It feels so good to be back together. After Cade left for California, my time with Jimmy was special, but with Cade here, it feels whole again.
“I can’t believe you still haven’t found anyone to lease out the spare office.” Just like the old days, Cade draws a smiley face in the dusty sign hanging in the window. “You’ve been looking for a tenant for years.”
“Must be the constant yelling from the batting cages keeping people away.”
“Customers?”
“Nope.” Jimmy ruffles my braids. “I’ve got a sports agent who comes in at all hours of the day and takes her anger out on the balls. Plus”—he gestures at my office—“she made herself comfortable. Can barely get her to go home thesedays.”
“I’ll return my key,” I threaten, but we both know I won’t. Jimmy will have to pry this key from my cold, dead hands.
“Don’t you dare.” Misty eyes fall to the pink binder tucked under my arm. “I’m guessing y’all are about to have a work meeting?”
I nod. “Yes, if that’s okay. I’ll lock up when we’re done.”
“Of course. This place is just as much y’all’s as it’s mine.” Jimmy turns to Cade and bows his head. “Don’t be a stranger. Okay?”
A mix of emotions flits over Cade’s face as he wraps Jimmy in one last hug before his old coach heads home. The professional part of me knows being alone with Cade is dumb because we’ll always be two people with history, but the personal part of me knows we need to be here at our place.
“Hi, Agent Shay.”
Our eyes meet. Although I see none of the sadness from last night, there’s no hiding it anymore. I know it exists now.
“Is that your substitute for Shay baby? It’s so not creative.”
“Sure is, unless you’re giving me permission to—”
“Nope,” I say quickly. “What did I say about calling me that?”
His lips slant into a smirk. “That I should feel lucky I’m able to speak your name at all.”
A grin breaks through my nerves. “I never said that.”
“Doesn’t mean it’s not true.”
Brushing off the mild flirting, I gesture for him to follow me into the building. Slim Jim Batting got a makeover last summer, so Cade hasn’t seen any of the changes. There’s new turf in every cage with clay batting mats. A paint job spruced up the walls from mildew-gray to charcoal. The rubber flooring is crack free with no bubbles. Jimmy splurged on machines with adjustable pitching styles controlled by the tablet in each cage. We even have a softball machine now.
Cade gently caresses the painted version of himself on the wall. “He always said he wanted a mural of his favorite baseball players.” Continuing his perusal of the place, he chuckles. “Is this considered a work meeting if we’re playing baseball?”
I step into my favorite cage and tap the tablet. “Wearehere for work, Cade.” Regret floods me when he flinches. “No, I mean I’m here for work, but I’m also—”
His laugh is forgiving. “It’s okay. I get it.”
“No,” I sputter. “You’re my client, so I have a contractual obligation to work with you, and it’s hard to explain caring about my job versus caring about you, because I care about both.” Jeez, could I sound more unprofessional? “But I’m here foryou. Nothing else.”
I tried to stop caring about Cade years ago. I now know it’s impossible.
“You’ve always been there for me.” He looks toward Jimmy’s office. “Even when I didn’t let you.”
I have no intention of diving into our past tonight, so I pull my helmet on and press start. Spreading my legs, I settle into my stance. With every click, I swing, knocking the ball into the net. They chuck out in the same, steady rhythm as always, but it’s different today. It could be the heavy gaze on my back or the simple fact that he’s here for the first time in years.
After the final ball, Cade claps until I turn around. “It’s like I never left.”
But you did,I think.
“Your turn.”
Cade stares down at the bat in his hands. “Why’d you bring me here?”
