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"I know you're not marrying me for the Stars. I should never have said what I did. I was hurt."
"I'm glad you realize that. But you see, we still have a problem. Historically it's been women who've married the boss. As soon as they had a wedding ring on their finger, they quit their jobs and stayed home. Neither of us wants you to do that, but I have to tell you that I'm not all that comfortable with the idea of spending the rest of my life sleeping next to somebody who's got the power to fire me if my underwear doesn't make it all the way to the laundry hamper."
She repressed a smile. "I'm sympathetic to your problem, but I'm not selling the team just so you can be a slob."
"Somehow I didn't expect you would."
"It's a new world order. You men are going to have to figure out how to handle it."
"You're enjoyin' this, aren't you?"
"I'm mildly amused."
Despite her teasing, she had already been doing some thinking about how she might balance the enormous demands of owning the Stars with marriage and the children she hoped to have. "As a matter of fact, I have a few ideas on this subject. It's not completely worked out in my mind, but when it is, you'll be the first person I talk to about it."
"Then I'd better tell you that I'm not planning to coach the Stars the rest of my life."
"Dan, you can't go to work for another team! It would be an impossible situation."
"I'm not going anywhere for a while. But you've seen what this life is like during the season. I want to be around for you and for our kids, and I've been toying with this idea for a long time. I decided a while back that the day I wake up and realize I can't remember what my wife and kids look like is the day I get out of pro coaching. I'm going to find a Division III college nearby, and that's where I'm going to settle in for the rest of my coaching career."
"Division III? I don't know what that means."
"They're small colleges. They don't offer athletic scholarships, and the pros never scout them. The kids aren't the biggest, they aren't the fastest, and nobody's slipping them money under the table. They're only playing football for one reason, and that's because they love the game. So while you're off wheeling and dealing with all the high rollers, I'm going to tuck myself away on some nice little college campus and remember why I started playing the game in the first place."
"It sounds wonderful."
He shifted lanes. "That scarf you've got under your coat collar. Would you mind blindfolding yourself with it?"
"What?"
"Now."
"Oh, for Pete's sake." She snatched the scarf from beneath her coat collar and tied it around her eyes. "This is ridiculous! You're not planning anything kinky, are you?"
There was a long silence.
"Dan?"
"Well, I suppose it all depends on how conservative your viewpoint is."
"You said you were putting all that behind you. That you wanted a nice, ordinary sex life."
"Uh-huh."
"You don't sound very certain."
"See, it's like this. After a lifetime of high living, it'd probably be best if I sort of tapered off gradually. That way it wouldn't be too big a shock to my system. And this is something I've been thinking about for a long time."
"You're making me very nervous."
"That's good, honey. That's real good." He then launched into the sweetest, softest dirty talk she had ever heard in her life until her skin was so flushed she had to unbutton her coat. But he still wouldn't tell her where he was taking her.
When he finally stopped the car, she realized that his monologue had distracted her so much that she'd forgotten to pay attention. Had the tires crunched on gravel? She listened hard, but although she couldn't hear any traffic noises, she wasn't absolutely certain whether or not he'd driven her to his house.
"You're going to have to wait here for a couple of minutes while I get a few things settled. I'll be right back, so don't get nervous." His lips brushed hers. "Promise me you won't spoil everything by sneaking a peek. That'd be a sign that you don't trust me, and what kind of marriage would we have then?"
"You're really pushing me. You know that, don't you?"
