The Player Read Free Page A

kidding.”
    Whew. He wondered if she could hear his heart pounding. “Why don’t you let me take you out for breakfast after you get off?”
    “I really can’t. I have to get home.”
    “Are you with someone?”
    “Sort of. I’ve a twelve year old to get home to. I like to be there when she wakes up because that’s around the same time my sitter leaves.”
    “Did you say you’ve got a boy or a girl?”
    “A girl.” His silence prompted her to ask, “What about you?”
    “A little girl. She’s six, and she’s at that age where whatever the kids say about me in school really bothers her.”
    “Been there. And I think I’ve got you beat, because my ex wrote a hit rap song that was aimed at me, but he says it’s not. Anyway, I’m still fighting the label of ‘ultimate gold-digger.’ Some TV producer even approached me about doing a reality show with my ex.”
    “Tell me that you turned them down.”
    “I did, but I thought really hard before giving them an answer. In the end it was all about my daughter. She deserves to grow up without all the paparazzi craziness.”
    Kyle agreed, wishing he could see her pretty face. “Come outside.”
    “For what?”
    “Because I’m sitting in my car, in the parking lot. And I want to see you.”
    “I can’t. I’m still working.”
    “So you never take a break?”
    “I already did.”
    “So take another one. You’re the boss, you’ve earned it.”
    “You know, for a guy I just met you’re really-”
    “Hot? Sexy?”
    “I was gonna say full of it.”
    He made her laugh. And she was attracted to him. The problem was she’d been down this road before with her ex. But it had been so long . . . “Okay, five minutes. And I want the heat on.”
    “ The heat? Damn woman, it’s a balmy sixty-five degrees out here.”
    “Yes, but in here I’ve got the air-conditioning running. That’s another reason I have my jacket under the bar. I usually have to put it on because I’m freezing.”
    “Okay, okay. I guess I can always take off my shirt if I start sweating.”
    Just then she had a mental image of him not only taking off his shirt, but slipping hers up and over her arms, tossing it aside and leaning in close for a kiss. This was bad. This was truly bad. Because if Kyle McClure wanted more than a kiss tonight, she was afraid that she just might give in.

 
    2
    When was the last time he’d been this excited about a woman? Hell, he couldn’t really remember. Kyle leaned against the head rest, his eyes never leaving the front door of the bar. Maybe she’d take the back way like he’d done, he thought, so his eyes briefly left the entrance to quickly scan where she might appear along the side. A soft tap on his passenger side window made him flinch.
    There stood Harlow, laughing at his wuss move while holding up both her hands in surrender. “Come on, let me in. I promise I don’t have a bat this time.”
    “I dunno,” he whined. “I have to be careful ‘cause you could still hurt my feelings.”
    She laughed harder at his joke while he popped the lock. Sliding onto the leather seat, she watched his face change expressions. He’d gone from highly amused to stone faced in mere seconds. “Uh, Kyle, is something wrong?”
    “No.” His voice can out in a deep sigh. “This is the first good thing I’ve had happen to me in a long time. Thanks for agreeing to babysit me.”
    “Oh come on,” she teased, trying to get him to loosen up again. “You gave up two perfectly good groupies for me. I’m very flattered.”
    His head tilted as he studied her. God, how he wanted to slowly kiss all that lip gloss off her mouth. But that would be rushing it. He didn’t want to pounce on her, but the fact the she was near and yet so far from him – thanks to his car’s middle console with its intrusive leather armrest – and whatever perfume she wore, a sweet floral mixture, and the way her thighs were demurely pressed together in those form fitting pants had