Yep. We’re going out there, my heart agrees.
But I don’t move.
The minute I interrupt everything, these kids lose out on the reason they’re here today.
And I’m not here to leap all over him, even if the mere sight of him is making my nipples perk up and my panties damp.
This is his natural habitat. He doesn’t know I’m here. He’s not pretending to be anything other than who he is, doing what he does, and it’smagicwatching him with the kids.
“Excuse me,” a quiet voice says, and I realize it’s one of the women who spotted me a few minutes ago.
I put my finger to my lips with a smile.
She smiles back and looks away, out at the field. “My kids and I sing ‘Pedal to the Metal’ at the top of our lungs every time we drive up the PCH to visit my in-laws,” she whispers.
“That’s so cool,” I murmur back. “It was supposed to be a ballad, but then my producer started playing with that beat while we were writing, and she was so right. It’s a total driving song.”
“Are you really dating Cooper Rock?”
“That depends on the day and the tabloid reporting the news, doesn’t it?” I add a harmless smile, the kind that usually works well to deflect personal questions with people who seem to understand boundaries.
But the lady keeps talking. Quietly. “I grew up in North Carolina. Closer to Copper Valley than Atlanta, so the Fireballs were our team. My family adores him. My sister got to meet him once when she took her kids to hang out in his hometown—you know, the pirate town in the mountains?—and she said he was the nicest guy in person. Everything you expect of him when you see him play baseball. I hope you’re dating him. And I hope he’s as nice as everyone thinks he is. You deserve someone nice after…you know what? I’m shutting up now. Really nice to meet you. I hope you have fun today.”
She drifts away.
Kiva shifts a look my way, and this one is clear as day.She’s not wrong. He’s a nice guy, and you deserve it after Geofferson.
I glance at Cooper again. He’s backing up, still talking to Leandra as he signals the pitcher to toss a ball.
And a minute later, when she gets on base, he cheers loudest.
When the little boy after her takes seventeen pitches to even connect with the ball after a ton of coaching on batting position and keeping his eye on the ball, Cooper gives him the biggestyeah, dude, I knew you could do it!That’s the first step!and a massive fist bump.
When his team moves to the outfield for practice throwing and fielding the ball, he’s straight-up enthusiasm,wow, you almost took my glove off!andyeah, I totally miss first base all the time too, even though he does not, in fact,evermis-throw to first base.
He teaches them the baseball shuffle, which vaguely reminds me of old MC Hammer dances and has both me and the kids giggling nonstop while they all stop ground balls like champs before their time is up.
All of the parents here fanning themselves over Cooper with the baseball players-in-training are right.
There is nothing—nothing—sexier than watching a man spend his afternoon donating his time and talents and enthusiasm to build up a group of kids.
When someone comes over the loudspeaker and announces afternoon camp is over, Cooper pulls his kids in for a huddle and starts whispering things none of us on the sidelines can hear.
A minute later, they all stick their hands into the circle, and yell, “Go, Sea Cows,moo-bubble!”
Freaking. Adorable.
Cooper straightens, looks straight at me, grins and winks, and that’s all the warning I get before one kid yells, “WAVERLY SWEET!” and charges me, leading the pack as the rest of the kids cheer and screech and run faster thananyof them ran to chase baseballs or to get onto base for the entire past two hours.
“I don’t care if he’s a nice guy, I hate him right now,” is the last thing I hear Kiva say before I’m surrounded by kids.
And their parents.
And the other baseball players and event organizers.
Kiva and Scott Two organize lines and make a buffer around me while I take pictures and sign autographs one at a time and in small family groups, and when it becomes clear news has spread that I’m here and non-baseball people are starting to arrive, they do what they do best and hustle me out of there.
“But—” I fell so quickly intoWaverly Sweet, don’t disappoint the fansmode that I have zero idea where Cooper is, even though I’ve wanted him next to me this entire time.
