Page 59 of The Sweet Spot

He laughs and shakes his head. “During the press for the All-Star Weekend, Emma told a reporter that Tate proposed.”

“Did he?” I gasp in complete and utter shock. I never really thought he and Emma were that serious.

“No. Of course not. It's her way of trying to pressure Tate into agreeing to it.”

“What?”

“Come on, Catch. You’ve got to be better at deduction than that.” Grayson leans over from my other side, inserting himself into the conversation. Not that I mind. Grayson has known Tate longer than anyone.

“Tate’s with a girl who wants attention. She’s tired of just being ‘Tate Sorenson’s girlfriend’ when she could be his wife.”

“I heard she’s been in talks with the producers of Baseball Wives.”

“What? Why on earth would Tate agree to all of this? He doesn’t seem like the type of player who would be into that.”

“You know Tate,” Grayson says. “He's too nice to say no to shit. That's why he's the one who ends up doing all those weird half-naked photoshoots. It's also why Emma thought she could get away with it again. She assumed she'd be able to talk him into a proposal like she does everything else. This is the first time he's said no.”

“Wow. That’s shitty.”

“Tell me about it,” Grayson says.

A minute later, Tate slips back onto the plane, nods at Grayson, and then takes a seat at the front next to Dalton. The two of them lean in and start talking.

Poor Dalton. I hope he can hear okay.

Grayson claps his hands loud enough to draw the attention away from Tate.

“All right,” he yells. “Are we ready to beat Cincy's butt?”

The plane cheers, and the cabin crew prepare for takeoff.

I pull my phone out, ready to flip it into airplane mode. Before I do, I send a quick message to my new girlfriend. Girlfriend? Fuck, I’ll never get tired of using that.

JB: Made it to the plane just in time, but that doesn’t mean I’m not missing you.

The three dots come up immediately. She was waiting for me.

Whit: Thank goodness. My father would never forgive me if Kyle had to start with Grayson tonight. Glad you made it.

My lips lift. She knows far more about the Fish than she's been letting on.

Whit: And I miss you, too.

Is it too early to say I’m in love? Because I’m definitely feeling it.

Chapter 11

Whit: Good luck tonight. I'm rooting for you

I hit send and lean into the light blue leather recliner in my father's Catfish man cave.

My phone buzzes almost instantly.

JB: You watching?

I snort, almost in disbelief that he'd ask me that, considering I'm spending the next two weeks with my family as I wait for the next championship to start.

There's only one response I can think of to JB's question.