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He shot her a surprised look, and then gave her a game smile. “Some of us are lucky.”

Pia sighed. “Easterbridge should give Belinda the annulment that she’s looking for, and let her move on with her life. Instead, he seems to enjoy tormenting her.”

“My friends are not unlikable, despite what you may believe.”

“In a way, it’s hard to believe that you and Easterbridge are friends. He can’t get unmarried, while you—”

Hawk quirked a brow. “Yes?”

“—have never been married,” she finished lamely.

He could tell from the look in Pia’s eyes, however, that she had intended to label him a commitment-shy player. The fact that she hadn’t said something, at least.

Had Lucy’s words had a salutary effect on Pia’s opinion of him? There was only one way to find out.

Hawk took a sip of his wine. “Let’s turn back to a more soothing subject for my ego. Lucy has been singing my praises.”

A small smile rose to Pia’s lips, and she nodded. “Lucy mentioned that you’ve been working nonstop these past three years as you’ve moved into your role as duke, learned the running of the estates and started Sunhill Investments.”

“Are you surprised?”

Pia hesitated, and then shook her head. “No. You’ve acted…differently than you did three years ago.” She paused. “It must have been

very hard for you after your father and brother died.”

He didn’t recollect stories about his father and his brother every day anymore—not like three years ago—but their joint passing had set his life on a new trajectory. “William and I were two years apart. We grew up as friends and playmates as well as brothers, though I always knew I got a free pass as the younger son while William had his life and responsibilities mapped out for him.”

It was more personal information than he was accustomed to divulging.

Pia didn’t look as if she was sitting in judgment, however. “And then one day the free pass disappeared…”

He nodded. “As fate would have it.”

“You had a reputation as a player,” she stated without inflection. “The stories—”

“Old news, but reports will hang around the internet forever.” His mouth twisted. “I do have two jobs that often take up more time than one person can handle, believe it or not. I do need to be serious for those.”

“I’ve hardly had an opportunity to see it,” she protested.

He’d meant to tweak her nose about her earlier query about his lack of seriousness, and he could tell she understood it.

“Maybe you just bring out the devilish side of me.” He tilted his head. “Perhaps with you, I can relax and tease.”

She flushed. “I’m such an easy target.”

“You hold your own,” he offered, taken in by her blush.

She moistened her lips, and he watched longingly.

“Would you like to see a more intense and focused side of me?” he asked, suddenly going with an idea. “I’m going rock climbing at a gym in Brooklyn tomorrow. The gym keeps me in shape for the real thing.”

Pia’s eyes glinted. “Who ever heard of a duke rock climbing?”

He assumed a suitable hauteur. “I’m a modern-day duke. This is an outlet for all those go-forth-and-conquer genes that my ancestors bequeathed to me.”

“All right.”

Accepting her response, he didn’t add that rock climbing was also a good pressure-release valve.

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