“I’ll talk to your mother.”

“She’ll never agree. Can’t I just sleep at your house so I can go and we won’t tell her? Please, Daddy, please.”

He groaned, hating the pleading tone in her voice. “We’ll talk when I get home tomorrow.”

“You’re the best!” she squealed into the phone.

“Lizzie, I didn’t promise anything,” he reminded her.

She laughed. “But I know you and I love you.” She blew a kiss into the phone. “Gotta go now! Bye!”

The phone clicked on her end. Lizzie, he realized, had twisted his words into what she wanted to hear. If he didn’t agree, she’d blame him even more than she already blamed her mother.

“Teenagers should come with an instruction manual,” he muttered.

“Nobody ever said it would be easy.”

He turned, startled at the sound of Sophie’s voice. Wrapped up in Lizzie’s drama, he’d forgotten she sat patiently by his side. “It amazes me how easy it is for someone who’s never been a parent to offer platitudes.”

She inclined her head. “Good point.”

At least she didn’t seem insulted.

“I take it she wanted to go somewhere and her mother said no?” Sophie asked.

He nodded. “South Street Seaport during happy hour.”

“And you agreed with…” Sophie trailed off.

“Lisa,” he said, helping her out with his ex’s name. “I didn’t agree and you know it. You heard my side of the conversation. I said we’d talk about it when I got home.”

Sophie curled a leg beneath her and studied him. “Lisa,” she said. “The woman you married because you were young and in love? Or she was young and pregnant?” she asked.

He liked that she didn’t pull punches. “Too young to know what love was, too young to have kids, too stupid to know we didn’t know any better.” He shook his head and laughed. “But we did get Lizzie out of the deal. Lisa’s married to a stuffed-shirt accountant now and they tend to follow the rules.”

“Aha,” Sophie said, nodding. “You, the nonconformist, don’t want to follow those rules.” A gleam of certainty sparkled in her eyes.

He shifted uncomfortably. “It isn’t that simple.”

“So explain.” She leaned forward, waiting.

He felt certain, once he revealed his motives, she’d come down firmly on his side; after all, she’d already shown she understood him when it came to Spencer. Her insight had provided him with much-needed support this trip.

He’d never shared his feelings about Lizzie with anyone in his life, but he wasn’t surprised he now wanted Sophie to be the first. The notion that he was seeking her understanding, or worse, her approval, was a threat to his style of doing things his own way in his own time.

“There’s a reason I don’t like to do what others expect.” He paused and she remained silent, giving him whatever time he needed to gather his thoughts. “I spent the better part of my life, my youth, trying to get Spencer to notice me.”

Unable to sit still, and finding it even more difficult to look into Sophie’s solemn eyes, he rose and paced the carpeted room. “By the time I won the Heisman and was represented by Yank, with no word from my father, I decided I was no longer going to please anyone but myself.”

Sophie swallowed over the lump in her throat. Imagining Riley as a little boy seeking his father’s elusive approval broke her heart. That it was Spencer, a man who’d given her love and understanding, hurt even more. Guilt pierced through her, making her feel as if she’d stolen something precious from him. Something he’d never get back.

“When Lizzie was born, I held this little bundle in my arms. She was smaller, and a hell of a lot more delicate, than a football.” He grinned, but in his face she saw love and emotion, something so deep it took her breath away.

She started to reach for him then changed her mind. What he felt for his daughter had nothing to do with her and she had no right to intrude on it. “Go on,” she said softly.

“Right then, I promised myself-and I promised her-she’d never wonder if her father loved her. She’d never look around and question why her father wasn’t a part of her life. And she’d never ever resent me.” He set his jaw tight.

Sophie glanced down, knowing she had to phrase this exactly right. “Just be her father.”

“It’s not that simple. I’m not there when she goes to sleep at night or when she wakes up in the morning.”

“So you want to give her what she wants to make up for it.”

He shrugged. “That’s my job as her father.”

“Your job is to make sure she grows up safe and sound and loved. The best way to do that is to set rules-”

“To hell with that,” he muttered, rising from the bed. “Control and rules are your thing, not mine. But because of everything you’ve seen down here, I thought you’d understand my relationship with my daughter. Apparently I was wrong,” he said in a suddenly frosty voice.

She blinked, startled by his change in tone. “Of course I understand.” But that didn’t mean she totally agreed.

Because Sophie and her sisters had been raised by their bachelor uncle, she’d always worried about him getting it right. To his credit-and in no small part thanks to Lola-he had. Partially because they’d known the importance of rules and discipline.

Sophie had taken it upon herself to learn from her uncle’s way of parenting. Maybe Riley could do the same. “This isn’t about my rules. It’s about children and what they need, and what it means to be a parent.”

He raised an eyebrow. “And you’d know this because you are one?”

“Whoa.” She stood and squared her shoulders. “Where’s the hostility coming from?”

He faced her, the arrogant athlete she’d always seen him as in the past. She couldn’t be more disappointed. Or more hurt. Her throat swelled painfully as she realized she’d let him into her heart only to have him trample on it at the first sign of their differences.

“It isn’t hostility, it’s fact,” he said, oblivious to her feelings. “You’ll never understand where I’m coming from. You’re a stickler for rules and I’m not. No way am I going to inflict that kind of control on my daughter.”

He was talking about Lizzie but he was condemning Sophie, too, and with each word his emotional walls rose higher. He wanted to block her out and he’d succeeded. She couldn’t find the words for a cutting comeback nor did she want to try. Riley had been scarred by his childhood and was so obviously overcompensating with his daughter, it was downright scary.

