She packed a pair of capris, a sundress, and then figured they’d go somewhere nice to eat. She pursed her lips and stared into the closet.

Well, damn. She grabbed the black dress and packed that, too. Just in case.

She did her makeup and her hair, then got dressed and carried her bag downstairs and laid it by the front door.

She gathered up her planner and her phone and charger and put those in her tote bag just as the doorbell rang. She opened it and Nathan stood there, wearing his signature boyish grin.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Yes.” She nodded and picked up her bag. He took it from her.

“I’ve got this.”

She followed him out to his SUV, surprised to see they were alone.

“Where’s Jamal and his girlfriend?”

“Wendy had a client meeting that went longer than she planned, so they’re going to meet us there.”

“Oh. Okay.”

He put her bag in the back of the SUV. Mia climbed into the passenger seat and buckled up. Since they waited until after six to leave, they should miss most of the traffic leaving the city. Or that was their hope when they planned this out.

They did hit some traffic in the city, but once they got over the bridge, it wasn’t too bad. Mia still couldn’t believe she lived here. It was so beautiful and as she looked out over the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco Bay, she took a deep breath and reminded herself how lucky she was to be living her dream.

“What are you thinking about over there?” Nathan asked.

She turned her attention toward Nathan. “I was thinking about how lucky I am to live here, and to realize my dream of starting up MHC. The past several months I’ve gotten bogged down in all the stress of the start-up and I’ve forgotten how much this all means to me and how fortunate I am to have the opportunity to do it.”

He nodded. “Yeah, we’re both lucky.”

“No, you’re talented. I’m lucky.”

He changed lanes and moved into the carpool lane. “Bullshit. You think you’d be able to do what you’re doing if you didn’t have the smarts and the talent? Come on, Mia. Give yourself some credit. You worked hard for this. No one hit the books in school more than you did. You were always focused and driven. It’s one of the things I admire most about you.”

She looked down at her hands, feeling her face warm from the compliment. “Thank you, Nathan. But I wasn’t fishing for compliments. What I meant was, it took a lot of good timing and things to fall into place for me to be able to start up this company. For you, that athletic ability was either there or not. You’ve had it your entire life. And look what you’ve done with it. You want to talk about drive and ambition? That’s you. You knew what you wanted to do and you made it happen.”

“I don’t know. I think we’re both talking about the same thing. We both have talent. It just manifests itself in different ways. I could never do what you do.”

“Oh, come on. You have the book smarts. You could have gone into the draft after your junior year. Instead, you stayed and got your degrees. And they aren’t fluff degrees, either. They are in finance and math.”

“That’s only so I could pick up the smart chicks. Like you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Was not and I know it. Though it was fortunate that you and I met in Differential Calculus. I saved your ass in that class.”

“That you did. And then I saved yours in Geometrical Statistics.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I hated that class.”

He laughed. “I remember.”

“Then how about we never revisit it again? How did your day go today?”

“It was fine. I worked out and met with some PR people.”

Her ears perked up. “PR people?”

“Yeah. Some new team that wants to hire me now that I’m going to be the starting quarterback. They had some marketing ideas about how to get me more exposure, commercials, shit like that.”

“That sounds . . . vague.”

“It was. I don’t think I’ll use them. They didn’t have anything concrete to offer.”

“Do you have other people to talk to? Other companies in mind?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t thought much about it.”

She sighed. She didn’t want to do this, but she was more concerned about Nathan’s career than crossing that line between friendship and business. “You should let MHC do a presentation for you.”

He gave her a quick glance before turning his attention back on the road. “You mean have your company manage me?”

“At least see what we have to offer. We’re very good and now that you’re going to be the starting quarterback, you need a company that will handle you right, from your public relations to brand strategies to your financial future. I know you have a great agent and he’s worked with our team with some of our other clients and prospective clients. He could sit in on the presentation.”

“I know you’ve mentioned it before, but I’m still wary about mixing business and our friendship.”

“I understand your concern, but I think we could make it work without any trouble. You need good representation, and I believe we’re the best. So . . . think about it.”

“I’ll do that.”

“Okay. Enough work talk.”

His lips curved. “And I was just going to ask about your day.”

She laughed. “It was hectic.”

“Tell me why it was hectic.”

“I thought we were done talking about work?”

“We’re done talking about your work as it relates to me, not as it relates to you. Tell me why your day was hectic.”

She told him about her entire week and when she was finished, that tension she’d worked so hard to dissolve was back.

“You’re a badass, Mia. Maybe I will consider letting MHC present to me.”

She couldn’t resist the satisfied smile that crept onto her face. “Take the weekend and think about it. But I told you, we’re good.”

“You’re good.”

“It’s not just me. I’ve got a really good team and they’re the ones who would be taking care of you. Not me.”

He looked over at her again and the look he gave her didn’t have anything to do with business. “What if I want you to take care of me?”

She felt a rush of heat, of need and desire mixed with the memory of his mouth on hers. All of those feelings were very bad. “Nathan. We aren’t going there.”

“What? I meant it in an entirely professional way.”

“Did you?”

“Of course. What did you think I meant?”

Maybe she’d read him wrong and it had been entirely in her own mind. “Nothing.”

“Not nothing. You were thinking about you and me, weren’t you?”

It didn’t surprise her he’d pick up on that. “Yes.”

“You already made it clear that wasn’t gonna happen, so I really was talking about you taking care of me from a business point of view.”

“Okay. But no, I don’t deal with the athletes once they’re on board. Everyone has their own point person. My function is overall management of the company. I’m there in the beginning, during the presentation and signing of the contracts, to be sure it all runs smoothly. After that, I hand you off to your designated managers.”

“I see. Sounds very well organized.”

She smiled. “Of course it is. I totally have my shit together.”

Professionally, anyway.

The drive to Napa Valley took a couple of hours. It was always enjoyable to spend time with Nathan, because their interests were similar, even down to liking the same music. They sang together in the car, though Nathan sang off-key. Not that he cared much, which made Mia laugh. They talked current events and families. She’d known Nathan long enough to know everything about his, and he knew all about hers. Of course, he already knew one of her brothers personally since they played on the same team.

“So my Aunt Jenna is pregnant.”

Mia blinked. “She is? Really? That’s fantastic. I know you told me she and Tyler were talking about having kids, but she was focused on her music and the club so they couldn’t decide when.”