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She hesitated, then waved a finger at his uniform. “Looks as though you have a late game to get to.”
“I’ll skip it.”
“I don’t know…”
By the way she was worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, this wasn’t going to be an easy sell. Not that he deserved one.
“Babe, I’ll skip them all. Whatever I have to do, I’m gonna do it, to get another chance with you.”
On the infield, Dylan’s game was coming to a close. Both teams had formed lines and were exchanging handshakes. Andie shuffled her feet, her attention shifting between the diamond, Minx’s continuing destruction of the ball, and him. Now wasn’t the time to press her.
“I’ll clear out so you can congratulate Dylan and see him off for the weekend.” He took her hand. Rubbed his thumb over the silky soft skin. “But I’m not done. I’m fighting for you. For us.”
There it was. The smile he’d been waiting for. One that told him she loved him, still, without her saying a word. Why had he been too stupid and stubborn to understand it sooner? However long it took, whatever he had to do, he’d earn her forgiveness. Rebuild her trust. And this time, keep it.
He kissed her hand, then walked backward toward the parking lot. No way was he giving up another minute of looking at that beautiful face.
“Hey,” she called. “I’m sorry about your ball. It’s not Minx’s style to be so possessive.” She shook her head at the dog and the pile of leather and rubber at her feet. “Or destructive.”
“Yeah, that’s my fault. I’ve had that ball packed in dried liver powder for two days. Kind of irresistible to dogs.” He had to grin when her mouth fell open. Damn, she was adorable when surprised. “Like I said, babe…whatever it takes.”
Chapter Eighteen
ANDIE
The seatbelt had barely clicked into place when her cell phone chimed.
From Mason, the text simply read,Dessert?
Well, he was determined, at least. He had to be nearby. She peeked over her shoulder, starting a visual sweep of the parking lot. His truck hit her radar and her heart skipped a beat or six. Oh god, he was practically right in front of her.
After hugging Dylan goodbye at the ball diamond, she’d put her head down and made a beeline for the car with Minx in tow. Her sole focus had been to get home so she could replay every second of the encounter with Mason. Probably with several glasses of merlot accompaniment.
Forget about conjuring up a mental picture of how hot he’d looked with his baseball shirt hanging open. The way his muscles had flexed every time he moved. She had the real deal not more than a dozen feet away.
His left arm rested on the open window, cell in hand. He waved it at her and another message popped onto her screen.Say yes.
Groveling made most men seem weak. Not Mason. His slightly dominant method sent zingers to her heart. To the lower regions of her body too.
She’d barely resisted his verbal pleas for another chance, had wanted to leap into his arms at the first one. Hearing that Lasha had given him her scheduled whereabouts lowered her Mason-resistance that much more. He would’ve had to make a hell of a case to get Lasha’s cooperation.
She met his gaze and nodded. He smiled. Yup, she didn’t stand a chance.
* * *
ANDIE
“Sorry, change of plans,” she said as he joined her in her driveway. “Minx threw up in the backseat, several times. No ice cream and walk in the park for us tonight. Maybe another time.”
“Yeah, of course another time. Let me take a look at her.” He opened the rear door. Being in vet mode, he didn’t even wince at the stench. Just leaned in over the mess. He spoke low and softly while he felt Minx’s belly, checked her eyes and gums, then helped her out of the car. “It looks as if she’s cleared the contents of her stomach, including her supper. That’s a good thing.”
For the dog, yes. For the upholstery in her Volkswagen, not so much. Ingesting non-food items wasn’t typical behavior for Minx, so Andie hadn’t paid close attention while Minx happily shredded the baseball. Thank god it had all come back up. From the sheepish expression on Mason’s face, he was thinking the same thing. Onlyhecould look guilty and sexy-sweet at the same time.
“You can probably guess what caused the vomiting.”
“Your irresistible balls?” She bit the inside of her cheek, but it was useless. She had zero poker-face ability. Trying to squelch the smile made it that much more obvious.
“Yeah.” Now he was grinning too. “I expected a lot of licking, maybe even some biting.” He winked, making her blush at the memorythatcomment triggered. “But I didn’t think there’d be swallowing.”
