I handed the girls their treats and settled back into my seat, trying to focus on the game. No easy thing with Emily’s knee pressed against mine and her scent washing over me.
And Jesus Christ, did my girls need to look at her like she hung the damn moon. I guess I should be grateful they were finally showing an interest in baseball.
They hadn’t even flagged by the eighth inning. Alice was practically sitting in Emily’s lap, jumping up and down every time something happened on the field. Audrey’s tablet had long since been dumped back in her bag so she could focus on the game.
Bottom of the ninth, Knights were down by one with two outs and a runner on second. The tension in the stadium was thick enough to cut.
“Come on,” Emily muttered. “Just get on base. That’s all we need.”
“He’s seeing the ball well,” I said.
“Yeah, but he needs to make contact. Can’t win if you don’t swing.”
“True.”
The pitcher threw the ball, the batter swung. The crack of the ball and bat connecting echoed around the stadium.
For a moment, the crowd held their collective breath as the ball sailed through the air and kept going, going and going.
“Holy shit, that’s a home run!”
The crowd exploded. Emily burst from her chair, arms in the air, yelling along with everyone else. Alice and Audrey were jumping up and down. I was grinning like an idiot.
Emily grabbed my arm, shaking it. “Did you see that? Did youseethat swing?”
“I saw it.”
“How perfect was it?”
“It was amazing.”
She was laughing, her whole face lit up, and for a second I forgot where we were. Forgot about every reason I shouldn’t be noticing how absolutely fucking gorgeous she was.
Then Alice crashed into both of us, throwing her arms around Emily’s waist, and the moment broke.
Still, I couldn’t take my eyes off Emily as she hugged the girls, all of them laughing and talking over each other.
This was a problem. This was a big fucking problem.
“Alright, guys. Let’s get going before we get stuck in the crowd.”
“Great idea.”
We made it to the lot, the girls still buzzing.
“I’m just over there, by the light post,” Emily said, pointing to the far end of the lot. “So, um?—”
“We’ll walk you.”
“There’s no need.”
“It’s dark. We’re walking you.”
“Oh, okay then.”
The girls ran ahead, squealing.
“They sure have a lot of energy for this time of night.”
