“Yes.”
“Great.” I can feel his gaze as it roams across my face and down my body. I’m not sure what he sees, but he says, “We’ve got this.”
Nodding, I watch Li and Larsen do an elaborate handshake and try to hold in a grimace. “I’m not sure whether we can beat them. I’m pretty sure they spend all their time together. Also, was that the handshake fromParent Trap?”
Beckett tilts his head slightly, considering his teammates. “I don’t know why this is only just occurring to me, but do they share an apartment?”
I shake my head. “They have their own… right?” I ask. “They definitely don’t live together… do they?” I’m truly not sure now that he mentions it, but I can’t imagine two grown men choosing to live with each other.
He shrugs. “Some guys just don’t like to be alone. Though I’m pretty sure they told me they live separately.”
“It’s alarming that neither of us knows the answer to that,” I murmur.
Beckett nods as we make our way to our seats. “I’m offended now that I think of it. They’ve been over to my place for dinner like four times since I moved in, and they’ve never invited me to theirs.”
“Maybe because it’s the equivalent of a college dorm,” I suggest as I pick up the board and slip into my seat.
“Good luck, Queenie,” Beckett says as the host of the event walks out. She’s the friend Charlotte mentioned a while ago, and, according to Charlotte, she’s willing to do anything to turn the Denver Miners into a winning baseball team. Unfortunately, no one wants to pitch at a mile high, so it’s an uphill battle.
“Hi, everyone,” she says with a smile. “I’m Sage Sinclair, the GM for the Denver Miners, Colorado’s professional baseball team. I’m so excited to be here with you all today. Before we get started, I wanted to invite everyone tuning in to join us on March 26 for Opening Day.”
Sage looks like she’s barely a day over twenty-five, with her sun-streaked blonde hair and loose beach weaves. She’s stunning, and I subtly look over at Beckett to see if he notices how pretty she is. He’s staring at her, but rather than desire in his eyes, all I see is polite interest.
Not that it would matter. They’d probably make a great couple.
“All right. Everybody ready to get started?” Sage asks, her voice clear and strong.
Noises of confirmation come from around the room.
“Okay. First question: If your partner could have any pet, what would it be?”
I think about it for a moment, remembering how Beckett had a dog as a kid, but that doesn’t feel quite right. Realizing I do know the answer, I quickly write it down on my board.
Sage starts with Rob and J.D., the team on the far end, and works her way around the circle, asking the question again and having each person verbally answer it. Once they’ve given their choice, the guesser shows their response. Unsurprisingly, J.D. is a dog man. Very surprisingly, Volkov wants a pet sugar glider.
“Kane, what pet would you have?” she asks when it’s our turn.
“Cat,” he answers with a definitive nod. “A black cat, if possible.”
“Coach?”
I turn my board around slowly to show: Black cat.
The shy smile Beckett offers is like a candle, warming me from my toes to the tip of my head. It’s like he’s surprised I was paying attention these past few weeks, or I might’ve forgotten or something. Like that’s possible.
Sage keeps us moving quickly, running us through questions like:
“Which app do they use the most on their phone?” Easy. Health.
“What’s the best vacation they’ve ever been on?” Fishing in Canada during college.
“What’s their go-to karaoke song?” The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside.” I died laughing when he told me that.
When Sage asks, “What is their favorite city to travel to for work?” a slow, evil grin threatens to spread across my face as I quickly scrawl down my answer. It’s almost unbearable, waiting for Sage to ask the three teams before us. Finally, when she asks Beckett, his eyes meet mine. He closes them as if he can’t believe what he’s about to say, but he does it anyway. “New Orleans.”
“Yes!” I practically yell, turning my board around to show offNew Orleanswritten in the center.
Beckett shakes his head slowly, mouthing, “You’re dead to me.”
