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 f**ked 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?"

She fought the urge to roll her eyes. Alice didn't.

"One day, if you're lucky—and have lots of fantastic plastic surgery—you'll look half as good as Dominic," Alice taunted.

But JP just grinned. "Your version of foreplay is hot."

The four of them headed toward Dominic.

"Dom," JP said, "time to take pics with Melissa. You'd better go fix your makeup."

Dominic's hot gaze swept Melissa's face, then he turned to the photographer, ignoring JP completely.

"How's life with the new baby?" he asked, and Melissa noticed the bags under the man's eyes. How did someone as important and famous as Dominic manage to know the small details about the people all around him? Impressed, she vowed to learn from his example.

"She's great," the man said. "My wife and I aren't getting any sleep, but she's worth it."

Dominic looked uncomfortable. Was it because she was standing there amid talk of wives and children? Did he know she'd been dreaming of having his babies?

Melissa took a step back, accidentally knocking into a waiter's tray, and cold, wet liquor seeped into her dress.

Alice quickly took charge. "We'll be right back," she told everyone, then linked arms with Melissa and pulled her to the women's restroom.

"Loverboy," Alice said, "is desperately in love with you."

Chapter Eighteen

Hope warred with confusion inside Melissa. "You're mistaking desire for love," she protested. They locked themselves into a large, private bathroom, where Alice grabbed a wad of paper towels and pressed them to Melissa's back. "No. He loves you."

"Oh really? Then how come the morning after our first time together, he told me how sorry he was? And that we could never make the mistake of sleeping together again?"

"But you have slept together again. Lots of times, right?"

Melissa's face flamed. "It hasn't changed anything. I can tell he still feels guilty, like he would stop sleeping with me if he could."