She laughed. The sound was electric, and goose bumps rose on my arms. “You have a little catching up to do.”
I made a big deal out of getting comfortable in my seat. “Fill me in.”
She spent the next 30 minutes giving me stats on each of the players. Her hands moved as much as her mouth, and the whole show was fascinating. I listened intently, trying to absorb all the information. Occasionally, I would interrupt for clarification like “What does RBI mean?” She readily explained.
A cotton candy vendor walked up the aisle on the other side. Taking Becca at her word, I flagged him down and bought a bag of each color—one blue, one pink.
Emma buried her face in her hands. “I can’t believe Becca spilled my secret.”
“Think she’d spill more if I offered her my tickets?” I nodded my head toward the first-base line.
Emma laughed. “Probably way more than you want to know.”
I locked eyes with her. “I want to know it all.”
The sound of the game and the spectators finding their seats faded into the background, and suddenly, all I could hear was Emma swallowing. Her cheeks dusted pink, and my eyes were drawn to the bow of her lips. They parted slightly, and a primal part of me saw an invitation.
“Hey, buddy, can you scoot over?” asked a rough guy wearing a sleeveless shirt and sporting a long gray ponytail.
The moment with Emma was broken by his gruff voice. I stood to let him into his seat.
“Hey, Chad.” Emma greeted him and his wife as she stood too. “Sarah. How’s the grandbaby?”
“She’s perfect,” replied Sarah.
I sat down, expecting that to be the end of it, but Emma put her hand on my knee. “This is Dr. Alex Mitchell.”
“Nice to meet you.” Chad reached across to shake my hand as Emma repeated their names.
“Likewise,” I responded. Of course Emma would befriend the people sitting next to her. She drew in others like cotton candy drew ants. Sarah nodded a hello since her hands were full of drinks.
“My offer still stands.” Chad nodded at me as he spoke to Emma.
She laughed lightly, her hand moving to take mine. I threaded our fingers together, pleased with the possessive way she held on to me. “I don’t think it will be necessary.”
After a few minutes of chitchat, Emma turned slightly in her chair and Sarah did the same, providing us with a bit of privacy in the small space.
“They’re nice.”
Emma grinned. “Yeah.”
“What was his offer?” I asked quietly.
She shook her head. “Since Becca and I don’t have family in the area, he offered to step in and scare off any guy that gave us trouble.”
“And you don’t think I’m trouble?” I teased, growling out the words like the Big, Bad Wolf.
Emma’s eyes widened slightly. She pressed her hand over her chest. “I hope not.”
I put my arm around her and pulled her close, breathing in her scent and letting her hair tickle my cheeks. I wanted to tell her that she was safe with me, but there were no guarantees in life. So I kept her close, hoping she understood what I couldn’t put into words.
The next several innings were heaven on earth.
Emma startled me by heckling the umpire. I laughed right out loud at her indignant look and lowered brow. Even when she was mad, she was beautiful. She smacked my arm and told me to quit laughing—it made her seem less tough.
We cheered, standing with our arms over our heads in triumph at a home-team home run. And we groaned in unison when the visiting team scored.
I couldn’t get enough of her passion. Occasionally, when something exciting would happen, she would grab my knee and grip it while scooting to the edge of her seat, like I was her stabilizer on earth. I couldn’t remember the last time I had been this happy.
