Her eyes sparkled up at him. They were almost enough to make him forget the growing bulge between his legs. Almost. “A man memo? Is that just cave drawings on a napkin?”

“It’s a foolproof code. You’ll never break it.” He slid the hem of her dress higher and began massaging the inside of her thigh. “I take that back. You’re pretty good at making me break codes, aren’t you?”

“I assume you’re talking about the best-friend’s-sister code,” she said breathily.

“The very one,” he murmured, dragging a knuckle down the center of her black panties.

“Do you regret it?”

Travis’s throat felt tight. All of him did. “No.”

He’d never been in this place. Torn between aching to fuck and needing to talk. To just . . . hold her. Doing all of those things at the same time seemed like too much. Like they would rip him wide open. So he continued to run his hands over her roughly and breathed. Memorizing the smoothness of her thighs, the dip of her belly, the curve of her hip. He didn’t know how long the touching went on, but eventually Georgie straightened up and stilled his hands with her own. She brought their mouths together for a long, torturous kiss. A slow one. His cock grew thick and pressed up into her backside, but neither of them seemed inclined to give in to the hunger. There was a need inside Travis to prolong the night, to hold time at bay—and the kiss succeeded in doing that. It was wet and endless and left them both shaking by the time they arrived at the sweeping Tudor-style mansion.

Georgie pulled away first, breathing heavily against his lips. “I—I meant to go over everything with you. Who exactly I’m meeting . . . anything I should talk about—”

“We’re having dinner with Kelvin Fisher. His father used to run the network before he retired, and Kelvin has stepped in and started making changes. I’ve never met him. My agent is meeting us here and that windbag never shuts up, but he’s a good buffer.” His hand moved on its own, stroking her hair, her cheek. “There’s nothing to be nervous about. Just be yourself.” Nothing could stop him from leaning in again and giving her some tongue, deepening the kiss until her ass started to flex in his lap. “Thanks for being here with me, Georgie.”

She nodded, her expression dazed as Travis lifted her off his lap. They both watched as he adjusted his hard dick and took some centering breaths.

“That’s not very family friendly.”

“No, it’s not,” Travis muttered. “Don’t look so proud of yourself.”

The limo driver opened the door and extended a hand for Georgie to take. “Oh, but I am,” she threw over her shoulder with a wink. “Take your time.”

Travis shook his head and climbed out after Georgie. At the entrance to the sprawling residence, a man waited with hands clasped behind his back to guide them inside. Travis had been to some incredible homes in the last few years, some belonging to coaches and teammates, but he could say without reservation that this one took the cake. It wasn’t flashy or decked out with fish and flat screens. It was old money. Understated and tasteful.

Polished marble floors gleamed in the entryway, which spread into a foyer on one side, a wine cellar on the other. A staircase lay just beyond, curving around to the hidden second floor. It was huge and airy and lit by sconces. Low music drifted in, mingling with the sound of an unseen water fixture.

“Mr. Fisher is just showing your agent the grounds,” said the butler. “Please wait here and I’ll let them know you’ve arrived.”

The man left the room, leaving Georgie and Travis alone.

“Whoa,” Georgie whispered. “It’s like we stepped into an Italian piazza or something. Probably. I’ve never been to Italy.”

“Do you want to go to Italy?”

“Of course I do.” She turned in an awed circle, heels clicking on the floor, her lips parted. “Who doesn’t want to travel?”

Travis took a step closer to Georgie, unsure if he was going to kiss her again or demand to know everything she’d ever wanted in her life. To what end, he didn’t know. But she was beautiful in the muted light and blown away by this mansion. It made him highly aware of the fact that they’d gone out only on a couple of impromptu dates. Is that what she would remember about their time together? “Georgie—”

“Welcome.” Kelvin Fisher strode into the room the way a king might, but less aloof. His smile was hearty and genuine as he shook Travis’s hand. The head of the network was younger than Travis thought, midway through his thirties and radiating energy. “Travis Ford,” Kelvin said. “I’m a huge fan.”

