“I can stomach a lot.”

“Then this is a great deal for you.”

He looked into her eyes. “Why would you trust me?”

“Everybody gets to screw up once.” She thought of her baby sister. Jesse had been given four or five hundred chances and still managed to blow every one.

“Then I’ll take the job,” he said. “I have football practice every afternoon, so maybe I could work in the morning, before school.”

“Talk to Phil about that. He’ll be your boss. If you’re interested in more hours once the season is over, let him know.”

Raoul nodded. “Thanks. You didn’t have to do any of this. You could have called the police.”

She didn’t bother pointing out that she’d tried. Instead of Seattle’s finest, Hawk had shown up.

“What is it with men and football?” she asked. “Why do you play? For the glory?”

“I love the game,” Raoul told her. “I want to go to college. I can’t afford it, so I’m hoping for a football scholarship.”

“Then you’ll turn pro and make millions?”

“Maybe. The odds are against it. Coach says I have talent.”

“Is he in a position to judge?”

Raoul frowned. “He’s my coach.”

Which didn’t answer the question, Nicole thought. How would a high school coach know if any one player would make it all the way to the pros? How could anyone?

“You don’t know who he is,” Raoul said, sounding shocked. “You have no idea.”

Nicole shifted uncomfortably. “He’s your coach.” And totally hot, but that was beside the point.

“He’s Eric Hawkins. He played pro for eight years and retired at the top of his game. He’s a legend.”

She found that hard to believe. “Lucky him.”

“He’s the best. He doesn’t have to work for the money. He’s teaching high school football because he loves the game and he wants to give back.”

Nicole resisted the urge to yawn. Raoul was reciting what sounded very much like a canned speech. Probably one the kid had heard dozens of times from the legend himself.

“Good to know,” she said and pulled forty dollars out of her back pocket. “Here.”

He didn’t take the money. “You can’t pay me.”

“Sure I can. You won’t be an official employee until you fill out the paperwork. So take this for now. You’ll punch a time clock and get a real paycheck soon enough.”

He actually tucked his hands behind his back. “I was working to pay off the doughnuts I stole.”

“Technically you didn’t even get them out the door. You’re not very good at the whole stealing thing.” She sighed when he didn’t smile. “Look, you worked hard today. I appreciate that. You earned this. Take it or I’ll get really crabby and trust me, you don’t want to see that.”

He reached for the money. “You think you’re really tough, but you don’t scare me.”

That almost made her laugh. “Give it time, kid. Give it time.”

NICOLE LED RAOUL to the front of the bakery, where she filled a couple of bags with day-old pastries and baked goods.

“You don’t have to do this,” he said, even as he stared longingly at the half-dozen cookies she scooped up.

“You can handle the calories. Like I said-it’s a perk.”

“Are there other perks?”

That question didn’t come from Raoul. Nicole didn’t have to turn around or even think to know who’d been speaking. And in case there was any confusion in her brain, her entire body flushed a welcome.

She straightened, braced herself for impact, then turned. Sure enough, Hawk stood behind the case, smiling that sexy, you-know-you-want-me smile of his.

He was slightly more dressed than he had been the previous day. Today his shorts were longer and his T-shirt covered all of his chest and stomach, which was both good and bad. In theory she should be able to think more easily. In reality, she was just a little disappointed.

“What do you want?” she asked, not caring that she sounded snappish.

“Interesting question,” he murmured, then winked at Raoul. “I came to see how my star player worked out. He impressed the hell out of you, didn’t he?”

Nicole found herself neatly trapped. She actually liked Raoul and had been happy to offer him a job. But with Hawk there, she felt the need to say nothing had gone well and she was happy to be rid of him.

“He was fine,” she said and handed the bags to Raoul. Afraid she would see disappointment in the kid’s eyes, she added, “Better than fine. He did great.”

“I knew it.”

“This isn’t actually about you. I know that’s an amazing concept, so I should probably give you a minute to wrap your mind around it.”

Hawk chuckled. “Raoul, you don’t have to stick around here. I’ll see you at practice in a couple of hours.”

The kid nodded and left. Nicole watched him go because it was easier than trying not to look at Hawk. The man was like catnip.

When they were alone, Nicole suddenly didn’t know what to do with any part of her body. She wanted to back up…or move much, much closer. Her arms felt funny just hanging at her sides. But crossing them seemed too hostile.

She hated this. The man had the power to make her feel awkward in her own skin.

“You don’t still need to be here,” she told him.

“I want to thank you for giving Raoul a chance,” Hawk told her, easing closer without seeming to move.

Quite the trick, she thought grimly.

“He worked hard. That happens a whole lot less than I would like. I gave him a job.”

Hawk raised one eyebrow. “He did impress you.”

“He needs the work, I need the help. Don’t make it more than it is.”

Dark eyes seemed to stare into her very being. “You want people to think you’re tough.”

“I am tough.”

“You’re a marshmallow inside.”

She stiffened. “I could have had your player’s ass thrown in jail. Don’t think I wouldn’t have done it if he hadn’t shown up today. I’ve been running this place for years. I know what I’m doing.”

“Do you like what you’re doing?”

“Of course,” she said automatically because it was always what she answered. She’d known she would run the bakery from the time she was eight or nine years old. It had been understood…expected. Hers wasn’t to be a life of many surprises. Lately there sure hadn’t been any good ones.

Wait. There had been Claire. Reuniting with her sister had been good. Watching Claire fall madly in love, get pregnant, get engaged and find total happiness had stretched her good nature a little, but she was dealing. Because what choice did she have?

