My insides warmed and I held onto the smile I wanted to display so he could see I was taking him seriously.
“And you found her?”
He nodded, a proud grin breaking across his face. “Yup. I haven’t spoken to her yet, but it’s a starting point. Now all I need to do is offer her a job, or create a job for her. I basically have to give her whatever she wants.”
“Wow, you’re an actual romantic,” I teased, making him laugh.
“I never used to be, but maybe I am.”
“Though I can’t decide if it’s more romantic that you want Jupiter to find his long lost love, or that you love Jupiter enough to do this for him.”
He dropped his head with a shake. “Me either. But… do you know what would be really romantic? In fact, it could easily be in the top five most romantic occasions ever.”
“What?” My eyes opened wide.
He stepped round the counter and wrapped his arms round my waist.
“The Lions are playing tonight; we should snuggle up on the couch and watch them.” He looked at his watch. “In fact, if I’ve timed it right, which I believe I have, our food should arrive right before it starts.”
He was so genuinely pleased with himself it set me off into peals of laughter that had me wiping my eyes. “If that’s in the top five, what’s number one?”
“Being there in person,” he grinned.
“I hope you’re patient. I have a lot to learn about baseball.”
He kissed me; his lips pressing against mine, both soft and firm at the same time, but he pulled back before I could sink into him like I wanted to. “For you, Lowe, I have endless patience.”
I had the distinct feeling he wasn’t just talking about tonight.
Two hours later we were on the couch, bellies full, and the game was playing out on the television, though that’s where the romance ended, because Penn was currently yelling at the screen. He was so loud that it wouldn’t have surprised me if the General Manager could actually hear him, because that’s whom all Penn’s current levels of animosity were aimed at.
The Lions were playing against the Red Sox, and had so far failed to score.
I tried to ask a couple of question about what was going on, but every time I did, something else happened in the game which took Penn’s focus and he started hollering again. So I stopped asking and tried to figure it out myself. Though while his eyes might have been on the game, his left hand never strayed from somewhere on my thigh. It was the only way I knew he knew I was still here.
From the way he kept yelling the G.M.’s name, most of his frustration was directed at him, though I wasn’t sure exactly why. I also couldn’t tell who the coach was. The commercial break came on and I was about to use it as an opportunity to ask more questions and get myself some clarity, but he pulled his phone out and hit dial on a number I couldn’t see quickly enough.
“Gramps?”
I could hear Lucian’s booming voice down the phone, loud enough for me to get the gist of what he was saying even if I couldn’t make out every word. But suffice it to say, Lucian had been watching the game too and held the same opinion Penn did, which sounded like someone was getting fired.
“He has to go, Gramps. He should never have fired Lieberman and not replaced him. He’s not making sound decisions for the good of the club.”
“No, I agree. What do you want to do?”
Penn was silent for a second, running his thumb against his lip. He turned to me, traced his finger down my cheek, and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
“I want him gone tonight. Give him a generous severance package and get rid of him. And I want a meeting called first thing in the morning, all the senior executives need to attend.I’m going to announce. I want to get to work on this properly, and I can’t do it in secret. I will become the G.M.”
“Are you sure about this?”
“I’m sure.”
“That’s my boy. I’ll call Maypole now and get this organized. He’ll be delighted. He’s been wanting to hand this over since I bought it.”
“Thanks, Gramps.”
He threw his phone onto the large square ottoman at the side of the couch then pulled me in for a kiss, one of those kisses that no matter how short, always filled you with butterflies like you were back in high school and sneaking off to the bleachers. The type of kiss you knew could lead to something if you let it.
