Page 3

“Wait.” Isaac balked. “You agree with him?”

“I just said it’s your life. I mean that. You’re a grown man who can make his own decisions without a bunch of his little brother’s teammates mouthing off.”

Except Everett didn’t sound convincing and Isaac caught on to it immediately. “What the fuck, Ev?”

Everett sighed, his wide pitcher’s shoulders sagging. “Where is it going?” He shook his head as he spoke. “I like Amanda. If she were ever going to be in the United States, I would be the first person to tell you to put a ring on that finger. She’s wonderful. Smart and driven and so nice. But she’s about to spend the rest of her life living anywhere but the United States and your career takes you all over the States but never out of the country. You’ll never be in the same place.”

Isaac’s mouth worked but no words came out.

“You do you, man,” Seth said. “I just…you get your head in the clouds. You get comfortable. And I don’t think you can see yourself when you get like this.”

Isaac stood up. “I need some air.”

Everett put his hands up in question while shooting a glare at Seth. “Why’d you do that?”

Seth sighed. “Because he still doesn’t see it. Isaac Anson is going to break every record and win every award. Ten years from now he’s going to be the most famous ballplayer in the game. But he’s still acting like they’re going to cut him from the team and send him home.”

“What the hell does that have to do with Amanda?” Everett spoke through gritted teeth.

I couldn’t figure out why Seth was so smug or why Everett was so angry. But most of all I didn’t understand why Seth gave a rat’s ass about Isaac’s love life. Actually, Seth had been unusually nosey lately. Not just with Isaac, but with everyone. It was a trend that seemed to have started not long after he started dating Lori.

Another reason not to like her. I did not have a good feeling about Lori.

“Mark my words,” Seth said, stabbing his index finger into the table. “If he doesn’t cut her loose and focus on baseball, she’ll ruin everything.”

“You don’t know shit.” Everett stood up, too. “Amanda could change her mind and take a job in Washington. You have no idea what will happen in their lives. Or ours, for that matter.”

I felt a little something twist in my chest when Everett’s eyes flashed. For some reason I was unusually aware of the vein throbbing in his forearm and just how wide and strong his shoulders were.

That was weird.

Then he held his hand out to me and my heart stopped. “Come on Willa. Let’s go check on him.”

I stared at his very large, very strong hand. Something shifted. Something I couldn’t put back. And for some reason that made me sad.

I hopped off the barstool and followed him anyway.

1

10 years later

Kate

The app said he was my perfect match. Of course an app couldn’t possibly factor in chemistry or desire, but on paper, Garrett Stephens was everything I was looking for. Which was why I was excited for our first real date. I didn’t count coffee at Grace’s Coffee Shop as a date. That was an assessment. One we both passed. The world didn’t flip upside down when he kissed my cheek, but it was exciting and exciting could lead to possibilities. I was nothing if not a hopeless romantic, absolutely sure that my perfect someone was out there waiting to be found.

Would it be Garrett? I was eager to find out.

I entered the parking garage and, as usual, my heart skipped a beat. There had to be a touch of claustrophobia hidden inside me because I was absolutely sure my car would never fit between the concrete floors no matter how many times the logical part of my brain insisted there was several feet between the roof of my car and the ceiling of the third floor.

Nevertheless, I was relieved to slide into a free space between two newer looking cars and throw the engine into Park. Garrett got us reservations at a fusion restaurant he loved. I was excited to be wined and dined, excited to see how his suit fit across his lean features, excited to see if excitement turned into a spark. I checked my makeup and was about to kill the engine when a very loud voice startled me.

“Yeah, I start my day off with heavy metal. Hard heavy metal. The harder the better. I listen to the Ralph Index podcast. You know the one?” The voice sounded tinny and distant despite the volume, and I realized it was coming from the speakers of the car to my right. “He’s a motivational speaker on masculinity and leadership and he says you really have to unleash that primal part of yourself first thing after you wake up. It’s the best way to unlock pure masculine energy and dominate every space you enter for the rest of the day. So I start with the hardest heavy metal I can find.”

This had to be the strangest conversation I’d ever accidentally overheard. I didn’t like eavesdropping, not even unintentionally. The creepiness of it all made me move faster to escape the unwanted information. I grabbed my purse and key fob just as the driver lowered his window and dumped a balled-up wrapper on the ground.

I choked.

Garrett.