How could he not see what was so clear? “She is! She’s smart, successful, beautiful—the kind of woman who’ll always have your back. And she’s crazy about you. She’s also nice. A decent human being.”

“It’s official,” he declared. “You are out of your mind.”

“You’re thirty-seven years old. It’s time.”

“Let me get this straight. You’re trying to break up with me and fix me up with another woman, both at the same time? Do I have that right?”

“Not any woman. You and Deidre are a matched set. I’ve seen the way you act when you’re together. You could easily fall in love with her if you’d give it half a chance. It might not be clear to you what you should be doing with your life, but it’s clear to me.”

“Go ahead,” he said with something close to a sneer. “Tell me. I know you’re dying to.”

“All right. You need to get out of the nightclub business. It’s wrong for you. Buy some land. Plant it. Grow crap. And settle down... with the right woman. Someone who’s as... as dazzling as you are. You need someone spectacular. Someone brainy and gorgeous and successful, but grounded, too. Like you.”

He spoke with almost a sense of wonder. “This is so mind-numbingly fascinating. So tell me... What do I do about the fact that I might be maybe”—his gaze wavered ever so slightly—“falling a little bit in love with you?”

A sob threatened to spill right out of her. Somehow she managed to alter it into a harsh, unfunny laugh. “You’re not.”

“You know that, then.”

She did. As surely as she knew anything. A little bit in love. As if there were such a thing. She would not cry in front of him. Never. “You’re a champion. That’s in your blood. It’s the mind-set that’s made you great. But this is life, not a game. And instead of throwing up a smoke screen, think about what I’ve said. About you. About Deidre. About everything.”

This made him furious. “What happens with us, then? After I’ve hooked up with Deidre, that is.”

“Nothing happens with us.”

“Don’t you want to be pals?” The rough sweep of his arm made him wince, but he didn’t seem to care. “Get together now and then to have a couple of beers? Go to a strip club? Poker night? Just us guys.”

She couldn’t take any more. “I’ll wait in the hall until Jonah gets here.”

“You do that,” he said.

***