my game back on after hooking up with Julie. Don't fight it, man. It'll happen." He gave Dominic a knowing grin. "And let me know when we can meet the woman who finally fucked up your game. She's got to be pretty amazing." He headed into the locker room.

Several Outlaws swore by their "no sex before a game" superstition. Dominic had never noticed it mattering one way or the other, but maybe that was because none of those women had mattered.

Six hours later, Melissa smoothed down her strapless dark-purple dress in the passenger seat of Alice's car.

"You look great, girl. Loverboy's eyes are going to pop out of his head."

"Thanks," she said to her best friend, "but please don't call Dominic loverboy ever again."

Alice grinned. "I did a little research when I got back to the office. He did those Calvin Klein commercials for a while, right? They call him the Dominator?"

"He did." Melissa's face flushed. "And they do."

"No wonder you're so messed up over him. He has phenomenal abs."

They had arrived in Golden Gate Park just as the party was getting under way. Melissa had instructed JP to meet her by the fountain at 6:15 p.m., and prayed he wasn't getting into trouble. She'd stab him with her heel if he was.

Alice took in all the muscles, the gorgeous faces and bodies in their tuxes, and shook her head. "I can't believe I'm actually at this party. Although I certainly wouldn't kick a couple of these guys out of my bed for eating power bars."

Melissa grinned, seeing the world she'd inhabited her whole life with new eyes, realizing for the first time that she'd been taking it for granted. She instantly spotted Dominic across the room, deep in conversation with a top cancer-research specialist Melissa had met at a previous gala. She tried hard to turn a critical eye on Dominic, but it was no use. She couldn't find a single thing wrong with him.

JP walked into her line of vision. "Hey, boss," he said before turning the full wattage of his charm onto Alice, who had bucked the dress code by wearing black leather jeans and a slinky sequined top rather than a cocktail dress.

"Has anyone ever told you what a breath of fresh air you are in a stuffy room?" he said to Alice.

Alice adjusted her black-rimmed glasses. "No," she told him before turning back to Melissa. "Thank God it wasn't him," she said. "I would have seriously doubted not only your judgment but your sanity as well."

Melissa's heart raced. "Not here," she hissed.

JP watched the interaction with fascination. "The day I understand the way a woman's mind works is the day I'm going to start batting for the other team."

Alice faked a sweet smile. "You mean more often than you already do?"

His obvious surprise was cut short by a slow grin. "I'd ask you to marry me, babe, but we both know it wouldn't last. How about a drink instead?"

Alice shrugged. "What the hell. Maybe I can rack up some charity points myself tonight by teaching you how to read."

Melissa bit back a laugh as they headed to the bar.

Dominic looked up, their eyes locked, and she suddenly felt hot. She wasn't wearing any lingerie under her dress. Could he tell?

A photographer from the Chronicle came by to say hello, but the bare minimum of Melissa's attention was on their conversation about the upcoming football season. The rest was on every one of Dominic's movements, the way his hair had grown a bit long and was falling over his left eye, the fact that he was still watching her from across the room and his gaze made her warm and tingly all over. Eventually the conversation made its way around to her, and the fact that she was responsible for two new clients.

The photographer's face lit up when she told him who the two players were. "Let's get a shot of the three of you."

Dominic and JP sold papers; they really didn't need her in the picture. But it was a good opportunity to solidify her public standing as a new agent with serious prospects.

She located JP and Alice standing beside the bar, deep in conversation. What would the two of them have to talk about? The fact that they hated everything about each other?

"Sorry to interrupt," she said, "but I need you and Dominic for a quick photo, JP."

"Sure thing," he said, "But are you sure you want to make Dominic look bad by putting the two of us together?"