“Earth to Nicole.”

She blinked and saw Hawk standing a little too close.

“I lost you there,” he said.

“That must be a first,” she said without thinking. “A woman focusing on something other than you for an eighth of a second.”

“Because I’m so hard to resist?”

“Not for me.”

“I don’t believe that. You’re interested.”

If she’d been able to look at him for more than five seconds at a time without wanting to make moany noises, she might have picked up something heavy and clocked him on the head. As it was, he was telling the truth and she was too embarrassed to figure out a quick way to verbally eviscerate him. Which left her with the humiliating comeback of, “I’m not interested.”

He grinned. “That was convincing.”

“I don’t care what it is, it’s the truth.” Almost. Annoyance pushed her to honesty. “You know you’ve got a great body and you obviously enjoy flashing it at the world. Which means what? You’re well into your thirties. Shouldn’t you be over that by now? Shouldn’t you spend about a third as much time developing your mind as your body? You can’t be a football coach forever.”

Too late, she remembered that, yes, he could be a coach forever and that Raoul had mentioned something about him being a professional football player. Which probably meant he was rich.

“You’re assuming I’m stupid?” he asked in a tone that was both amused and outraged. “Is that because I have muscles or because I play football? Isn’t that the same as me assuming you’re an idiot because you’re a natural blonde?”

Maybe. Yes. She ignored the question. “How do you know I’m a natural blonde?”

“My excellent powers of observation.”

“I run a successful business. I’m obviously more than capable,” she said primly.

HAWK LIKED how Nicole got all pinchy when she was annoyed. He liked how every time he moved closer, she got flustered and didn’t know where to look. If she hadn’t been interested, she would have told him to back off and get away, but she hadn’t said a word. He liked that, too.

“Obviously,” he teased, as he moved closer.

“Don’t you have any respect for personal space?”

“No.”

She raised her head and glared, but before she could speak, he said, “You have beautiful eyes.”

Her mouth opened and closed. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Flirting.”

“Why?”

“It’s fun.”

“Not for me.”

“Everyone enjoys attention.”

“Speak for yourself.”

“You don’t think your eyes are beautiful?”

“They’re fine. Functional. I don’t care about the color.”

“Sure you do. You have to know they’re pretty. You’re pretty.”

Nicole blushed.

He didn’t see it at first. She turned away and muttered something under her breath. All he caught were a couple of words, including “unbelievably arrogant” and “ego.” So he wasn’t paying attention until he saw her press her fingers to her cheeks as if trying to cool the skin.

Why would someone so together blush because he noticed she was pretty? Unless no one else bothered to look. He had a feeling she was the kind of woman who scared off men and then wondered why she was lonely.

He could fix that.

“You like me flirting with you,” he said. “It’s the best part of your day.”

“You’re amazing.”

“I know.”

She groaned. “I don’t mean that in a good way. You are delusional. Nothing about you is the best part of my day.”

“Liar.”

She made a sound of frustration low in her throat. It was almost a growl. He wondered what she sounded like right before she lost control in bed. He had a feeling she would scream.

“Save the flirting for someone who’s interested,” she muttered, holding on to her cane so hard her knuckles turned white.

“You’re interested.”

She shook her head. “Don’t you have somewhere you need to be?”

“Sure, but this is more fun.”

“No, it’s not.”

He was getting to her. The blush deepened and she couldn’t decide if she wanted to throw herself at him or punch him. Frustration was good. It meant she was interested and annoyed with herself at the same time.

“We should go out,” he said, knowing the invitation would push her further off balance.

“What? No.”

“Dinner. We’ll go to dinner.”

“I’m not going to dinner with you.”

“Why not?”

“It’s not a good idea.”

And the first round went to him. If she really hadn’t been interested, she would have told him directly.

“Sure it is.” He moved so close that she had to tilt her head back to continue to meet his gaze. “It’s an excellent idea.”

“I’m not going.”

“Yes, you are.”

“I’m not and you can’t make me.”

He walked to the door of the bakery and paused. “Want to bet?” he said, and then he left.

As he crossed to his truck, he could practically hear her sputtering. That had gone well. It was early in the first quarter, and he was already deep in enemy territory and poised to score.

“AMY’S THERAPY is going really well,” Claire said as she chopped more mushrooms, then scooped them into a bowl. “She’s young, which helps. Her brain is still open to change. Unlike those of us who have closed brains.”

Nicole shredded lettuce into a bowl. “I have no idea where my brain stands on the whole open-closed issue.”

Amy was Wyatt’s daughter and Claire’s soon-to-be stepdaughter. She’d been born deaf and had recently asked for a cochlear implant to help her hear. While the surgery put in the required hardware, special therapy was required to train her to recognize sound in a new way and process it.

“Amy’s so excited about the implant,” Claire said. “She asks me to play for her every night.”

“Which you love.”

“I do. She’s my biggest fan.”

Given that Claire was a world-class concert pianist, with Grammy-winning CDs and more concert dates than she could fill in two lifetimes, that was saying something.

“I thought Wyatt was your biggest fan,” Nicole teased.

“He is. In other ways.”

Her sister laughed and Nicole smiled. She was happy for Claire. Seriously. She didn’t want Wyatt for herself. She tried telling herself she didn’t want any man for herself, but she knew she would be lying. She wanted someone special. Someone who would love her and always be there for her. Unfortunately she’d picked Drew.