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A quick peek at the scoreboard told me that my last pitch had been called as a ball. My beauty was sitting on a seat next to Kaia, Ewan’s wife. It occurred to me that if I threw two more strikes, the game would be over, and I could catch this mystery woman and find out who she was.
A movement in the corner of my eyes drew my attention, and I noticed Ewan twisting around to see what I was looking at. When he faced me again, his eyes were narrowed, and his brow was furrowed. I assumed he was pissed that I’d been distracted by a woman.
Determined to get this over with, I once again, focused on the strike zone. My next pitch went right down the middle, and Ewan swung hard but wasn’t able to make contact.
“Strike!” the ump shouted.
One more. I moved into position and threw, but this time, Ewan managed to catch it on the end of his bat, and it went sailing into foul territory. The delay pissed me off, and I must have channeled that anger into precision because my next throw whizzed right by Ewan as he executed a powerful swing.
“Out!”
That was the game. I jogged over to the dugout, or what we called a dugout but was really a set of bleachers behind a tall fence. My gaze darted over to the seats where I’d seen her, but no one was sitting there anymore. She was probably headed to the other team with Kaia. Clearly, they were friends since they’d been sitting together. I threw my gear down by my duffle bag and hurried out and around the fence, heading to the other side of the field. I looked around frantically, trying to spot her but didn’t see her anywhere. I slowed to a walk as I approached. I finally spotted Kaia, who was being thoroughly kissed by her husband, but my beauty wasn’t with them.
Ewan came up for air and saw me standing a few feet away. His expression morphed into the same one I’d seen on the field.
I shook my head as I closed the distance between us. “Don’t be a sore loser, E.”
“She’s not here.”
Confused, I tilted my head and scratched my beard. “What?”
“The girl you were ogling,” he clarified in a steely tone. “She’s not here anymore, and you’re going to forget all about her. Got it?”
“You know who she is?” I asked with a clenched jaw as I took a menacing step forward.
Ewan glared at me silently.
I looked at Kaia for help. She smirked and looked like she wanted to say something but decided to stay quiet and watch instead.
Clenching my fists, I gave Ewan a blistering look and snarled, “What the fuck, Ewan? Are you seriously going to keep this woman’s identity from me?”
“She’s like a sister to me,” he growled right back. “Besides, she’s too fucking young for you, so just forget about her. Find one of your adoring posse to fuck.”
Kaia gasped and smacked Ewan on the arm, glaring up at him until his face morphed into a sheepish expression.
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
Ewan’s refusal stunned me. We’d been friends for over a decade, and he knew me. He knew how much the fire bunnies annoyed me. What’s more, he was well aware that I’d barely even had a date since we’d met, much less taken a woman to bed. I’d given him shit about being in the same circumstances until he arrested Kaia, and then he’d dished it right back.
Taking at least some pity on me, Kaia gave me a sympathetic smile. “Like a sister to him,” she said, emphasizing the word sister.
Ewan slanted her a look that suggested she would pay for her little hint later, but she just smiled up at him with a serene expression, then winked suggestively. If I hadn’t been so on edge and worked up, I might have found it amusing.
Giving Kaia a lift of my chin, I shot another glare at Ewan and then walked back to my gear. Once I was packed up, I threw it all in the trunk of my car and headed home. I had just enough time to grab a shower and some food before I started a forty-eight-hour shift.
I flopped over on the bed in my private, dorm-style room at the fire station. My years of service had earned me the position of captain, and with that came a perk of a private room and shower. More than once, I was thankful that they’d added private rooms when they built the new station. Every time I tried to get some rest, I was plagued with dreams about my mystery girl. I’d woken up multiple times drenched in sweat and on the verge of coming. So while we’d only had one call over the past two days, I was exhausted. It was a good thing my shift was ending in a few hours.
