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Casino. Unfortunately, she’d used up most of her savings this past year, which made the kind of money the lawyer offered so hard to resist. All she had to do was sell that ball and her financial worries would be over.
    The idea of failing the upcoming annual la Stravaganza audition really preyed on her. She detested that she was starting to lose something that had always been special to her, that she was approaching the end of a professional life she’d worked so hard to make a reality. Far worse, though, was the idea of being thrust back into financial insecurity. And a little voice kept whispering inher head that it didn’t have to come to that. The cushion Richardson had dangled in front of her would give her the start-up money she needed for her dance studio, and she’d have enough left over to see her through for several months while she got her business off the ground. She knew she could make a go of it, for as Carly had said she was a good teacher. It had therefore taken every bit of fortitude she possessed not to leap at his offer.
    The only problem was she’d known Jim’s wishes all too well. And he’d wanted the baseball to go to his son.
    Her teeth clenched at even the fleeting thought of Jackson McCall, for she could wrack her brain all day and all night long and still never come up with a less deserving recipient.
    Then she drew a deep breath and let it out. She’d not allow that lousy excuse for a son to ruin what had been a truly decent day so far. The last thing she needed between now and the audition was more stress, and she shook out her hands while practicing additional calming breaths. Her time and energy would be much more productively spent by concentrating on positive images like the memory of this morning’s breakfast date with Jax and their upcoming one tonight. Gradually her tension began to dissolve, and she blew out a sigh. Things would work out.
    Why waste time dwelling on a rat bastard when she could think about a really great guy instead?

CHAPTER FOUR
    J AX FELT GREAT . His plan was proceeding according to schedule, the prospect of sack time with a Las Vegas showgirl was a promising glimmer on his horizon and he was up forty-eight grand from his original stake when he’d sat down to play a little poker at the five-thousand-dollar-limit table three hours ago.
    Life was good.
    He studied his fellow players. The woman to his right had a good, stoic poker face. So did the Asian man sitting in the small blind position. The guy next to him had been an All-Star pick for three years running, but while he might knock ’em dead on the baseball diamonds, he had two definite tells. His left eye narrowed slightly when he was bluffing, and he compulsively fanned open and snapped shut his cards when he had a good hand.
    A good portion of the stack of chips sitting in front of Jax were courtesy of Mr. All-Star.
    The cocktail waitress offered him a drink and he refused it with a smile. Catching a flash of red hair across the casino, he straightened from his slouch and craned to see over the crowd before he caught himself and relaxed his forearms, draping himself over the table once again.
    It wasn’t Treena. The woman whose hair he’d seen across the room didn’t share the same pale flame shade of hers. Its deeper color had merely caught his eye for a minute and he decided that it was natural for Treena to be in the back of his mind. She was, after all, the object standing squarely between him and his goal.
    The fact that his heart had begun to beat a stronger, more rapid rhythm merely meant he was a red-blooded guy. It would be a hell of a lot more unnatural if the thought of a sexy showgirl didn’t rev his engine a little. He didn’t mind admitting that he was looking forward to taking her to bed. But he also knew he wouldn’t let pleasure get in the way of the program.
    Realizing his concentration was broken, he cashed in his chips for the