I considered spinning around to hit him, but then I saw the expression on his face. I walked slowly, swaying my hips more than usual. An echo of laughs sounded around the infield from Ax, Freeze, and Stark.
“All right,” I called to the team, standing on home plate and lifting one finger in the air. “One out.”
Nathan’s next pitch resulted in a ground ball to Freeze, who quickly zipped it over to Stark for the second out. Nathan tilted his head to me as if to sayTold you I was fine.
The next batter went the distance in the count—three balls, two strikes. He was the only player who’d been able to get the better of Nathan, and in the serious lines on his face, I could see he wanted this strikeout. I stuck two fingers down—a change-up—followed by one finger, signaling for him to throw it over the outside corner, but Nathan shook me off. He would hear an earful from me later about letting fear make his decisions.I stuck one finger down, followed by my middle finger which was our sign to throw close to the batter. Nathan nodded his agreement. He lifted his leg in the air, then planted his foot, and hoisted the fastball toward me with everything he had.
The batter swung too late. The pitch landed in my glove with a satisfying smack. I didn’t even care about the sting as I rushed to the mound and into Nathan’s arms.
“I bet I felt just fine,” he said into my ear, sending a shiver down my spine.
He meant his last pitch, but in each other’s arms like this, I couldn’t ignore how good his body felt against me. I inhaled his strawberry chewing gum scent, and it transported me to my childhood when Nathan centered my world.
The prospect of the past repeating itself didn’t seem far-fetched any longer, and it scared the shit out of me.
I wriggled out of Nathan’s arms. My stomach dipped when my gaze met his—the devastating smile, those turquoise eyes, the scruff covering the lower half of his face.This—feeling all hot and bothered for Nathan—was half the reason I kept wearing my engagement ring. I didn’t want to do something I’d regret… like remind myself about the feel of his lips.
If that was all it was, my stomach wouldn’t have felt like it was tied in constrictor knots. I could fight physical attraction—I wouldn’t enjoy it, but I could do it. Without my permission, though, my old feelings for Nathan resurfaced and tangled with my lust for him.
You always loved that boy too much. My mother was right; I’d been powerless to those feelings before. Without a single doubt, Nathan still held me in the palm of his hand.
“Brenna?” a voice called behind me.
I turned toward home plate, and the knots in my stomach tightened painfully. Jack leaned against the chain-link fence,forehead scrunched, watching me. Derek stood beside him, hands in his pockets, his expression unreadable.
What the hell are they doing here?
Nathan’s heat surrounded me as he leaned in to whisper, “Is that—”
“Jack,” I cut him off. “Yes. Jack is here.”
22
NATHAN
Now
I drained my beerin one swig, then motioned to the bartender for another.
“You okay man?” Ax eyed me with concern.
Brenna Quinn’s fiancé showed up at our baseball game tonight with Derek Ellis in tow.Of courseI wasn’t all right. After the most incredible time on the field with her, a heavy dose of reality kicked me in the balls.
My feelings for Brenna didn’t matter. She would never be mine.
“Never better,” I muttered, snatching my second beer off the bar and heading to the tables the team had commandeered in the corner of the room.
Ax reached my side seconds later, holding a beer bottle in one hand. “Because if you’re not okay, I can make an excuse for you. Like you need to water your plants or wash your hair or something.”
I scoffed. “I’m not leaving.”
Bolting out of the bar would reveal how much seeing Jack wrap Brenna into a hug bothered me. I watched them together for far longer than I should have, but I needed the fucking reminder. There wasnothingthere for me. I ruined my chance a long time ago.
“Your funeral, man.”
I hated the way Ax saw through my facade. Ifhecould tell how much I cared for her, Brenna probably could too. I wondered if she pitied me… or worse, she only played nice because of my dad and his stupid will. The institution of marriage obviously hadn’t held significance to him, butIrespected other people’s relationships. I took them so seriously, I refused to commit to a relationship if I couldn’t give it the attention and care it required. I refused to start a relationship that would fail.
I used to think I held back because of me, but now I suspected it had something to do with the gorgeous blond sitting across the table from me.
