know, but this is business. For what it’s worth, I really am a calm, rational person. Professional even. You probably don’t want to take my word for it, but you can ask around.”
He forced a chuckle. “Don’t worry about it.”
“I will, because I believe in worrying early and often. I’d promise to let you speak to my assistant next time, only I don’t have one. And with the fire and all, the town can’t afford to pay for one.”
“I can talk to you, Pia.”
“At least I didn’t faint this time.”
“Improvement.”
She sighed. “You’re nice, aren’t you? I don’t trust nice men.” She winced, then held up a hand. “Don’t take that wrong.”
“There’s a right way?”
“I’m just saying…” She shook her head, then grabbed her bag. “I’ll leave you with the paperwork. We can talk about the festivals and your camp later, if that’s okay. I really need to gather the tattered remains of my dignity and move on. Next time we meet, I swear I’ll be totally calm and rational. You’ll barely recognize me.”
He didn’t want her to go. For reasons he couldn’t explain, he wanted to pull her close again and tell her—
What? What was he going to say? He barely knew her. She had other things to deal with. The meeting didn’t matter.
But the problem wasn’t the meeting, and Raoul knew that. There was something about Pia. About how she got right to the heart of the problem. She was an intriguing combination of determined, vulnerable and impulsive. If she wasn’t careful, life would beat the crap out of her. Only the strong survived, and even they had to take a hit now and again.
Not his problem, he reminded himself. Nor did he want it to be.
“I’ll recognize you,” he told her. “You’re making too much of this.”
“So speaks a man who likely has never been hysterical even once in his entire life.” She met his eyes. “Thanks for being so…nice.”
“Even though it makes you not trust me?”
She winced. “I’m going to regret saying that forever.”
“No. I’m sure you’ll have other, bigger regrets that fill your mind.”
“Ouch. That’s not very encouraging.”
“We all have regrets. Things we want to change or undo. Nothing about today is worth a second of your worry.”
She hesitated. “I thought you’d be different. Cynical. Self-absorbed. You know—a sports star.”
“You should have met me ten years ago.”
Her mouth curved into a smile. “Wild and impetuous?”
“A typical college jock. My high school girlfriend dumped me my freshman year. I spent a few months feeling sorry for myself, healed and returned to my sophomore year only to discover I was a god.”
“Did you perform miracles?”
“I thought I could.”
“I’m glad to know you went through a bad-boy period.”
“Mine lasted several years.”
Right through his signing with the Cowboys and beyond. He’d been on the team just over a year when Eric Hawkins—otherwise known as Hawk—had burst into his hotel room, waking Raoul and the twins he’d been sleeping with.
Hawk had been his high school football coach and mentor. He’d ushered the girls out of the room, nearly drowned Raoul in coffee, then had taken him to the gym for a workout that had no pity on Raoul’s impressive hangover.
But that hadn’t been the worst of it. The really bad part had been the disappointment in Hawk’s eyes. The silence that said he’d expected better.
“What changed you?” she asked.
“Someone I care about had expectations and I let him down.”
“Your dad?”
“Better than my dad. It’s impossible to have nothing to lose when someone loves you.”
She blinked. “That was profound.”
“Don’t tell anyone.”
“You saw the light and let go of your bad-boy ways?”
“Pretty much.”
After the workout, Hawk had taken Raoul to the poor side of Dallas, driving past people living out of shopping carts.
“Get over yourself,” was all his former coach had said.
Raoul had gone home feeling like the biggest jerk in the world. The next day he’d moved out of the hotel, bought a house in a normal neighborhood and had started volunteering.
Two years later he’d met Caro at a charity ball, which had proved life wasn’t perfect.
“So you believe people can change,” she said.
“Don’t you?”
“I’m not sure. Does the meanness go away or does it just get covered up?”
“Who was mean to you?”
She sighed. “And here I was supposed to gather up my tattered dignity and just go. You’ve been great. I’ll be in touch, Raoul. Thanks for everything.”
She walked out of the office.
Not sure if he should go after her, he hesitated. Then Dakota stepped in from the back and stared at him.
“Did I hear that right?”
Raoul shifted uneasily. “It depends on what you heard.”
“You knew Keith Westland?”
He nodded.
She crossed toward him and sank onto the chair Pia had used. “I won’t say anything, of course. About you knowing him or the babies. This is a lot to take in. Talk about responsibility. I guess I knew that Crystal would have to leave her embryos to someone, but I never really thought about it. Did Pia know before?”
He remembered his first meeting with her. “I don’t think so. She thought she was getting the cat.”
“Right. She was taking care of Crystal’s cat.” Dakota looked stunned. “What’s with Crystal not warning her? You can’t just leave someone potential children and not even give them a hint. Or maybe she knew Pia would freak and didn’t want to be talked out of it.” Dakota glanced at him. “Is she okay?”
“She’s dealing. She’s surprised
