"Fine. I'll do it," he said, tossing his empty cup into the trash. "But she's the only image consultant I'll work with. If she won't do the job, I'm heading out of town—permanently. Let the Outlaws know for me, will you?"

CHAPTER TWO

Julie stood on the front steps of her newly purchased office building, feeling proud yet nervous. As she blew on the steam rising from her nonfat latte, she gazed at the Bay Bridge, the fishing boats motoring into their docks, the new mothers pushing strollers along the Embarcadero, and smiled. She was going to have to work like hell to make the astronomical monthly mortgage, but buying the narrow, stone-faced building along the water had been the right decision. She felt it down deep in her gut.

She'd just have to be a little less picky about which clients she took on for a little while, and take on as much work as she could handle. No big deal. She'd done it before and she'd do it again. Julie knew how lucky she was, loving her job so much. She thrived on the challenges of being an image consultant; got a huge rush from growing her company. She'd just hired two more part-time assistants and she planned on being a fixture in the big leagues inside of ten years. Amy, her soft-spoken best friend from Stanford— and first hire five years ago—poked her head out of the bright red double doors. A feng shui consultant— a gift from her mother—had recommended the color to bring extra business energy to Julie's door. Julie was a sucker for letting her mother feel included in her life, and fortunately she liked red.

"Sorry to bother you before you're even in the door," Amy said, "but I think you should take this call."

"One of our clients?" Julie asked. "No," Amy said, clearly excited. "Not yet, anyway." Big clients meant big money! Maybe her financial worries were going to be put to rest.

"The general manager from the Outlaws is holding for you on line one," Amy finished. Unease shivered through Julie. Even though her office was just blocks from the new stadium beside the Bay, she'd never gone to an Outlaws game. She couldn't—not when her biggest mistake was the team's star quarterback.

The latte curdled in her stomach with a sick premonition. She'd have had to be blind to miss Ty's failures with the media.

Julie stood beneath the safety of her door frame as if taking cover from an earthquake, unable to think, to move.

She could only remember the most important— and disastrous—night of her life. It was high school graduation night, and Julie's teachers had all congratulated her on beinghonored as valedictorian. She would be attending Stanford University in the fall; and even thoughshe'd be less than two hours from home, she was excited about the chance to get away, to becomesomeone new.

Somehow she'd made it all the way to eighteen without ever being really kissed. Sure, a drunkguy at a party had once slobbered all over her before she shoved him away, but that didn't count.No one would believe her if she confessed the truth. Not that she'd do that, of course. What wasthe point of carefully constructing her image over the past four years if she was going to blow it byannouncing to the world that she couldn't attract a guy if her life depended on it?

Especially not a super-hot guy like Ty Calhoun, she thought as she stood on the fringes of theout-of control graduation party and sipped the slightly sour punch. For four years they'd passed eachother in the halls, but she'd never spoken to him. She was in honors classes, while he barely scrapedby with tutors. The best high school football player in the county, Ty was constantly surrounded by histeammates and cheerleading groupies. His entourage. And she'd bet her trust fund that he'd done itwith every one of those girls.

She could hear him laughing as he danced in a circle of fellow students. There was an edge tohis laughter that went down her spine and then sat in the pit of her belly. Julie wasn't a social outcast,but she'd never been comfortable at wild parties, never had a taste for alcohol, never been temptedby pot or cigarettes.

She didn't intend to lose hold of the control that she'd built her life around. If her tongue grewloose from booze or drugs, who knew what she'd say? What she'd admit to? Too quickly, the house ofcards that was her life could come crumbling down, and everything would be ruined.Still, she was impossibly, horribly tempted by Ty, a bad boy with a capital B.Fortunately, the sinful temptation that Ty embodied was way out of her league. If there was sucha thing as a babe magnet, Ty fit the bill. No high school boy should be that tall, have shoulders thatbroad, or dark eyes so wicked.

But she wasn't going to spend her last night in high school drooling at some guy from thesidelines, watching with senseless longing as Ty did the bump and grind with some slutty classmates.It was too pathetic. She found the nearest exit and pushed through it.Mere seconds after the door shut behind her, she heard it open again. A chill ran up her spinethat had nothing to do with the breeze ripping across the Bay. She whirled away from the view of theGolden Gate Bridge. Backing into the deck's metal rail, the bar cold against her overheated skin, shewatched the boy she longed for stalk her, slowly, steadily.

She'd fantasized about this moment so many times. The one where Ty finally noticed her, wherehe asked her to be his girlfriend, where he said he couldn't live without her anymore. She couldpractically choreograph it.

But now that he was standing in front of her, now that she was looking into his incredible browneyes, close enough to touch his arm if she wanted to, she didn't know up from down, black from white,could hardly even remember her own name.

"I'm Ty," he said, and she nodded stupidly.

"I know."

His gorgeous lips turned up in a perfect curve. He was even more beautiful up close, like someGreek god come to life.

"You're Julie," he said and she said, " I know," again, sounding like a complete moron.

"Do you know what I want to do, Julie?" he asked, and she could only stare at him. Her lipsparted slightly as she held her breath, waiting to hear what he was going to say. His eyes held hercaptive and her longing was just short of desperation.

"I want to kiss you." His voice fell to a whisper. "Actually, I want you to kiss me."She blinked at him, suddenly afraid. She didn't know how to kiss. What if he laughed at her?

She'd die if he laughed at her.

"Don't you want to kiss me, Julie?"

His voice was silky and hot and she forgot everything except how badly she wanted him.

"Yes," she said. "I do."

"Good."

That one short word rocked through her with its intensity. He said it again, "Good," and somethinghot settled in between her thighs. She wanted him more than she'd ever wanted anything her entirelife.