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roommate.”
    “Too macho to understand?” she asked.
    “Partially. I also had the idea that he would attack me in my sleep, which was pretty stupid of me. It took a while, but we became friends. When he moved back to L.A. a few years ago and opened his own business, he looked me up. I signed on as a client.”
    “He was nice,” she said. “My cousins and Kami had a great time shopping, too.”
    “They went with you?”
    “Uh-huh. You said I can keep the clothes, which is very nice of you, but honestly, can you see me wearing anything like this ever again? It’s not exactly suitable for the classroom.” She smiled. “So everyone came with me and offered opinions. As long as Cameron agreed with the choices, I got outfits they can wear later. We’re all about the same size.”
    “You’re going to give your cousins and their friend your clothes when this is done?”
    “Isn’t that okay? You said you didn’t want them back.”
    “I don’t have a lot of use for them. They’re yours.”
    “Thank you.”
    He turned the idea over in his mind. He couldn’t picture any other woman giving up an expensive wardrobe without a whole lot of motivation. Her comment about wearing them, or not wearing them, in the classroom made sense. But didn’t she date? Didn’t she want to hold on to them just because she could? The situation didn’t make sense, which meant Duncan was going to have to figure it out. Success meant winning and winning meant understanding his opponent and exploiting his or her weakness. He might have bought Annie’s time, but he didn’t trust her. Not a big deal as he didn’t trust anyone. Ever.

    Annie ran her hands over the smooth leather of the seats. The car, an expensive German sedan, still smelled new. The engine was quiet, the dashboard filled with complex-looking displays. She had a feeling that an engineering degree would make working the stereo easier.
    “Your car is really nice,” she said. “Mine has this weird rattle in the dash. My mechanic says there’s nothing wrong with how it drives, so I live with it. But it makes it tough to sing along with the radio.”
    “You can’t get it fixed?”
    She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. “I could,” she said slowly. “And I will. Right after I win the lottery. But first I need new tires. It’s always something, right? But that’s okay. My car is really dependable. We have a deal—it starts for me every morning and I don’t replace it.”
    His mouth twitched. “You talk to your car?”
    “Sure. You probably don’t.”
    “Your car and I have never met.”
    She laughed. “I can introduce you, if you’d like.”
    “No thanks.” He turned left at the light.
    “I’ve been thinking, we’re going to have to tell people how we met. That’s always the question right after ‘How long have you been dating?’”
    “Three months.”
    “Okay.” She made a mental note. “How about saying it was Labor Day weekend. You were on your way to the beach when you saw me on the side of the road with a flat tire. You stopped to help.”
    “No one will believe that.”
    “You wouldn’t stop?” She did her best not to sound disapproving. “You have to help people. It’s good karma.”
    “Maybe I don’t believe in karma.”
    “You don’t have to—it still happens. I think the universe keeps the score pretty even.”
    “Doubtful. If that were true, I wouldn’t be a success.”
    “Why not?”
    “Haven’t you read anything about me? I’m a total bastard. I hired you to prove otherwise.”
    “If you were a total bastard, you would have had Tim arrested the second you found out what he’d done. You were willing to let him pay back the money.”
    “Only because I didn’t want the negative press.” He glanced at her. “Be careful, Annie. Don’t make the mistake of thinking I’m nicer than I am. You’ll only get hurt.”
    Maybe. But didn’t his warning her prove her point?

    The hotel ballroom was large, elegant