He couldn’t help but laugh. “So tell me what interests you, Katrina?”

KATRINA DIDN’T WANT TO LIKE GRANT CASSIDY. SHE didn’t want him sitting at her table, yet there he was, drinking his beer and looking absolutely gorgeous.

She’d wanted to be alone, and she thought about spending the evening in her room, so she could read. But it was too beautiful here, and the beach and sea air beckoned, so she’d put on a pair of shorts and a tank top to come sit beachside for dinner.

Obviously a huge mistake, because no matter how hard she tried to insult the man, he simply wouldn’t leave.

And no matter how hard she tried to deny the chemistry she felt during their photo shoot today, she couldn’t.

She posed with male models all the time. Sometimes fully naked. She’d never felt anything. It was her job. She knew it, and so did the guys. But making eye contact with Grant Cassidy today, there’d been some kind of … she didn’t even know how to describe it. A zing somewhere in the vicinity of her lower belly. A low warming that had spread when he’d laid his hands on her.

Even now, hours later, she could still feel his touch, the way he’d looked at her. She’d wanted … more. And if there was one thing Katrina never wanted from a man, it was more of anything. She was too focused on her career to spend any time at all thinking of men. Work was everything to her, and men were a distraction.

Like now. He sat across the table from her, all big and tan and smiling at her like he had exactly what she wanted.

Only she didn’t want it. She wanted no part of anything he might have to offer.

She couldn’t want it. Still, she couldn’t help herself.

“I’m surprised you read that book,” she said.

“Now who’s stereotyping? You think I’m a dumb jock, that all I read is sports magazines.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“I actually have a degree in accounting. And yes, I did graduate before I went out for the draft.”

She studied him. “Accounting. I don’t see it.”

“I was going to go for a law degree, but I like numbers better. I minored in finance. I wanted to make sure I could oversee my earnings with knowledge. I’ve seen too many football players blow it all or not know where their money is going, and a few years after they retire, the money is gone.”

He was smart, too. She liked that.

She leaned back and looked at him. “Do you have an investment portfolio?”

“As a matter of fact, I do. With the high income a successful model commands, I imagine you do as well.”

“I do. And I know exactly where my money is going.”

“See? I knew you were a smart woman, Katrina. Smart and beautiful—a lethal combination.”

She couldn’t help but appreciate that he mentioned the smart part before the beautiful part. Too many men never paid attention to the fact she had a brain. All they saw was her face and body and never even wanted to have a conversation with her. Which was why she didn’t date. She didn’t have time for men who were that superficial.

Grant seemed … different. Yes, there’d been that spark of chemistry at the photo shoot today, but so far all he’d done was talk to her. He hadn’t sat down to ogle her or hit on her. It was kind of refreshing.

Not that she had any interest in dating him, but when was the last time she’d spent time talking with a man she wasn’t connected to in the industry? She wasn’t going to bed with him, but there was no harm in sharing conversation and having a meal with him, was there?

“Okay, fine. Let’s see what’s on the menu for dinner.”

TWO

FOR SOME REASON, KATRINA AGREEING TO DINNER felt like he’d won some kind of battle, that she didn’t do this type of thing all that often. Grant would take that as a victory, even a small one.

“How long have you been a model?” he asked her.

“I was signed by an agency when I was seventeen. Close to my eighteenth birthday. So almost ten years now.”

“That’s a lot of your life. Ever want to do anything else?”

She shrugged, and took a sip of water. “I make good money, and modeling isn’t something most of us do all our lives. I’ll do something else later. Since I started modeling early, I didn’t get a chance to go to college, so that’s one of my long-term goals for after the modeling career is over.”

“College is a good goal, especially since you didn’t get to it after you graduated high school.”

“Unfortunately, no, I didn’t. It wouldn’t have been an option for me anyway.”