Forcing herself to keep breathing, she opened the door.

“Hi,” she said, trying to keep her voice from coming out in a squeak.

“Hi yourself.”

The message to her brain, telling her to step back, was automatic. Which was a good thing, because she was incapable of thought.

Hawk looked amazing. He wore slacks and a long-sleeved shirt, a tie and sport coat. He looked like one of those sexy sportscasters. Or a male cover model.

He filled out his clothes perfectly—as if they’d been custom-made for him. Maybe they had. She managed to raise her gaze to his face. He smiled at her and the nerves got worse. An entire parade of butterflies began practicing their marching-band routine.

She felt weak and oddly aroused at the sight of him. Would he consider blowing off dinner and doing her instead?

“I made reservations,” Hawk told her. “The Yarrow Bay Grill. Have you been there?”

“No, but I’ve heard about it.” That it had a stunning view, an excellent wine list and incredible food.

“I don’t usually make reservations,” he grumbled. “You’d better be impressed.”

He could do her later, she thought as she smiled. “I am impressed. I’m all quivery. I’ll barely be able to walk to the car. Of course I have a stiff knee so that could be part of the reason.”

“You’re being snarky.”

“You picked up the phone and dialed and now you want a plaque?”

“It’s a guy thing.”

“Apparently.”

“You look great.”

“Thank you. You look very nice, as well.”

“I did the tie especially for you. I thought you’d like it.”

“I do.”

She told herself not to read too much into his words. They weren’t on a real date. They were partners in a bargain that would make most people who knew her shake their heads.

Forty minutes later they were seated in a booth overlooking the small marina at Yarrow Bay. Lake Washington glimmered with sunlight.

Hawk flipped through the novel-length wine list, then ordered. When their server had left, he leaned forward.

“Brittany called me on her way to Raoul’s house. She told me you helped her with his special birthday dinner. Thanks for that.”

“It was fun. I was a little surprised she came to me, though.”

“I would have done it, but she knows I would have given her a hard time. Teasing daughters is a father’s prerogative.”

“Mine was never much into that.” He’d always been a distant man, more interested in what was on TV than the lives of his daughters. “Brittany is a lovely girl. She thinks the world of you. You two have a very special relationship.”

He shrugged. “We do okay. I want to take all the credit, but it was mostly Serena. By the time she died, all the basics were in place.”

Nicole didn’t know what to make of the information. Should she ask more about Serena or change the subject? Honestly, she wasn’t sure how much she wanted to know.

“Have you lived here all your life?” he asked.

She nodded. “Even during college. I went to University of Washington and lived at home. With the bakery, there wasn’t much chance of doing anything else.”

“Why?”

She picked up her water glass, then put it down. “My family has owned the Keyes bakery forever. I grew up knowing I would always be a part of that heritage. That I would one day take it over.”

“You have sisters, don’t you? Why do I think you have sisters?”

“I have two. Claire is my fraternal twin. You might have heard of her.”

The server appeared with a bottle of red wine. After opening it, he poured some into a glass for Hawk to taste. Hawk sipped, then nodded. The server poured them both wine and left.

“Why would I have heard of your sister?” Hawk asked.

“Claire Keyes?”

He shook his head, then stopped. “She plays piano?”

Nicole smiled. “Concert pianist. Famous soloist. She’s played all over the world, made top-selling CDs. When we were three years old, we went to a friend’s house. Claire walked up to the piano and started playing. We’d never even seen one before, so everyone went crazy. Life changed. Claire started taking lessons. When she was six, she and my grandmother left so she could study in New York and Europe. Jesse, my youngest sister, was born that year. A lot of things changed.”

“She was just gone? You must have missed her.”

“I did. It was like someone had cut off my arm. When I was twelve, my grandmother decided Claire’s schedule was too grueling for her. She came home and my mother left to travel with her.”

What Nicole didn’t mention, what still made her angry, was how happy her mother had been to go. She’d been excited by the opportunity to travel and see the world, live in five-star hotels and hang out with the rich and famous. Never once had she even hinted she would miss what, and who, she was leaving behind.

“The bakery was my dad’s but he was never much into it,” Nicole continued. “I had to handle things at home with Jesse and I started helping out in the bakery. When Claire and I were sixteen, our mom was killed in a car crash. I sort of took over after that.”

She stopped talking. Was she saying too much?

“You studied business at college?” he asked.

She nodded. “So I could take over the bakery.”

“What would you have done if you’d had the choice?”

No one had ever asked her that before. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I have no idea. It was never an option. I knew I would inherit the bakery.”

She’d accepted her fate, had never considered there might be other paths.

“You, not your baby sister?”

Nicole didn’t want to think about Jesse or the fact that both her sisters were pregnant. “She never had a lot of interest.”

“Do you like what you do?”

She thought about an average day, the people she worked with, the rhythm. “Most of the time. I mean hey, I’m surrounded by cupcakes. Where’s the bad?”

He grinned. “Good point. I always knew I wanted to play football. I grew up north of Seattle, outside of Marysville. Small town, small high school. Football was going to be my way out.”

“What about your family?”

“It was just my mom and me. My dad died when I was little. What I remember about him isn’t good. Money was tight, but that was okay. My mom was so damn proud of me. She really believed in me. When things got hard, I thought about my mom.” Hawk picked up his wine but didn’t take a drink. “She lived to see me get to college on a scholarship, but not much longer after that. I wish she could have seen me go pro.”