“I’m in her life and she’s going to grow up appreciating that fact, not resenting me or wishing I was gone.”

Sophie looked into his cold eyes. “So you’ll buy her instead. Well, good for you. Maybe one day you’ll grow up and realize she’s better off with a real parent rather than an overindulgent one with poor judgment.”

He scowled and started for the door. “I’m going to pack,” he muttered, and walked out without looking back.

South Street Seaport at night. Sophie shivered and hoped Riley wasn’t seriously considering letting his thirteen-year-old daughter go there. Then again, he had one valid point. Now that he’d decided she didn’t understand him, it wasn’t any of her business.

Unfortunately, there was no telling herself she didn’t care. Sophie headed for the shower he’d just vacated and inhaled the scent of soap he’d left behind. Her heart pounded in her chest, disappointment in both Riley and how their relationship had turned out filling her.

She’d been stupid enough to invest more than her body in this short relationship even though she’d known from the beginning how it would end. Too bad she hadn’t trusted her instincts and steered clear.

Because although she’d expected a parting of ways when they returned home, she hadn’t expected him to turn on her before they even left South Florida.

CINDY REPLAYED the voice mail telling her Sophie would be home later today. Hallelujah. She loved being a publicist, dealing with people and nabbing PR coups, but she hated running the place on her own. Though Spencer had returned, he was too busy handling damage control with his own clients to worry about the mundane things like bill keeping and doling out new assignments to the other publicists. She appreciated Sophie’s faith in her, but she was more than ready to return to the role of employee.

Especially since they’d just experienced a major computer crash in the office. The techs didn’t know what had caused the problem. They’d mentioned the possibility of a virus attacking the system, but until they’d worked on it some more, they couldn’t be sure.

Her cell phone rang and she pulled it out of her purse, answering on the first ring. A pathetic occurrence that happened way too often since she’d shared drinks with Miguel Cambias the other evening.

She looked at the incoming number on the phone. As if on cue, her stomach performed an excited flip. “Hello?”

“Good morning,” he said in that sexy tone.

“Hi,” she said, feeling like a tongue-tied teenager.

“I’ve been e-mailing you all morning. Are you avoiding me?” he asked in a confident voice that insinuated she’d never do such a thing.

He was right.

“Not avoiding you. Just unable to reply. Our server is down,” she explained, thrilled by the notion that he’d been trying to reach her.

“Aah, that explains things,” he said in an understanding tone. “I was hoping I could steal you away for lunch.”

She wanted to say yes, but she and Sophie would have to play catch-up for most of the afternoon. “Not today, unfortunately. How about tomorrow?”

“You drive a hard bargain, Cynthia.”

She loved the sound of her full name coming from his lips. “I think you’ll find me worth the wait,” she said, laughing.

“Of that I have no doubt. Lunch tomorrow it is. I’ll be in touch.” He disconnected the line, leaving a humming feeling dancing through her veins.

She enjoyed his company and not just because the man knew how to treat a lady, from insisting he pick her up at work, to opening doors, to pulling out her chair before she sat. He listened intently to details about her life and asked questions as if he were truly interested in both her family life and her job, unlike many men who only wanted to talk about themselves. Miguel was solicitous and sexy and when he’d walked her to her door, he’d done nothing more than kiss her cheek. His aftershave had lingered in her memory long after he’d gone.

She couldn’t recall the last time she’d been wined and dined and romanced like that. In addition, he’d sent her fresh flowers as a thank-you and e-mailed her just to say hello.

How could she not be interested in the man? Yet how could she not feel guilty when her boss didn’t know about Cindy’s growing relationship with their competitor?

She consoled herself with the fact that Sophie would be back this afternoon and she’d fill her in then. In the meantime, she’d enjoy the excitement of knowing she was finally on the right track in a relationship and enjoying every minute.

DESPITE THE TYPICAL craziness of Kennedy Airport, Sophie still heard her cell ring. A few seconds later, she was no longer worrying about the chill between herself and Riley because her business was a mess.

She shut her phone, slid it into her purse and turned to her companion, who’d been as silent as she for the duration of the flight. Her only consolation had been that he’d been too preoccupied to flirt with the flight attendants.

Despite the sudden urgency to get to the office, Sophie still couldn’t help but drink in what was probably her last look at Riley for a while. Every inch the rebel with the collar of his jean jacket raised and his eyes hidden by sunglasses, she’d never felt more distance between them. It was hard to believe she’d slept with him. Made love with him. Let him begin to get into her heart.

She glanced at the moving carousel, which had begun to circulate luggage from the flight. “As soon as my bag shows up, I’m out of here.”

“Work calls?” he asked.

Was that sarcasm she heard in his voice? “The computers crashed. The tech people are trying to get things back online, but right now it’s a nightmare.” Some sort of computer virus had completely disabled their system. Checks couldn’t be printed or signed and neither could contracts. Internet access was nonexistent.

Just then her bag came into view. Recognizing it, he swung it off the conveyor belt for her.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

Silence hung between them. Uncomfortable and not wanting to prolong things, she pulled the handle on her bag so she could wheel it to the taxi line.

“Good luck at the office,” he said.

She swallowed hard. “Good luck with your daughter.”

“No luck needed,” he said flippantly.

Too flippantly, Sophie thought. Could he find this parting as awkward as she did?