“Check up on me as much as you want, darlin’,” he drawled, a twinkle in his eyes. “You’re great for my game. As soon as I saw you standing over here, my pitches started smokin’.”

“Oh, stop,” Samantha said. “All this flattery makes my heart go pitty-pat.”

Jarrett laughed. “Can’t be flattery if it’s true.”

Samantha rolled her eyes at that. “I just stopped by to check on a couple of items for the ad campaign,” she said lightly. “We’ll be shooting the commercials soon.”

“On Tuesday?”

“No, that’s a photo shoot for new close-ups and team shots, things like that.” Samantha gave Jarrett a cool smile. “Well, it was nice to see you again, Mr. Corliss, but I have to get back to my office.”

She turned away, looking for the nearest exit, anxious to put distance between her and this too compelling man. He stepped close and stopped her, encircling her wrist lightly with calloused fingers.

“Not so fast, we’re just getting warmed up here.”

“The inning is over, Mr. Corliss. It’s time for you to go back to your dugout.”

“Come on, Sammy, I haven’t even had a chance to throw one yet. Have dinner with me tonight.”

The question surprised her. The impulse to say yes surprised her even more. “Strike one, Mr. Corliss.”

“Didn’t I just put one right over the plate?”

“Sorry, no. That one was wild.”

“Tomorrow night then.”

“No. Thank you, Mr. Corliss, but no.”

“Why not?”

She tugged away from him, but he only let her get half free. Her wrist slipped through his fingers until they were holding hands, then he tightened his grip. She eyed him warily. “What difference does it make? No is no. Let go of me, please.”

Jarrett ignored her request and stepped closer to her. He ran a finger down her cheek and over her chin. The touch was so electric that Samantha’s hand tightened around his, and the desire she could see so plainly in his eyes mesmerized her. She felt as warm as she had in the locker room, when he had been wearing only a damp towel. All her good intentions vanished. When he spoke, his voice was low, a thread of amusement running through the words.

“Well, sometimes ‘no’ is just ‘maybe’ wearin’ a different dress. Come on, Sammy,” he coaxed, threading his fingers through hers. “Have dinner with me tonight.”

Samantha was struck by the look of complete and utter assurance on Jarrett’s face. He was certain she would say yes, just because he wanted her to do so. He was just as cocky and arrogant as all the others. She tugged her hand back sharply, breaking the connection and stepping away.

“Well, in case you hadn’t noticed, I’m wearing a business suit. When I say ‘no,’ I really do mean no.”

“Give me a chance, Sammy. If we’re going to be working closely together—”

“I assure you, we’re not going to be spending that much time together, Mr. Corliss.”

“Jarrett. Please.” His eyes were an innocent blue, but the dimple in his cheek gave his teasing away. Samantha felt a smile tug at her lips. Really, he was too charming for his own good—or hers.

“Jarrett,” she said reluctantly. “No matter what we call each other, my answer is still no. Besides, I don’t date people I work with.”

He frowned at that, all teasing gone from his face. “We aren’t working together. I pitch baseballs, you pitch the team.”

“That is working together,” she insisted calmly. “At least we both work for the same man. And Andrew Elliott has definite ideas about how he wants the team run this year. One of them is that no one from my company gets personally involved with the team.”

“I can’t believe Elliott cares diddly about us having dinner.”

“Trust me, he does. He wants business to stay business.”

“It’ll be our secret then.”

“This conversation is ridiculous. It doesn’t matter what Andrew Elliott thinks—even though I happen to agree with him. I said no, thank you. That’s all I have to say.” Exasperated by his stubborn arrogance, she turned and walked toward the stands.

Jarrett followed every step of the way. “Then what about you and Boomer?”

“Boomer?” She looked over at him, thrown off by the mention of her brother. “What does he have to do with this?”

“If you agree with Elliott, then what are you doing cozying up to Boomer? You two were pretty chummy in the locker room the other day.”

Samantha tilted her head, looking up at him, confused by the direction the conversation had taken. What was he talking about? Then, in a flash, she realized. He thought she had a thing going with Boomer. The very idea made her want to laugh. “Boomer’s different.”