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Toni pushes the twenty back to me. “I’ve never seen you here before. New to town?” She drinks from her beer bottle, eyes on mine.

So, we’re doing this.

“No, here for business.”

“What do you do?”

“Import/export.”

She looks me up and down with a wry smile. “You don’t look like a mobster, so that must mean you’re with the CIA.”

I lean forward and whisper. “I’ll never tell.” I very quietly, subtly, inhale, hoping to catch a whiff of the scent that hides in the hollow behind Toni’s ear. It’s faint but enough to activate a stirring deep inside me. I pull back. “What do you do?”

She’s smirking, and I know I’ve been busted, but don’t give a damn. I stare right into her eyes and dare her to go all in. The change in her demeanor is slight. When her tongue licks her bottom lip, I know exactly where this will end.

“I’m the vice president of Fourteener Sports.”

Her answer oozes confidence, and my heart swells with pride for Toni. No matter what happens in the future between us, that week we worked together, what we accomplished, set her on this new path. We were a great team.

“Impressive,” I say. I swallow down the emotions that clog my throat.

“I had a good mentor,” she replies.

“Good mentors are hard to find.”

Toni’s eyes search my face, linger on my lips. “Yes, they are.” Her eyes find mine and there’s a tiny spark I haven’t seen lately. “I don’t know your name.”

Do it, Audrey. Go all in.

“Roxanne.”

Toni grins. She’s surprised and loves it. “Roxanne? I hope you aren’t the Roxanne that picked up my best friend on Saturday night.”

I laugh. “No, I’m not.”

“It’s not a common name. Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“Hmm.” Toni looks me up and down openly now that the game is on. “Too bad. My friend has been walking around in a daze for the last couple of days. I’m Max.”

“Max.”

I take my time surveying Toni from head to toe, seeing beneath the hiking pants and flannel to the smooth hard body beneath. I linger on her breasts, my heart racing, my tongue desperate to feel her hardened nipple scrape against it. When our eyes finally meet, her pupils are blown with desire, the electric blue of her irises smaller than I’ve ever seen them. I raise an eyebrow. Time to slow it down a bit.

“Is that short for anything?”

Her voice is strangled when she answers. “I’m sorry?”

“Max. What is it short for?”

“Oh, nothing. A childhood nickname.” Toni moves closer and rests her arm on the back of my barstool. “I have an early flight tomorrow.”

“Oh?”

“I was going to grab something to eat.” She pauses, her gaze going to my lips. “Then go to bed.”

“Early night, huh?”