Travis nodded. “Thank you.” He lifted an arm and Georgie slid under it like she belonged there. Fuck. It felt like she did. “This is Georgie Castle.” Travis stopped short of calling her his girlfriend and wished like hell he’d staked that claim when Kelvin kissed her hand, smiling over it while she blushed.

“I’ve seen you in the papers. Have to say we all enjoyed reading the reporter’s account of you swooping in to shut down that man in the bar. Well done.” He tilted his head. “I’m not sure I’ve ever met a professional clown. Do you have any tricks up your sleeve for tonight?”

Georgie gave a ladylike shrug, taking her hand back so she could make a coin appear from behind Kelvin’s ear. “It’s not my best work, but you caught me on a night off.”

Kelvin’s laugh echoed off the many marble surfaces in the entry. Georgie grinned back.

Travis wished he’d kissed her one more time in the limo. “Let me guess. Donny is off somewhere taking an important call.”

“Sports agents,” Kelvin said, finally managing to drag his attention away from Georgie. “Can’t live with ’em . . .”

“Can’t sign a deal worth a damn without them,” Donny said, swaggering into the room in a cream-colored suit. “Let’s see if we can manage it tonight, huh, boys?”

Travis was forced to let go of Georgie to give Donny a back-slapping hug, but he really didn’t want to. As soon as it was over, he urged her back up against his side as they followed Kelvin through the living room to the terrace. “We’ll be dining alfresco tonight. I hope that’s okay,” Kelvin said, nodding to two women in aprons who immediately disappeared from sight. “I spent last summer on the Amalfi Coast and now I’m subjecting everyone in my life to Italian culture.”

“There are definitely worse things,” Georgie said, once again starry-eyed over their surroundings. And yeah, once again, Travis had to admit the atmosphere was pretty amazing. Evening was fading from the sky and candles were lit and flickering on every available surface. A low chandelier hung over an ornate antique table decorated with white and yellow flowers.

“Georgie,” Kelvin said smoothly, signaling yet another member of his staff. “Can I offer you a glass of wine?”

“Sure, I—”

A small female child burst out through the back door onto the patio, throwing herself at Kelvin’s legs. “Dada! I’m not tired.”

Obviously not expecting the intrusion, Kelvin twisted awkwardly, trying to see the girl wrapped around his legs. “You have to be tired. We rode bikes. Built a fort. Everything we did today was designed to make you tired.” He gave an awkward laugh. “We talked about this. I have a meeting tonight. Tomorrow morning, I’m all yours.”

“It’s cold in my room.”

“We can adjust the temperature.”

She peeked through his legs. “Who are they?”

Instead of answering, Kelvin turned to the woman pouring wine and communicated Help me with his eyes. The woman stopped what she was doing and rushed over, wrapping an arm around the little girl’s middle and attempting to lift her. Which of course made the child scream.

Kelvin massaged the center of his forehead and offered them an apologetic smile. “It wasn’t supposed to be my week, but something came up for my ex.” His smile dropped as his daughter started to wail in earnest. “Bedtime is always an adventure.”

Georgie moved away from Travis, skirting past the ornate table to kneel in front of the child. “Hi. I’m Georgie. What’s your name?”

The girl scrubbed at her eye with a chubby fist. “Madison.”

“Do you want to see something cool?”

No hesitation. “Yes.”

Travis watched spellbound as Georgie snagged three lemons from the centerpiece and started juggling them. “Okay, Madison. You have to help me. Clap your hands so I don’t drop them.”

The girl slid out from behind her father slowly, tears beginning to dry.

“I can’t keep it up . . . my arms are getting weak . . .”

Kelvin crouched down next to Madison and clapped, finally giving the girl the push she needed to join in. Within seconds, the little girl was laughing, her eyes wide as Georgie picked up speed.

Christ. Travis didn’t know what to make of the fiery sensation in his chest. It didn’t take a huge leap of imagination to paint Georgie, Kelvin, and the child as a family. One that loved each other so much, they couldn’t help but break into spontaneous acts of cuteness wherever they went. The dumbstruck way the other man was looking at Georgie made Travis want to knock him on his ass, even though he fully understood. Who wouldn’t look at her like she was a fucking angel? That’s exactly what she was in that moment. Every moment. A being sent straight from the clouds.