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little more of that in her, if only for her own safety. Not tonight, though. Tonight her trusting nature was the key to getting her to realize that he was a changed man. One who could be a lot more than just a friend if she would let him.
    The thumping music came to an abrupt stop, and something smooth and funky took its place.
    “I’m going to go find a dance partner. I’ll be around, but I have my phone if we can’t find each other,” Serena said to Grace. “You two have fun.” She didn’t wait for a reply before turning around and diving headlong into the expanding crowd.
    He bit back his sigh of relief. It was nice to know that she was on his side for the moment, but he fully expected to have to give her a full report the second she managed to get some time alone with him, which would not be tonight, if he had anything to say about it.
    “I guess you’re probably wondering what we’re up to…”
    He stared at her, confused.
    “With Chaz.”
    She eyed him questioningly, and he realized that he should have asked questions, like a person who didn’t know them and didn’t know what a game of strip poker had to do with a pitch would. Shit.
    She shrugged. “Well, at any rate, we’re hoping to sign him on as a client with Love Will Find a Way. That’s our matchmaking company?”
    He nodded. “Yeah, I’ve heard of it.”
    Her smile at that admission almost blinded him. “Serena’s got him on the line for a one-on-one, so fingers crossed.”
    “That’s great. Yeah, I just didn’t want to seem nosy by asking, but fingers crossed for you guys. He’d definitely be a high-profile client.”
    She seemed pleased by that response and got quiet for a second. “So,” Grace asked, in a voice almost too low to hear. “Do you, uh, dance at all?”
    He tipped his head her way, and they locked eyes. He knew exactly how big of a step that was for her. She wasn’t the type to make the first or even the second move, so some part of her must be feeling something for Catman. Or maybe she felt safe in this crowded room, semi-hidden in a costume. Whatever the reason for this relative boldness, it sent his senses into overdrive. He didn’t do a whole lot of dancing, but even if she’d invited him to do the Harlem Shake in a pit of vipers, he wouldn’t have denied her.
    “Sure,” he said and held out a hand. “You wanna?”
    She nodded and set her glass down on the nearest table before taking his hand. He drained his pint glass and put it down next to hers, noting the tremble of her fingers in his. He knew the feeling. His whole body felt that way. How nuts was that? The last woman he’d been with had shown up on his doorstep at two a.m. wearing nothing but a raincoat, armed with handcuffs, hot fudge, and something that looked like a bridle, but this—holding Grace’s soft hand—had him in fucking knots.
    It wasn’t like it was the first time they’d touched. There had been plenty of times he’d helped her over a steep part of a trail during a hike, or he’d given her a piggyback when her feet were tired from walking in heels after a night out. Hell, they’d played chicken in Serena’s pool over the summer, and she’d literally had her thighs wrapped around his head. But in spite of the resulting hard-on, it hadn’t felt like this. Full of possibility. Ripe with promise.
    He had a chance.
    For the first time ever, he had a shot of her looking at him with fresh eyes. Not as her buddy, Trick. And, more importantly, not as the guy who’d gone in that first day with a full-court press in hopes of getting her to sleep with him. She’d been so distraught early on, he’d aborted that mission fast. He loved sex, but only when both parties knew exactly what they were getting into. Whatever this pretty, young newcomer’s issues were, he wasn’t the guy to work through them with her.
    So, they’d become friends. Then one day, six months later, he’d woken up with another blonde in his bed and found himself