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  “I wish he was here now. I still miss him. Even more when I’m out on the mound. He taught me the basics, and I could use his guidance right about now.” He stopped pacing and sat on his bed. “I’m glad you’re not angry that I’m doing this.”

  “Angry? Why would I be angry? You’ve loved baseball your whole life.”

  “You know what this will mean, though, right? Grandfather will have a major melt-down.”

  “He may be a bit upset, yes.”

  God love his mother. She could make the Incredible Hulk’s rage sound like a spot of indigestion. She’d always cut his grandfather too much slack.

  “I don’t want him to repeat what he did to you when you and dad married. I don’t care that he’ll probably cut me off. I expect that. I just don’t want him to take it out on you. Throw you out of the townhouse. Cut off the monthly stipend he gives you.”

  “I’m sure he wouldn’t do anything so drastic, honey.”

  “Mom, the man is a mean, selfish, controlling bastard. I know it, and God knows, you should, too.”

  “He’s a lonely old man, AJ. He made a poor choice in a partner, and was too stubborn to consider divorce, so he spent most of his adult life miserable—”

  “And decided to make everyone else’s life miserable, too.”

  “AJ.”

  “Mom.” He sighed. “We don’t have to go through this discussion again. At least not until I find out if I’ve made the team. Then I’ll fly up and tell him in person. And do my best to minimize the damage. If I don’t make it, he never has to know. I’ll be back at work Monday morning, sporting a Florida tan.”

  “I’m sure you’ll make the team, honey. You’re such a good pitcher.”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Mom.”

  “Well, you are.”

  “Listen, if I do make the team, I want you to come down and spend a couple of weeks at this dynamite resort on the island. It’s called Casa Blanca Resort & Spa, and it is amazing. I’ll rent you a private villa, and you can pamper yourself at their spa.”

  “Darling, you shouldn’t spend that kind of money on me. Take some pictures and email them to me. That will be lovely.”

  He shook his head. No point in arguing, now. But, if they signed him, he would get her down here, if he had to fly up there and physically drag her onto a plane.

  “Okay, Mom. I should know by the weekend. I’ll call you as soon as I find out. Until then, no leaks to Grandad, understand.”

  He heard another sigh.

  “Of course, honey. Whatever you say.”

  “Love you, Mom. I gotta run. I’ll call again, soon.”

  “Bye, honey. Take care of yourself. I love you.”

  His next call was to the legal department at his office.

  “Jack, could you do me a favor and find out whose name is on the title of this property?” He gave the townhouse’s address. “Yeah, just shoot me an email, all right? Thanks. Have a good one. Bye.”

  He might be kicked to the curb by dear, old Grandad, but he’d be damned if his mom would suffer for his choices.

  Chapter Seven

  The week flew by, each day blurring into the next. Breakfast, exercises, pitching practice, batting practice, lunch, more pitching practice, gym workouts, and at the end of the day, icing down his pitching arm so he didn’t wake up one morning to find it had fallen off. A huge white board had been grid-lined so every player knew where he was supposed to be at any given time. Regimentation was the name of the game in this outfit. The schedule was brutal, but there was no doubt that he was in the best shape he’d ever been in.

  He’d found a stretch of beach not far from the stadium that was separated from the resort by scrub palms and thick undergrowth. He could see the smooth white sand dotted with bright canary yellow umbrellas and sprinkled with lounge chairs that marked Casa Blanca’s beachfront, but no guests strayed this far north and braved the untamed foliage. He ran laps on it every evening when the sun was low enough to paint a golden stripe on the gently lapping water.

  He missed seeing Sky, and the memory of their single kiss often kept him awake for hours. He wasn’t scheduled for lunch at the same time every day, but somehow he always seemed to miss her. He mentally kicked himself for not getting her phone number that first night, never expecting it would be so difficult to catch up with her again.

  AJ began to think the mismatch in their lunch hours was not accidental. Maybe Sky didn’t want to see him again. He saw Kelly frequently, since her cubbyhole office was right next to Coach Betz’s.

  Which meant she also knew his schedule.

