I tried not to think about the worried expression on Nathan’s face during breakfast the next morning, while Tim rambled on and on about the people we were going to meet that afternoon.

“No one is perfect,” he was saying, his mouth full of eggs and bacon. If I hadn’t already been having trouble eating, this would have been enough to ruin my appetite. I thought about reaching across the table and holding Tim’s mouth closed, but since that was out of the question, I just kept my eyes on my plate of equally unappetizing food. “This Nate guy has to have some skeletons in his closet. He really should have played ball with me. He’s gonna regret it come draft time.”

I didn’t want to think about it. The worst thing that could happen was that Tim would find something that would threaten or even end Nathan’s career. As much as I wanted to throw my hot plate of eggs in Tim’s face, I had to stay on his good side long enough to discover the angle he was going to work and do my best to diffuse it. Or warn Nathan.

Obviously there was something out there. Nathan wouldn’t have acted the way he did last night if there wasn’t. But he didn’t trust me with it so there was nothing I could do right now. I just had to wait and pray that once Tim discovered it, I could do something to make it go away.

Part of me knew that I was playing a dangerous game. That I was risking a lot for some guy I barely knew. The other part of me knew that this was the right thing to do. That even if it was someone else in the hot seat, Tim was a grade-A asshole who would ruin lives without a second glance. I wouldn’t let him do that to a stranger and I certainly wasn’t going to let him do it to someone I cared about.

Realizing exactly how much I cared about Nathan hit me like a bat to the gut. Fuck. This was not what I had signed up for when I came to Austin. Things weren’t supposed to get so complicated. I wasn’t supposed to have feelings for someone I had just met. Especially not ALL the feelings, which is exactly what I had. Too many damn feelings. A whole baseball stadium full of feelings.

My phone buzzed. Mandy.

“I have to go,” I told Tim, shoving aside my plate of half-eaten food.

“Where are you going?” he demanded, eggs sputtering from his mouth onto today’s ugly Hawaiian shirt. “We have to prep for the interviews.”

You mean I have to prep for the interviews while you get drunk and hang out by the pool, I thought. Except I wasn’t going to let him do that. I would do what I had to in order to get information, but I wasn’t going to do Tim’s grunt work while he enjoyed a relaxing vacation. Especially since I knew he was just planning on throwing me under the bus if this all went south. No, I was going to work on the article I wanted to write.

“I’ll be back for the interviews,” I told him. “I have to run some errands.”

“I thought you did all my dry cleaning and shopping yesterday?” he asked and I bit my tongue, annoyed that I had actually done all of that.

“These are my own errands,” I said, then leaned forward and lowered my voice. “Of a, um, personal and feminine nature.”

I really enjoyed the look of horror the sheer implication of menstruation gave him. Without another word, I grabbed my bag and headed outside to meet Mandy who was waiting in her car.

* * *

“Kids and kittens!” Mandy gasped, raising her camera and snapping away at the impossibly cute combination of things. I smiled as she rushed around the room, grabbing perfect shots of cats climbing over school children sounding out words in their picture books. Just arriving at the shelter had given me an immediate sense of calm. No wonder Nathan came here on a regular basis. It truly was an instant stress reliever.

Mandy, her camera around her neck, came over and slung her arm over my shoulders.

“So Nathan brought you here, huh?” she wanted to know.

“Did you know about this place?” I asked, wondering if this was a pick-up move well utilized by the baseball team. Not that I could blame them. It had certainly worked with me.

“The guys talk about it sometimes. Chris said he was going to take me after the season was over. Said it was a guaranteed smile-maker.”

I laughed. That sound exactly like something Chris would say.

“Yeah, it’s pretty great.” I leaned down to pet a kitten that was rubbing against my legs. It was a tiny little tabby thing. “If I hadn’t seen Nathan here, it would have been hard to imagine a bunch of baseball players hanging out here in their free time.”

Mandy looked around the room, snapping a few more shots. “I’ll need to come back when the guys are here. The photos will really sell the cuteness, I think.” She glanced over at me. “I’m not surprised he brought you here.”

“No? Is this something he does often?” I was curious, but tried to be subtle. “Bring all his girls to look at cute animals?” And totally failed. Jesus, Sophie, you’ve really lost your gentle touch, haven’t you? Not like Nathan seemed like he would mind. He definitely had a firm touch of his own. Fuck. Yes, he did.

“A-ha!” She looked triumphant. “Does this mean you’re his girl?”

“Stop it.” I nudged her in the ribs, but couldn’t deny that I got a mushy feeling in my chest at the thought of being referred to as such.

Mandy grinned at me. “For the record, I haven’t heard of him bringing any girl here. And he’s a regular.”

“Yet you’re not surprised.”

“I told you.” She took a quick shot of me, acting too quickly for me to put my hand up. “He likes you.”

“Yeah, well, maybe I like him too,” I finally admitted out loud, though I wasn’t going to say how much because honestly it was starting to scare me how quickly I was falling for him.

“I knew it!” Mandy crowed and snapped a few more, hopefully not too unflattering, pictures of me. “I knew you guys were perfect for each other.”

“Don’t get your hopes up,” I said as we took a seat near the window. “It might be over before it’s even started.” I told her about last night, skimming over the more salacious details (the ones, of course, I was replaying in my mind over and over again). I told her about Tim coming over and how Nathan had avoided my question about potential secrets. “Do you know if there’s anything to be worried about?” I asked Mandy.

She frowned. “I don’t, but even if I did, you know I couldn’t say anything. They’re not my secrets. And if Nathan wants to keep them that way, I’m sure he has a good reason to.”

“I know,” I chewed at my lip. “I just don’t want Tim to ruin everything.”

“Then don’t let him,” Mandy urged. “This article, about the shelter, is going to be ten times more interesting than the one Tim writes on Nathan. And I like Nathan an awful lot.”

I laughed. “Thanks, Mandy.” I gave her a hug. “I hope my editor likes the piece, but I think you’re right, I think it’s the pictures that are going to really make it special. When do you think we can get the guys here?”

“Well.” She put her camera away. “You know the game is in a few days, so as soon as they win, we can get them here in their uniforms and maybe even the trophy. People will eat it up.” She cast a sidelong look at me. “You’re going to the game, right?”

“Of course,” I said, though I really didn’t want to sit in the press box for that one. The less time I had to spend with Tim, the better. I pulled out my phone and frowned at it. No word from Nathan today. “That is, if Nathan even wants me there.”

Mandy shook her head. “Of course he wants you there. I’m sure he’s just busy. I’ve barely seen Chris all week. Between practice and class, he doesn’t have a lot of free time.”

“I hope you’re right,” I said, but I couldn’t help feeling nervous as I stared down at my phone and its blank screen.