people if his big smile was any indication. He had offered her his arm as they entered the event. Since she’d had a hard time keeping her hands off him from the moment she first saw him in his suit and tie, she had happily kept her hand on his taut bicep while they mingled.
Who would have thought that a suit could get her so hot and bothered? It wasn’t something she’d ever noticed about herself. That evening, though, she was battling an unhealthy amount of lust for Will Campbell.
Judging by the many looks he got from the other females in the room, she wasn’t the only one with that particular problem. She might not have had any right to be bothered by those women, but she was. A couple of times when the stares were painfully blatant, she’d had to restrain herself from saying something. This was her student’s father, she reminded herself. Her sexual attraction to him wasn’t any more appropriate than those looks being sent his way by other women.
Still, it was exciting to feel so alive and passionate about something again. She’d take what relief she could get from the weight of her uncertain future.
“Looks like it’s photo op time,” Will told her a couple hours into the event, catching a signal from the team’s owner, Caroline Sanderson.
“No problem. I can entertain myself.”
“The other players’ dates are hanging out together near the photo area,” he said, gesturing toward the well-lit step-and-repeat banner bearing the event’s logo. “Do you want to join them or go back to drool over Andrew Wyatt some more?”
She laughed and elbowed him in the side. She’d been completely tongue-tied when she met Andrew, one of the stars of her favorite medical drama, Sacred Grace.
“I thought we agreed you wouldn’t bring that back up,” she said.
He started walking toward the step-and-repeat, reaching for her hand and tugging her along with him. Her pulse raced over the innocent contact. It felt much more intimate than holding onto his arm.
“I recall agreeing not to tell anyone else,” he corrected. “At no point in time did I ever promise not to mention it again. Just as I never promised not to call you Jazzy if the moment seems right.”
Her eyes narrowed.
He gave her an innocent smile. “Not the moment?”
“Nope.”
“Okay then.”
They reached the step-and-repeat. It had been set up just outside the gym in a roped-off section of the outdoor basketball court. At least twenty guys had now collected there, as had a commanding woman in a black evening gown.
“That’s Caroline Sanderson, the team’s owner,” Will told her. “I’ll introduce you to her later.”
She nodded. She had seen the woman smiling and walking around the room. Every time she and Will had drawn near her, Caroline had been in an in-depth conversation that Will hadn’t wanted to interrupt. That made sense to Jasmine now. The team’s owner had to be incredibly busy as the hostess trying to encourage the attendees to donate to the event’s cause of supporting at-risk youth.
Seeing Everly and Sierra among the waiting women, she said, “Since I’m here, I’ll just hang out with the other dates.”
“All right. This might take a while. They’ll want a team photo, individual photos, and some player groupings.”
“I’ll somehow manage without you.”
“Will you?”
He gave her a mischievous smile and lifted her hand to place a kiss on the inside of her wrist. She drew in a sharp breath as it sent a fresh wave of desire rushing through her.
“I had to give Andrew a run for his money,” he said, winking at her before he released her hand and headed off to join the other players.
She watched him go, doubting her heart would get back under control by the time he returned. She hadn’t ever had that kind of reaction to a man.
What was she going to do about it?
“That looked fun,” said one of the women Will had said were the other dates.
Jasmine turned to face her. The woman looked quite lovely in her deep sapphire-colored ballgown. It suited her fair coloring.
Giving her a smile, Jasmine replied, “It really was. I’m Jasmine.”
“Alexis.” She lifted her wine glass as though toasting their introduction. “This is Gwyneth and Marie.”
Jasmine followed the gesture of her hand to the two women beside her. Gwyneth was a tanned brunette with dark hair and eyes. She wore a purple dress that Jasmine personally thought looked more like a prom dress than something suited to this type of event. Supposing the woman couldn’t afford