Nathan nodded and put his hand against the small of Chloe’s back to indicate she should follow the young woman. “How did she know who we were?” Chloe asked in an undertone before she stepped in front of him.

Nathan looked uncomfortable as he shrugged. “They prep the hostesses with photos of major donors. It’s part of the courtship dance. They make you feel important so you’ll give them more money.”

The hostess stopped and looked over her shoulder, so Chloe hurried forward. Nathan was a major donor. It shouldn’t surprise her.

She made a surreptitious scan of their fellow guests as she walked through the chattering crowd. The women wore clothes that reeked of money, and the suits of their male counterparts clearly did not come ready-made off a rack. Thank goodness Nathan had sent the extra outfits to her house! She would have been woefully underdressed in her own clothes.

Of course, he looked superb in a midnight-blue suit with a light-blue shirt and yellow tie, his hair tamed into neat waves that brushed his collar. She caught several women casting envious glances her way, which made a smug little smile turn up the corners of her lips.

The hostess touched a guest’s shoulder to clear their path. As the guest moved aside, Chloe saw Luke Archer, with his signature mane of blond hair, standing directly in front of her. His head was bent as he listened politely to the animated conversation of a petite blonde woman who had her hand tucked in his elbow. As Chloe and Nathan approached, he turned those famously piercing blue eyes on them. She realized the blonde woman wasn’t quite as small as she’d thought. Luke Archer’s height and broad shoulders just made her appear tiny.

“Good to see you, man,” the quarterback said, gripping Nathan’s hand briefly before turning to Chloe with a surprisingly easy smile and a charming Texas twang. “You must be Chloe. I’m Luke Archer.”

His big hand engulfed hers and she wondered how many footballs he’d thrown with it. “I know. I’ll never forget the eighty-two-yard pass you made to win the Super Bowl. My heart was in my throat as that ball flew through the air,” she said. “I’m a great fan of yours.” She nodded toward the rest of the room with a smile. “Along with everyone else here, I suspect.”

He shook his head. “There are plenty of Patriots and Dolphins fans here.” He turned to his companion. “Jane Dreyer, meet Chloe Russell and Nathan Trainor.” The woman gave them a dazzling smile as she shook hands. She was about fifteen years older than Luke, had straight platinum-blonde hair, and wore a simple long-sleeved purple sheath adorned with a gorgeous collection of gold chains and bangles. “Jane is Gavin’s literary agent,” Luke added.

Chloe knew Gavin meant Gavin Miller, the author of the hugely successful Julian Best series. He was another of Nathan’s acquaintances. She wondered what other famous people they would run into here.

“I’m trying to persuade Luke to write his memoir,” Jane said. “You’d want to read that, wouldn’t you?”

“Absolutely,” Chloe said.

Luke shook his head. “Maybe when I retire from football.”

“I’ve explained that he needs to write it now, while he’s at the height of his career,” Jane said, appealing to Chloe and Nathan again. “That will give him the broadest platform of readers.”

“She makes a good point,” Nathan said.

Chloe was surprised to see a flicker in the quarterback’s air of steely confidence as he said, “I’m not much of a writer.”

“Not a problem,” Jane said. “I have some fantastic ghostwriters as clients.”

“Where’s Gavin?” Nathan asked, glancing around.

“He took my date to look at the auction items in the next room,” Luke said, appearing relieved at the change of subject.

“We’ll have to bid on some of those too.” Nathan looked down at Chloe with a smile. “For the cause. I hear Luke donated an autographed football you might like.”

“I’d love that, especially knowing it’s supporting the foster kids,” she said. It seemed safe to agree to that. An autographed football couldn’t cost all that much, could it?

“Trainor, you actually came.” Another tall man, this one dark where Luke Archer was blond, strolled up to the group accompanied by a young, very trim woman. “I didn’t think you would.” He turned a flashing smile on Chloe.

“Good to see you too, Miller,” Nathan said with an amused edge to his tone. “Chloe, this is Gavin Miller.”

Gavin projected a cynical, devil-may-care attitude in contrast to Luke’s almost palpable discipline and self-control. The author’s striking green eyes held a glint of mischief. Yet she noticed dark circles under them. “Chloe, the pearl beyond price, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Instead of shaking her hand, he gave her a brief hug. “Allow me to present Elyssa Lauda, Luke’s personal trainer. And a very lovely one at that.”

That explained Elyssa’s perfectly defined arm muscles, but Chloe was puzzled by Gavin’s description of herself. As she shook hands with the trainer, she caught an exchange of glances between Nathan and Gavin, one warning, the other challenging. Something was going on between these men that Nathan hadn’t clued her in on.

Miller maneuvered himself around to stand beside Chloe. “So tell me how you and Nathan met. Being a writer, I’m always interested in the backstory.”

It figured he’d lead with an awkward question. “I worked for him, briefly. I’m temping between permanent jobs.”