  Damn.

  He swapped his lunch block with another pitcher’s exercise time and made sure Kelly saw him going into the gym. Five minutes later, he ducked back out and went by her office. Bingo, no Kelly. He threw a clean T-shirt on and headed for the cafeteria.

  Sky and Kelly sat at a table for two over by the windows.

  AJ filled his tray and strode over. “Hi, ladies. Mind if I join you?”

  Sky’s eyes rounded, and she glanced at Kelly, who gave an infinitesimal lift of her shoulders.

  Yep. It was a conspiracy, all right.

  “Of course. Pull up a chair, AJ,” Sky said. She and Kelly shifted their trays to make room.

  “How have you been, ladies? I guess they’re keeping you busy getting ready for the new players.”

  Sky grabbed his ready-made excuse and ran with it. “Absolutely. It is amazing how much paperwork is involved in a new startup like the Bucks. I’m drowning in forms upstairs.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, they’re keeping us pretty busy, too.”

  His gaze roamed over her face, sharpening the details his memory had blurred. She’d left her hair down today, and it cascaded over her shoulders to curl softly against her breasts. He wanted his hands in those thick, dark, silken strands, and he wanted his mouth on hers, tasting those plump lips, sliding his tongue along the seam until she opened and let him in…

  “Coach Betz knows how to crack the whip, I’ve heard. What do you think of him?” Kelly asked.

  Her question snapped him out of his lusty haze, and he realized that was exactly what she’d intended. How long had he been engrossed in Sky’s beauty? Shit. He was acting like a love-struck teenager.

  “The man knows his stuff, that’s for sure. Diplomacy isn’t his strong suit, but I’ve already learned a lot from him. Every player who makes the team will be lucky to have him as their coach. I just hope I’m one of them.”

  “From the looks of the stats that the boss is keeping, your chances are good.” Kelly held up her hands as he switched his focus from Sky to her. “No promises, AJ. I shouldn’t have said anything, because I don’t really know how Cutter Valentine and Donnie Betz figure out who’s best from a team point of view. I merely type up the reports.”

  “Yeah, I got it. No pressure,” he joked. On you, anyway. I feel like a volcano about to blow. Every day there were a few more lockers without names duct-taped to them. Seeing his still there brought a wave of relief every morning.

  “I could use a little R and R to take the edge off,” he said to Sky. “How about a walk on the beach after work?”

  Sky hesitated, her eyes downcast, and AJ’s spirits dropped. If she was truly avoiding him on purpose, he should have let it go, instead of forcing his way into her company at lunch.

  “I blew it at dinner the other night, didn’t I? I didn’t mean to get into an argument with your brothers.” Talk about stepping on his dick—with cleats, no less. Other than making the team, her good opinion of him was the most important thing on his mind. Sometimes he wasn’t sure which of the two was in first place. And he’d fucked it all up. Crap. He had to fix this.

  She looked up and smiled. “What time should I meet you?”

  Thank you, Lord. “How about 6? I could grab some food here, and we could have a picnic on the beach after our walk.”

  “Okay, that sounds great.” Sky gathered up her things. “I’m sorry I
have to run. I have a meeting in a few minutes.” Kelly followed suit and they both stood. “So, I’ll meet you here at 6, then, Augie?”

  “I’ll be here.” He stood as the two women left the table and watched them walk away. Sky’s short skirt showcased a pair of legs that went on forever. The image of them wrapped around his hips sent much of his blood supply south. The woman was flat-out gorgeous. No matter how hard he tried to keep his eye on the ball—the baseball—she was an undeniable distraction.

