Current Day

“Come on, crush those D-backs!” Lacey plops back in her seat and folds her arms across her chest. Her voice blends with the thirty-five thousand plus screaming Philly fans. “I don’t think we’re going to get to see Zach pitch. Coach needed to bring in a pinch hitter, not stay with this guy. He strikes out a lot.”

The scoreboard shows Arizona ahead by one in the bottom of the eighth. Down to our last out, if the batter doesn’t bring Gonzalez home, there’ll be no need for a reliever. No need for Zach. And considering the winds blowing straight from center field have only increased throughout the afternoon, I doubt we’ll see a miracle out of this guy.

“I was hoping to see him pitch.” That isn’t me feeding my best friend a line of crap. Zach’s amazing to watch, so I am a bit disappointed. The last game the kids and I watched, the Phillies lead was too large, he didn’t play in that game either. On a side note, Jax can tally another great day in his books. He’s the reason behind the runs we’ve scored. It’s only May, but so far, he’s off to a great season.

Strike one.

“Ugh,” Lacey grinds out as the batter swings through the pitch. She shakes her head. “I wish you could stay longer.”

“Me too. I never would’ve agreed to make those birthday cupcakes had I known about coming here.”

“Maybe this could be your break into catering?”

Strike two. We let out a collective sigh.

“I don’t know. It’d still take an investment to make it legal. But if I keep it low-key, it may be fun.” It is fun until the jobs interfere with a hot baseball player’s plans. Jax wanted me to be here today because they awarded the World Series rings to the team. No way would I miss that. Luckily, it fell on my weekend with the kids so they got to see it too. “It just sucks that I have to head back home tonight.”

“You’re still planning on having dinner with us before leaving, right?”

“Of course.” I nod. Thank goodness, it’s only a couple hours’ drive back to New York.

The batter motions for time, much to Lacey’s impatience. If I was brutally honest, I’d forgo the dinner with our friends to spend some quality time with Jax. I haven’t been alone with him since our night in New York. Whoever said long-distance relationships are hard wasn’t kidding, but we’re making it work.

Strike three. Lacey groans as the batter strikes out looking. A few people move to leave, and I scan the area. A shuffle behind me has me turning to look, and I go numb. The curly-haired blonde looks familiar. She’s retreating down the aisle, but it’s almost a dead ringer for her.

“What’s wrong?” Lacey asks.

“Nothing. I just thought I saw someone, that’s all.” I turn to look at our kids playing in their seat. Tristan has his Star Wars action figures out. He’s thrilled because Jax promised to try and hit a home run for him, and he delivered. Zoe and Trenna are in their imaginary world. Lacey thought ahead and lined a sitter up to watch the young ones. I look back at the aisle now filled with teenage boys. I shake it off. Surely it wasn’t her. I suppose every curly-headed blonde is going to look suspicious.

“Well, you have no idea how happy I am for you two. I’ve never known Jax to be so…settled.”

“I’m really trying to protect my heart, but I’m falling fast for him.”

“Why the need to protect your heart?”

“I can’t help but feel it’s a matter of time before the other shoe drops.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m waiting for the day he’ll wake up and realize he wants more from life than what I can provide.” I sneak a peek at the kids again and know that’s what he’ll want someday. “A family of his own.”

“Ah. I see.” A questionable look. “Have you discussed this with him?”

“Not yet. I’ve been meaning to, but part of me wonders if it’s too soon. Like by bringing it up, I’ll seem too pushy or something. Then another part of me fears he’ll agree and leave. I’m not ready to have this end yet.”

“A wise person once told me, and I quote, ‘you two need to sit down and have a serious talk.’”

I laugh as she throws my words back into my face. Zach and she had serious things to discuss. “We will. I’m waiting for the All-Star break.”

“Don’t be like me. There will always be excuses to postpone the inevitable.”

Jax’s hand lands on my thigh with a slight squeeze as we leave Citizens Bank Park.

“This is nice.” Jax looks back behind his seat to Tristan, who decided to ride with us instead of Trenna and Zoe. I think he likes being around Jax. “Doing okay back there, buddy?”

“Yeah, thanks for the baseball!” Tristan hangs on to his prize possession for dear life. He actually ditched the Star Wars figures after Jax handed him the ball outside the locker room. The excitement in Tristan’s voice as he interacts with Jax toys with my emotions.

“I’ll teach you how to throw that properly during my break coming up—unless I make it to the All-Star game.”

“Cool. Mommy, I need a glove. All baseball players have gloves. Right, Da-a—Jax?”

My eyes widen at Tristan’s near flub and shoot straight to Jax. His chin lifts while he stares straight ahead. The impassive expression sliding into place makes it too hard to decipher what’s going through his mind. It’s way too early for my kids to be calling him anything other than his name. A fact that must be apparent if a five-year-old knows enough to correct himself.

“Um, yeah. I’ll have to work on finding you one,” I finally say.

“I have an old one he can use.” Jax flashes me a smile, and my nerves dial down a notch. “That is, until we get one that fits him better. It may dwarf his hand.”

“I’d love to play baseball. You get diamonds.”

Jax chuckles. “Only if you’re lucky enough to play on a good team.”

“Can I see your ring again?”

“Sure, buddy.”

“You don’t have to show him.”

“He can’t lose it in the truck.” Jax winks as he works the ring off his finger and hands it to me.

“Now be careful with it. It’s worth a lot of money.” Not to mention special as heck.

“Wow, it’s sparkly.” Tristan takes the ring from me and drops it.

“Oh, Tristan.” I try to reach for it, but the seat belt holds me back.

“He takes after his momma.” The slight tease of his voice is mesmerizing.

“I’m sorry.” How this guy stays with me is beyond me.

“It’s okay. We’ll pick it up when we get to Zach’s.” He squeezes my thigh again. “I don’t have any holes in the floorboard. It won’t get lost.”

“Still.”

“Mommy, do we have to go to the birthday party tomorrow?”

“Yeah, don’t you want to play with your friends? It’s going to be held at the park.”

“S’pose, but I’d rather stay at Jax’s house.”

This kid is killing me. “I have to make the cupcakes. There’ll be a lot of disappointed kids if we don’t bring them.”

Jax’s shoulders shake from trying not to laugh. “I’m in agreement with Tristan on this one.” He shoots me a look. “Just sayin’.”

I groan. “You should’ve told me sooner about this weekend.”

“Yeah, I’m not used to having to plan out things.” He shoots me a sideways glance that lights my fire. “I’m learning though.”

I try to suppress a smile, but when his hand slides farther up my thigh, I have to suppress more than that. Damn those cupcakes.

“Hey.” He pulls me in for a kiss when we exit the truck. Tristan runs over to Zoe and Trenna, unaware of the bombshell he dropped on my heart earlier. “As much as I like our friends, I wish I had you to myself.”

“Am I an awful friend if I agree?”

“Not at all. That makes you an awesome girlfriend.” He throws his arm around my shoulder. “Let’s go be the good friends.”

We walk up to Zach and Lacey’s home, and I debate whether to tell him about seeing that woman. I shut down the thought because the woman could’ve been anyone. The last thing I want is for him to worry about me or think I’m paranoid.