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“Just a little. I firmly believe in hearing things from the horse’s mouth, though, myself.”
He laughed at that. “Fair enough. I tore my rotator cuff. Not exactly the injury you want as a pitcher. My surgery went well, but only time will tell if I can throw the same again, keep my spot on the team. I’ve been working with my trainer at a facility in San Jose while I’m here. He says I’m throwing well, but…” He let his sentence trail off with a shrug. He wasn’t about to bore her with details of how his arm might be fine, but he couldn’t get his head screwed on straight enough to throw like he used to.
She nodded but didn’t push him to continue.
“To answer your question, it’s quiet here. No one bugs me. People ask for an autograph from time to time but, for the most part, they leave me be.” He lifted one side of his mouth in a smile. “It’s a nice change.”
“I can only imagine what it’s like for you.”
Drew sat back and waited. But the pat responses didn’t come. No, “You’ll be fine! You’ll be back in no time.” Or “But you’re famous and everyone loves you. Why would you want to be away from that?” Some of the guys on the team soaked in the attention, but not Drew. He wasn’t about to complain. He got to throw a baseball and play in the dirt for a living, and for a lot of money too. But the fame did come at a price. And, over time, it could take its toll.
With his injury, he wanted even more privacy than normal. Be out of the spotlight. Everyone wanted info, the scoop on his injury. His recovery. When or if he’d return to the Empires.
Hell, he didn’t know half of it himself. What was he supposed to say to the press? His agent had kept most of it at bay, for now, but soon enough, reporters would come calling. He’d stayed off social media. He didn’t even know where his phone was at the moment.
No, at the moment, his attention was on a doe-eyed beauty sitting across from him, who didn’t look at him with pity or try to boost his spirits with empty words. She merely said she could only imagine, a few small words that did wonders beyond any other attempt at making him feel better.
“Are you working all day or can I take you to lunch?” The question flew from his mouth before his brain registered what he was saying. All he was aware of was wanting to see her again. Talk to her more. Just being near her made him forget his trouble. She was the first one in a while he’d even talked to about his injury. His family, sure, but that was more of answering questions they hounded him with. This was different.
“I would love to but I’m here until three this afternoon.”
“Right.” He nodded.
“I could maybe do it tomorrow but I’d have to find a babysitter for my son.”
“Why don’t you bring him with you? We’ll do a picnic or something?”
She blinked as if surprised by his answer.
“Um. Well. Okay. Why don’t you come by the bakery around one? I’m here at five in the morning baking and leave at three when we close. I think I can get someone to cover for me for a few hours so I can leave early.”
“Sounds good. I’ll see you tomorrow then.” He stood and helped carry his dirty plates to the counter, then headed out the door, his heart a lot lighter than it had been in weeks.
*
With a waveand a smile, he was gone.
Just like that, she had a date. Well, sort of. Casey would be with them. But still. And Drew hadn’t even batted an eye when she said she had a son. She tried to be up front with guys she went out with, which weren’t many since her divorce, let them know she had a kid. If they didn’t cancel on her, they were gone after the first date. Her life simply came with too much baggage. She, of course, never thought of Casey as baggage, but others did.
She was also careful to not introduce Casey to too many new people. He wasn’t comfortable with that and, well, she was a mom with protective instincts. She had to trust those. And Drew wasn’t staying so there wasn’t much of a chance for Casey to get attached anyway.
It was a harmless, friendly picnic lunch. Maybe she could cheer Drew up some before he went back to New York. Right. Friends.
And she was going to win the lottery tomorrow.
“Hey, boss. You okay?”
Eva, one of her employees nudged her arm.
“What? Oh. Yeah. Sorry. Just daydreaming.”
“If I had a guy like that looking at me the way he did with you, I’d be daydreaming too.”
She wiggled her eyebrows and walked away.
Gracious. Baylee shook her head. Eva was young. Still in college. Well, not that much younger than Baylee but still. Baylee knew better than to believe Drew was looking at her in a… For goodness sake. It was time for her to get her head out of the clouds and back into her kitchen. She had muffins in the oven she didn’t want to burn. And a business to run. Not to mention a son to raise. Spending time thinking about Drew MacIntire was not on the agenda.
At least not for today. Tomorrow was another story.
