Dare to Touch by Carly Phillips

what the shrink said. You can’t let your past define your future.”
    The shrink she’d seen once, when the depth of her grief and despair had been overwhelming. She hadn’t returned because talking about losing the baby she’d finally wrapped her head around wanting seemed futile. Reliving the experience in that sterile office had been too hard. The reality had been painful enough, and she lived with it still.
    “Gotta go, Avery,” she said as she stepped forward.
    “Let loose! Have fun! At least have more sex!” her sister called out in a rush just as Olivia ended the call.
    “Anything important?” Dylan asked, a grin on his handsome face.
    “No. Just Avery being Avery.”
    They stepped up to the desk.
    “How can I help you?” the dark-haired clerk asked.
    She leaned on the counter and met his smile with one of her own. “I’m Olivia Dare.”
    Dylan eased in beside her. “Dylan Rhodes.” He leaned close and his arm brushed hers.
    Electricity shot up her skin.
    “So are you two here on vacation?” the clerk asked. “Honeymoon maybe?”
    Dylan grasped Olivia’s hand and held it tightly on the counter. Warmth pervaded her system, and she tried unsuccessfully to pull free.
    “Unfortunately I haven’t been successful in convincing her to marry me, but I’m not giving up.” He turned to Olivia and treated her to a panty-melting grin. The darned fantasy took hold.
    She drew a deep breath, shot him a warning look, and yanked harder, freeing herself from his grip. “He’s kidding. We’re here on business.”
    The clerk glanced back and forth between them, obviously confused. “What were the last names again?” he asked.
    “Dare and Rhodes,” Dylan said first. “With the Miami Thunder. Corporate reservation,” he said, now all business. “And we’re checking in our players. The whole reservation is under the Miami Thunder organization.”
    The other man looked down and began tapping his keyboard. “Ah, yes. I have five suites reserved on the same floor.”
    “You mean six. Six suites,” Olivia said.
    “Bigsby, Sanders, Flynn, Maddox, and Rhodes,” he said, reading the names off the monitor.
    “Maddox is already here, yes?”
    The clerk did some more typing and nodded. “Yes. He checked in earlier.”
    “Flynn will be here later,” Dylan said. “But you’re missing Dare. Olivia Dare. I confirmed these reservations myself.”
    Some more clicking followed. “I’m sorry, but I only have the five. And we’re booked solid.” A concerned and contrite look spread over his face.
    “But my team is in this hotel. I need to be here too.”
    “Liv, you can have my room.” Dylan placed a hand on her shoulder. The skin-to-skin contact sent her senses soaring, and her anxiety level about being separated from the team sparked even higher.
    “Can you find me something in another hotel?” Dylan asked.
    She shook her head. He was the travel director. He needed to be here, take care of the scheduling and other important matters. “You can’t switch hotels.” Although she appreciated the offer.
    “I really would like to help you out, but most hotels are booked solid for the Pro Bowl. It’s going to be difficult finding you other accommodations,” the clerk said with regret. “I don’t know how this happened.” He went back to his computer and tried to find what Olivia knew would be impossible. An empty room.
    “The only thing I can say is that Mr. Rhodes has a suite. Of course, it’s a king-size bed and an outer room with a couch, but we can send up a rollaway.” The young clerk shrugged, clearly uncomfortable.
    Join the club, buddy, Olivia thought and pinched the bridge of her nose, well aware a headache was building. It was one thing to have an affair with the man. But without her own room, a place to escape to? No breathing room? Constant togetherness? She didn’t know if she could handle it. She also knew she didn’t have a choice.
    “I’ll take the rollaway,” she murmured.