“Maybe she did.”

He looked at her. “I like to think so. She was great when I found out Serena was pregnant. We were seniors in high school. I thought she was going to kill me, but she just said we’d handle it.”

Nicole wasn’t sure what her father would have said if she’d shown up pregnant. Not that it ever would have happened. Between school and working in the bakery and raising Jesse, there hadn’t been a lot of time for dating. Or fun.

“How did Serena’s parents take it?” she asked.

“They were angry. They told her if she didn’t give up the baby for adoption and never see me again, they would have nothing to do with her.”

“You’re kidding.”

“No. She was devastated. But I told her we’d get married and be a family. It took a hell of a leap of faith for her to believe me.”

“She was in love.”

“We both were. It was terrifying at first. We got married right after graduation and moved in with my mom. The coach at Oklahoma University put us in touch with some folks down in Norman and they really helped out.”

Nicole didn’t know much about football but she knew he’d picked the right kind of school.

“Living in a place where college football is king made a difference,” she teased.

“I know. We were taken care of. We lived off campus in a great little house. I was supposed to do maintenance to pay rent, but there wasn’t much to do. Serena got a job with flexible hours and decent pay. Everyone there made it easy for us. There were always babysitters so Serena could come to the games.”

Nicole couldn’t imagine that life. It was like hearing the plot of a movie. “You were lucky.”

“We were. Even with all the help we were still a couple of teenagers raising a baby. Nights Brittany had a fever terrified me. I could take a hit with no problem, but every time she fell down, I thought I was going to lose it.”

“An involved dad,” she said lightly, feeling the steady ticking of her biological clock. Why was having a family such a challenge?

“I loved her and Serena. A lot of the guys on the team never understood why I was so happy being with one woman. They were out getting as much as they could and when you play ball you get a lot. But that wasn’t important to me. It was the same when I went pro. For us, it was a chance to be financially secure. We wanted to go back to Seattle, so we bought the house I live in now. It’s pretty ordinary. We wanted a regular life.”

“An unusual dream for a pro football player.”

“I don’t need a lot of expensive crap to tell me who I am.”

Which said a lot about him. Nicole was beginning to wonder if this dinner was a good idea. She didn’t want to start to actually like Hawk. That would create a complication she didn’t need.

“Why did you retire?”

“Serena got cancer. We knew she was dying. Brittany was only twelve, so it hit her hard. Serena and I talked about what was best for Brittany. Me traveling and training six or eight months out of the year wasn’t it. Serena’s parents finally came around, but they’re in Florida now so they only see Brittany every couple of years. There wasn’t anyone to take care of her but me. Retiring was the right thing to do.”

He’d quit playing professional football—an occupation that practically gave him deity status—to stay home and take care of his daughter?

“I got bored in three days,” he said with a grin. “That’s when I thought about coaching.”

“You mean you’re not in it for the money?” she teased, not wanting him to be as good as he sounded.

“I don’t need the paycheck, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Speaking of paychecks, are you going to see Raoul tomorrow?”

“I don’t know. Why?”

“I have his paycheck. He didn’t work yesterday and I forgot to pay him a day early.” She thought about how tight money was for him. “Maybe I’ll drop it off at his house tomorrow.”

“I can do that.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m his boss.”

“How’s he working out for you?”

“He’s great. A hard worker. I’m glad to have him.”

“Aren’t you happy you didn’t throw him in jail?”

“I’m not going to talk about that.”

“Because you don’t want to admit you were wrong?”

“Something like that.”

THEY TALKED all through dinner. Nicole found her entrée getting cold as she and Hawk debated everything from the Mariners’ chance at making the play-offs to the best place to get coffee. As it was Seattle, there were hundreds of choices.

“You’re talking flavored lattes,” he grumbled. “Girl drinks.”

“Oh, right. And you’re just too manly.”

“I am.”

He looked at her and she stared back. Heat flared, making her squirm. When he reached across the table and grabbed her hand, she had the sudden wish they were somewhere else. Somewhere alone and quiet, where getting na**d wouldn’t upset the management.

“If you’re done here,” he began, “I’m thinking it’s time for a little sex-kitten action.”

Her stomach clenched. “I’m yours for the asking.”

“One of your best qualities.”

She thought about saying it was part of their deal, but after their lone sexual encounter, she found herself anticipating getting na**d with Hawk again. Even without the bargain she would have been more than willing.

He released her hand and glanced at his watch, then groaned.

“What?”

“I told Brittany she had to be home by eleven, which means I have to be there to make sure that happens. It’s after ten now.”

Math had never been Nicole’s thing, but even she could figure this out. “We don’t have time to go back to my place, get busy and have you home by eleven.”

Hawk looked at her. “It’s your fault. I don’t usually sit and talk to a woman for three hours without noticing the time. Especially when there are other ways to spend an evening.”

Meaning they could have been in bed. She smiled. “Typical guy. Blaming someone else.” But his words made her oddly happy. She liked knowing he’d had a good time, too. Not that she liked him or anything. Well, she liked him, but it was in a “we have a bargain to get through” sense. Not liked him as in any romantic way.

“We’ll reschedule,” she said. “After all, I’m yours to command, so to speak.”

“Good.” He motioned to their server and asked for the bill. “I’ll call you tomorrow and we can set up a time.”

To have sex. She felt her insides quiver. “Just say the word and I’m ready to purr.”