  He sat to finish his lunch. And then it hit him. She’d called him Augie. So, she’d dug up his full name from somewhere. And she hadn’t smirked even a little bit when she’d used it.

  ~~~

  “I thought the whole reason I passed along AJ’s schedule to you was so that you could avoid him,” Kelly said.

  That was the plan. But what good was keeping her distance at work, when every night he invaded her dreams? She’d wake in the dark, aroused to the point of … well, of climaxing, from dreams that were so real, so vivid, she had to finish what AJ had started or she’d never get back to sleep.

  “I know. As soon as the man is within ten feet of me, all I can think about is jumping his bones. I have zero willpower where AJ Reed is concerned.” She blew out a long sigh. “Maybe if I give in to the attraction, I can put it behind me and move on.”

  “Oh, definitely. That’ll happen.” Kelly arched a brow and slid a look sideways.

  “At least he’s not like Handsome Ben. He’s not rich, doesn’t have a fancy car or control my job. I think what I mistook as arrogance that first day might really have been embarrassment over his, uh, unusual name.”

  “Which is?”

  Sky shook her head. She might have found out AJ’s secret, but it was up to him to give it up to anyone else. Besides, she liked the idea that she was the only one here who knew it. So far, at least. If the Bucks did sign him, his name might be more accessible, but she doubted anyone on the team would bother to look into it.

  “I’m sure if he wants you to know it, he’ll tell you.”

  “You do realize how badly you’ve got it for this guy, right?”

  “Nah. No worries.” Sky flipped her hand to dismiss the charge. “I’m not going to fall in love with him, Kel. At most, he’ll simply be a post-breakup fling to get Handsome Ben out of my system forever.”

  “Right.” Sarcasm fairly dripped from Kelly’s comment.

  Sky missed Kelly’s tone. She was too busy figuring out what she should wear. “I’ll drop you off home after work, then drive back here to meet AJ. I’ll need to change clothes, anyway,” Sky said.

  “Okay, see you at five.” Kelly waved over her shoulder as she went down the hall, while Sky headed back to her office.

  ~~~

  6:01. AJ stood by the cafeteria doors, hitching up his cargo shorts and rubbing the back of his neck. A cooler sat at his feet, and the blanket from his bed was folded under his arm.

  He was not anxious. The picnic was simply a casual date to relax after work. So he was not anxious.

  Absolutely not.

  But when Sky blew through the front door, in tiny white shorts and a lime green halter top, with her hair loose, her Bucks cap tilted at a jaunty angle, and her feet in strappy sandals, he nearly lost his mind. He did lose his cool, as her long, shapely legs ate up the distance between them, and his zipper tightened uncomfortably.

  “I’m sorry to be late. Kelly and I carpooled today, so I had to take her home. And change. Stilettos don’t work well on the sand.”

  AJ had to swallow twice before he could produce speech. “No problem.” He pointed to the cooler. “I got us sandwiches, sodas, water, chips and two slices of Key lime pie. Anything else you want?” Other than me, kissing the hell out of you?

  “No. That sounds wonderful. I’m ready if you are.”

  Was he ever.

  AJ grabbed the cooler and headed for the back door. He held it open, and she slipped past him, leaving the faint whisper of lemon and vanilla in her wake.

  “I found this break in the scrub palms a few days ago. I’ve cut through it so many times, I’ve pretty much made a path, but I don’t think anyone else has found it yet. I run here every evening and I’ve never seen anyone else around.” He held back a few low-hanging palm fronds to keep the way clear as she followed him.

  The evening sky was spectacular. A large bank of clouds near the horizon seemed to catch fire from the descending sun, and streaks of purple and gold flared above them. A light breeze set the usually calm gulf waters into motion, and sunlight sparkled like diamonds over the surface.

  They emerged from the foliage onto a sugar sand beach that stretched almost a half-mile and curved over the north end of the island. It wasn’t as deep as the beach at the resort, but there was plenty of room to set up their picnic.

  AJ shook out his blanket and anchored one corner with the cooler. He slipped out of his flip-flops. “Food first? Or walk first?”

  Sky dropped the tote she carried on the opposite corner, took off her cap, and toed off her sandals. “Mmm, walk first, I think.” She held out her hand.

  He clasped it, surprised and inordinately pleased by her gesture. When he’d left snowy Cambridge, he’d never imagined he’d soon be walking hand-in-hand with a beautiful woman along a beach in a tropical paradise. Stuff like this only happened in the movies.

  “So, is training harder than you expected?”

