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She refilled her glass. “Legacy is important to our families. For my dad, it’s music.

Cash is successful, and Dad wants the next generation of Williamses to keep the torch burning.

He asks Cash about settling down, not me.

I didn’t get the right genes. Ollie’s dad focuses on sports instead.

Probably just as well Ollie and I didn’t inflict our fathers on kids anyway.

I don’t know how they’d have decided which career choice was more important. Maybe a cage match?”

I set my beer on the counter and leaned my hip against it. “So Otts was going to put off telling his dad there’d be no kids by divorcing you and staying single. How long did he think that would work?”

Sophie swallowed more wine. “I don’t know. But that’s not my problem.”

“Why is he dating a woman with kids? Kids that aren’t his. Isn’t that just going to bring up the issue?”

Her smile was forced. “Apparently now he’s ready to raise boys that don’t share his genetic legacy.”

Fuck him. Now I got why Sophie was so upset.

This was what she’d wanted to do, the life she’d been looking forward to, but Otts had said it wasn’t enough.

They split up, and now he’d decided he could take on kids with someone else.

Which left Sophie feeling like he hadn’t ended things because of kids, but because she wasn’t enough.

“You’re wrong.”

She’d been staring into her wineglass, but that caught her attention and she looked at me, eyebrows raised.

“He’s wrong too. He should have owned up back then. You’re worth it.”

Her lips twitched and she swallowed hard, eyes blinking back tears. Her voice was shaky when she said, “Tonight, when he was with someone else, trying something he wouldn’t do with me? I wasn’t feeling worth it. And Dad? That’s the most attention I’ve gotten from him in months.”

I saw the hurt in her expression. She’d had a moment to shine and he’d besmirched it. Her family didn’t value her, which her father made sure to show tonight, and now her ex was making her feel like shit.

“You are worth it,” I repeated. She looked gorgeous in that red dress, but it wasn’t just that.

Beyond what she looked like, she was a good person and that was harder to manage than a sexy dress and makeup.

She helped people, she’d been good to Beast and even looked after her brother’s cat as if it was more than an inconvenience.

Too many people had taken advantage of that without letting her know how incredible she was.

She met my gaze and I couldn’t look away. She studied me, gauging whether I was serious. I wasn’t sure what my expression revealed, but dwelling on the things I admired about her was amping up the attraction I felt.

The feeling had been quietly growing. There were good reasons why getting involved with her was a bad idea.

Number one was that this could mess up my relationship with my coach.

None of those reasons mattered right now.

My gaze dropped to her mouth, and she licked her lips before biting them.

I met her stare again and there was a question there. Was I just talking, or did I mean it?

I closed the distance between us. She didn’t look alarmed or nervous. This time she looked at my mouth, and when our eyes met again I saw heat. I lifted my hand, ran my callused fingers along her jaw. “Did I tell you how good you look tonight?”

Her mouth lifted into a smile, and I traced her lips with one finger.

“You can tell me again.”

“You are beautiful.” I was careful with my words. This wasn’t just about a dress and some makeup. I wanted her to know that.

She got it—at least, she reached up, pressing her mouth to mine. Gently, cautiously, still unsure.

I slipped my hands around her jaw, holding her in place while I returned the kiss. Sparks fired in my blood, and her kiss moved from gentle to forceful as her doubts fled.

I wanted to slide my fingers into her hair, but since it was still up I made do with cradling her face and returning as much passion as she was giving me.

Her hands slid under my jacket and around my waist, pulling me close against her.

She had to be feeling my dick, which was happy with how things were going, but it didn’t stop her.

She kept kissing me until we both took a break to breathe.

“Did I convince you?” I asked.

She rubbed herself against me, definitely feeling my dick. “I’m not sure yet.”

My mouth dropped open, then I saw the glint in her eyes. She was teasing. She wasn’t upset now. She was…flirting, maybe? “I’m happy to continue as long as necessary.” The only problem was making sure I didn’t come. It had been a while, and she was incredibly appealing.

She looked up, not as tall now without the heels. “Maybe we should go somewhere more comfortable?”

This was not how I’d seen the evening going. “Are you sure?” She pulled back, but I followed her till she was pressed against the counter. “I want to. But I don’t want to take advantage.”

Her eyes blinked back tears. “Please take advantage. I need that.”

Otts had hurt her tonight. She needed to know that he was wrong—she was worth more than he’d given her.

I reminded myself not to read too much into this, but I wasn’t going to turn her down. I liked her too much. Even if I got hurt, I wanted to take away her pain. “Yes, ma’am.”