After Tanner dashed off, Hayden turned to her. “Did you think about my offer?”
“I did. And I accept.”Professional... Keep it professional.“We can meet sometime this week to discuss terms.”
His brow lifted. “Terms?”
“For the contract.”
His expression switched to confusion. “Contract?”
“I’ll call you at work on Monday and we can schedule a time.” She began to walk away when he called after her.
“What about the game on Tuesday? You in?”
She paused and shook her head. “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to find someone else to help you.” With Mimi’s glove tucked under her arm, she hurried off to her car, needing to end the conversation with Hayden on that note. She quickly threw open the driver’s side door, tossed the glove on the passenger seat as she plopped in, then started the car and sped out of the parking lot.
Only when she had put a decent distance between her and Hayden did she let herself breathe. Having a business relationship with him was something she could handle. It was clear that when she was around Hayden Price, she was weak. She knew from experience that people took advantage of weakness, and that was something she could never allow in her life. Trusting him with anything other than Mimi’s house was out of the question.
***
“What was that all about?”
Hayden watched Riley peel out of the parking lot as Tanner came up beside him. His head was spinning. When he was instructing her about the team and the assistant coaching duties, he saw the spark of excitement in her pretty eyes. She was paying rapt attention, and he doubted she’d even noticed her body angle toward him while he was speaking, her shoulders and torso relaxing. Buthe’dnoticed, and it took some strong willpower to focus on what he was saying and not on her—the way her dark-blue T-shirt hugged her soft curves; her long, fair-skinned legs bare beyond the denim shorts; her thick, shiny hair pulled back in a casual ponytail, revealing her fresh face without a speck of makeup. She smelled amazing, like clean laundry and lightly scented soap.
She was so incredibly sexy.
Most importantly, she was opening up to him a tiny bit, and that hit him in the heart. Not to mention how he’d seen her watching him during practice, the desire in her eyes obvious, and that hit him somewhere else. There was something between them. He could feel it... and no amount of mental gymnastics was going to dismiss that fact. To him, asking her to join him for a meal was the next logical step.
Then she flipped the script on him, closing up again and talking about contracts and terms, then leaving in a cloud of gravel as she fled once again.What are you so afraid of, Riley McAllister?
“Hey,” Tanner said, moving to stand in front of him. “Earth to Hayden. What’s going on between you two?”
He turned and focused on Tanner, then shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You were cozy together in that dugout a little while ago.”
Hayden shot Tanner an annoyed look. “There’s nothing cozy about me and Riley.”Far from it.
Tanner laughed. “Right. I haven’t seen you that interested in anyone since you moved back here.”
Hayden scowled and headed for his bags. He wasn’t in the mood for Tanner’s ribbing, even though his friend was right. When he reached the dugout, he hefted up the bag Riley had filled with the bats and balls and threw the strap over his shoulder. He liked how she took the initiative to provide water for the players and clean up the dugout even though she hadn’t wanted to do the job. He also liked how she respected Erma’s wishes, despite her own obvious discomfort. He’d observed her while she was talking to Harper, and she’d been ill at ease with her too.
He was starting to put a few pieces together. For some reason, being back in Maple Falls was difficult for her. Still, she had set all that aside because Erma needed her. Loyalty was important to Hayden, and Riley was obviously loyal to her grandmother.
“Why didn’t she practice with us?” Tanner asked, leaning against the dugout entrance. “She brought a glove.” After Hayden explained that Riley came at Erma’s insistence, Tanner added, “So she’s gonna take Erma’s place?”
“Apparently not.” Which caused a problem for him, since he had an inkling that Erma wouldn’t be happy with the news. He had to agree with Riley. It had been a terrible idea. Not because she couldn’t do the job. Hayden was sure if Riley wanted to, she would make an excellent assistant coach. But forcing her into it was wrong, and hopefully Erma would realize that. He grimaced and faced Tanner. “I guess you’re the assistant, then.”
Tanner smirked. “Since you asked me so nicely, I accept. Just don’t sit as close to me as you did to Riley, or I’ll have to punch you.” He started to leave the dugout, then added, “How’s the house rehab coming?”
Hayden stilled. Before Riley, his house had been the most important thing on his mind. Now he was trying to remember the last time he’d thought about it. “Still in the planning stages,” he said, making a mental note to actually start planning.
“Let me know if you need some help. I’m pretty decent with a hammer and nails.”
“I appreciate that,” Hayden said, meaning it. “I’ll let you know once I get started.”
“Cool.” Tanner waved at him. “See you at church tomorrow.”
“Yeah. See ya.”
