She should probably be flattered by that admission, but instead, found herself annoyed. “How’d you find me?”
“When you weren’t at your house, I stopped by a coffee shop and asked. They said you’d be here. It’s crazy how small this town is.”
“We playin’ or what, Walker?” someone from the opposing team yelled.
“I’m coming,” Tess yelled, holding up a hand and turning back to Carter. “I can’t talk right now. I’m up to bat next.”
“Co-ed softball?” He used his fingers to shield his eyes and glance around the field. “How quaint. Hey, what’s Fox doing here?”
Logan stood on first base, only a few feet away, and could probably hear the whole conversation.
“He’s staying for the summer,” Tess said. “Look, I gotta go.”
“Oh.” Carter frowned. “So, wait. You’d rather stay here than come with me? I drove all the way out here.”
Technically, someone else had driven him, but she didn’t mention that. “Sorry about that. You should have called first.”
“Seriously?” Impatience overtook his good humor. “Do you know how many women would kill for an offer like this? To be seen in public with me?”
“Um…” She thought he might be overestimating—by a long shot—the extent of such a list. He was only a B-string player after all.
“This is my last attempt, Tess. It’s a now-or-never invite. Do you want to go out with me or not?”
How had she not realized what a self-absorbed asshole he was? The decision was one of the easiest she’d made in a while. “Not.”
His eyes widened, and she had to bite back a laugh at the indignant shock on his face. Behind her, she heard a snicker, confirming Logan was eavesdropping.
“But…I’m rich,” he said, flabbergasted. “And famous. I could get you courtside seats at Celtics games.”
Rich? Sure. Famous? Debatable. The tickets? That would be the biggest sacrifice.
“That’s great for you,” Tess said sincerely. “You shouldn’t have any problem finding someone to go to Cancun with you then.”
As she turned and headed to the dugout, Logan caught her eye. A mixture of astonishment and admiration accompanied a smile. She held his gaze for a moment longer than necessary—darn those pretty green eyes.
“Sorry, y’all,” she said. “Let’s crack on.”
After the game, they met for celebratory beers at The Rusty Nail. Logan had hit a homer to score the game-winning run.
“The expression on the pitcher’s face when you nailed that thing…” Nick slapped Logan on the back. “Priceless.”
“It was a team effort,” Logan said. “Y’all were great. Also, that hit was definitely more luck than skill.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Max said.
“I’m managing expectations,” he replied. “In case I suck at the next game.”
“Whatever,” Brody said. “A win’s a win.”
Once they were seated, drinks in hand, Faith wanted a play-by-play of the conversation with Carter. Tess rehashed it quickly.
“Ah, man!” Faith said. “Courtside seats would have been amazing. You should have gone just for those.”
“Exactly what I was thinking,” Alex said.
“You’d sacrifice me for good seats to a game?” Tess asked. They nodded enthusiastically. “How dare you?”
“How mad do you think he is?” Juliet said. “Can we even go to games anymore?”