  “I didn’t know what to expect, actually. It’s hard, there’s no denying that. But the big three’ have spent a boatload of money to make this team a winner right from the start. I don’t blame Coach for working us into exhaustion every day. The owners don’t put that kind of money into something and not expect a lot of sweat in return.”

  “I know. When I think about the money they put into making even the smallest office luxurious, I want to work even harder to make sure the team succeeds.” She sighed deeply. “Thanks for suggesting this. It is a wonderful way to end a hectic day.”

  He studied her profile as she tilted her head back, closed her eyes and let the breeze play with the ends of her hair. Lucky breeze.

  They reached the end of the sandy beach, where thick undergrowth reached almost to the water line and blocked further progress, and turned back, letting the gentle waves wash over their feet as they sauntered toward their picnic spot.

  “Wait.” Sky tugged on his hand, then let go to pull a half-buried shell out of the sand. It was a small conch, whole except for a tiny chip along the edge.

  The sun struck copper highlights in her dark brown hair and brushed a rosy glow across the smooth skin of her cheeks. With her lips curved in a gentle smile, and her eyes full of laughter, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

  “Look.” She held the shell out to him. “It’s almost perfect.”

  “Almost as perfect as you,” he said, sliding a hand behind her neck and bringing her lips to his. She made a tiny sound in the back of her throat and leaned into him. He deepened the kiss, lost in the scents of lemon and vanilla rising from skin warmed by the setting sun. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer, feeling her curves fit against him as smoothly as his glove fit his hand. He couldn’t get enough of her lush mouth, and when she opened to him, his tongue slid along hers, refueling an erection that again tented the front of his shorts. His hand lifted the hem of her top and slid upward to brush the underside of her breast. When he didn’t feel a bra separating his fingertips from her warm skin, he inched closer to her nipple and felt it bud against his palm. She moaned into his mouth and the sound ratcheted his desire another notch.

  She flattened her hand on his chest and pushed just enough to part their lips. Her eyes were soft, their pupils dilated, and he saw desire written clearly in her gaze. She licked her lower lip, plumped by their kisses, and the urge to carry her to the blanket and lay her beneath him was almost irresistible.

  “I think we need … food,” she whispered.

  “Uh, right.�
�� He released her but couldn’t bring himself to sever their connection completely. He slid his hand down her arm to knit their fingers together and hoped she hadn’t noticed the obvious evidence of his desire.

  What the fuck was he thinking? This woman was lovely. And sweet. And too smart to be interested in a wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am quickie on the sand.

  He was too used to the women up north who wanted to be seen with a guy who drove a Lamborghini, took them to five-star restaurants and bought them pricey little gifts in baby blue boxes for their birthday, or Valentine’s Day, or whatever. They were willing to pay for the privilege with a night—or two—or three—of hot sex.

  He’d had enough of those hook-ups. More than enough. He’d been living practically like a monk for the past year, because every time he took a chance with someone, it inevitably ended the same way. All glitz and glamour, no real feelings involved.

  That’s not the way he felt about Sky Zeigfeld. She was a class act.

  He should apologize.

  As they reached the blanket, Sky turned to face him, a sad little frown on her face. “AJ, I’m sorry. If I misled you somehow, I apologize.”

  Wait. What? She was apologizing to him? He must have missed all sorts of signals.

  “I know men hate women who are teases, and I never meant to act like one of those.” She looked down at her feet, then back up. “I really like you, AJ. And I’d like to get to know you better. But I’m not ready to fall into bed with you. So if I missed the clue that this,” she gestured at the blanket and cooler, “was supposed to be a prelude to hot monkey sex, I’m sorry. Maybe we should just go back.”

  He brushed a finger along her cheek. “If there are any apologies due here, they’re mine to make. I didn’t mean to come on so strong, so fast. I can’t deny how attracted I am to you, Sky. You’re lovely and charming and funny. It’s impossible to resist the urge to kiss you, when you look so beautiful.”

  Her eyes widened, and a faint blush stained her cheeks.

  Really? She didn’t know how gorgeous she was? Or was this the newest and best come-on he’d received in recent memory?