by Jenny Rabe
“It’s been a great honor to be on the team. When I moved here, baseball was all I had. I put my job aside and tried to find myself. I took up playing for this team and met Rob, my best pal. Life was working for me, and somehow I was able to move through the pain of losing my dad.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she watched him. When he turned toward the bleachers where she sat, her heart thumped loudly inside her chest. Dropping the pen, she glanced up at him and waited for him to speak.
“But then I met Cambria.”
Cambria stopped breathing. Had he just said her name?
“At first, all I wanted to do was help her. She was adorable and a little eccentric. Her life was kind of in shambles, and I knew it was time for me to finally make a difference.”
Cambria laughed in spite of his jab. It was true. She had been a mess.
“Dating Cambria became a full-time job. The more I saw her, the more I wanted to see her.”
Cambria blushed as people turned to her, finally realizing who Brian was talking about. She didn’t care though. She never lost her focus on him.
“But then a few misunderstandings happened, and I ended up hurting her. That’s the last thing I wanted. She’d helped me see the life I hadn’t been living, and I felt I owed it to her to make that right. Ladies and gentlemen, I don’t have much to say other than how I feel about that woman.”
Cambria froze and repeated the words in her head. She stared at him, waiting to hear how much her friendship meant to him. He couldn’t have possibly meant more than that.
“So today, I just wanted her to know that I love her,” he said, swinging the bat in her direction. “I love you. You’re my everything.”
Warm tingles crawled up and down Cambria’s spine, spreading and growing until every nerve in her body vibrated. He blew her a kiss, handed the mic to the announcer, and ran to home base for his turn at bat.
He turned to find Cambria’s face in the crowd. People whooped and hollered and rose to their feet to cheer him on, hiding her from his view. A hush fell over the crowd as the first ball came toward him.
“Strike one,” the umpire called.
The crowd moaned. Only a minute remained.
Another ball came toward him a few seconds later, and he swung mightily toward it.
“Strike two,” the umpire called again. Cambria’s heart dropped to her stomach. He couldn’t strike out now.
Mrs. Walker appeared beside her, a frown on her face. She pulled Cambria to her feet. “Come on, now. Show that boy how you feel!”
Cambria stood, tentatively at first. What was she so afraid of? He was finally saying the words she’d wanted to hear for so long. He couldn’t fail after such a proclamation. When a hush fell over the crowd, Cambria stood on her tiptoes and yelled with all of her might.
“I love you too.”
Brian whipped around, a broad smile on his face. The crowd erupted in cheers. She found him among the bobbing heads in front of her and blew him a kiss. He caught it, tucked it in his pocket, and turned to the pitcher. At least if he didn’t hit the last ball, he knew how she felt. A shiver ran up her arm. He knew how she felt. There was no going back once those three words were said. Cambria hugged her middle as she waited for the next ball. Please hit it. Please hit it.
The ball came at Brian so fast she didn’t see it coming. But she heard it leaving. Crack! The ball sailed into the sky, flying past the bases, the outfield catchers, and lastly, behind the wall.
“Homerun!” Cambria screamed.
Brian swung his bat to the side and spun around to see Cambria. He smiled before running off toward first base.
Cambria didn’t need any prompting to move. The crowd parted in just the right spots and she was on the field, waiting at home base for when he returned. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest as he came closer toward her. His smile remained on his face and a feeling of giddiness rose in her chest at the thought of him kissing her again. He sped up after his foot hit third base, then picked her up in a flurry upon touching home.
She pressed her face into his wet but sweet-smelling chest. He shook as he held her against him, the two of them laughing and trembling in the moment. Brian stepped back, held her face with both hands, and pressed his lips against hers.
The crowd burst into whooping cheers, the noise deafening in her ears. But she didn’t care. She melted against him, pressing him closer and enjoying the saltiness of his lips. She didn’t care who saw. When they finally broke apart, he pulled her away from the mound, out of the way of his celebrating teammates who’d just won the game.
He held her close while still meeting her gaze. “You mean it? You really love me?”
Cambria held a hand to his face, and he closed his eyes. “I do. I love you.”
He picked her up, swinging her around and around as they laughed. Cambria felt the simple but amazing bliss that came when someone loved her. He loved her.
Epilogue
Cambria stood on the home base plate where she’d kissed Brian almost a year before, declaring her love to a man for the second time in her life. The past year had been one of the happiest. Sure, they’d had rough times and times of miscommunication, but Cambria knew she didn’t want to spend her life miscommunicating with anyone else.
She glanced down at her dress and smiled. It was the perfect one for her. She’d bought a white dress that came to her knees, but splattered it with paint to remind her that life was full of messy and beautiful parts. True to their theme, Brian wore a tuxedo with a paint-splattered white shirt and stood on the pitcher’s mound, a preacher waiting with him.
Her mom stood off to the side of Brian with May, fixing his tie and being relentless in showering him with attention. Cambria had tried to warn him, but he seemed to eat up her mom’s attention. The only dark spot in the day was that their fathers wouldn’t be there to see them take this huge step in their lives.
Jean and Rob went ahead of them, walking to the pitcher’s mound arm-in-arm. Jean and Cambria had hit it off once everything had settled, and Rob, of course, was Brian’s best man.
The wedding march blared over the speakers, and Mr. Walker held out his arm. “Shall we go, Miss Cambria?”
Cambria looked up at him, forever grateful for what he and his wife had given her. A family away from home and hope that a brighter day is always waiting. “Yes. I’m ready.”
She looked toward Brian, who wore cleats with his tuxedo. He stirred his foot around in the dirt as he was instructed to look down until she was ready. Finally, the umpire, or the preacher, she wasn’t sure which, motioned for him to look up. Cambria watched his face go from surprise to excitement.
Oh, how she loved that man. She grinned at his expression and started to move toward him. The dirt swirled all around them as they walked, kicking up soft whirlwinds of magic.
Her heart raced as they neared the pitcher’s mound. Right before they reached it, Mr. Walker leaned down and planted a kiss on her forehead. “May you be forever happy.”
The tears started to well in her eyes. “Thanks, Mr. Walker.”
Brian reached out his hand to her and pulled her close to him. “You look beautiful, Cambria.”
A thrill of excitement crawled up her spine. He would be hers in minutes. “You’re not so bad yourself. The cleats were a nice touch.”
He laughed and together they turned to the audience. The bleachers had temporarily moved inside the field so people could see better. They had invited their closest friends, a few baseball players from Brian’s team, everyone from their grief counseling group, a few managers who’d flown in from the company, her mom, a few friends from Arizona.
It was perfect and small and completely opposite from her first wedding. She couldn’t help comparing the two. Shawn’s ability to give so much of himself at a time when he’d suffered the most could never be forgotten. She would be forever grateful to her first love.
She looked toward Brian and smiled. And now she hoped she would never lo
se her love again. Brian was her perfect match.
Cambria’s hands shook as it was her time to share her vows. She’d thought of them only last night as she painted a new series called “Lover’s Bliss.”
She cleared her throat and took his other hand as she turned to him. “When I first saw you, I knew you were something special. Just seeing your face brought me out of the mental fog I was in.” Her throat tightened as she continued. “I never thought I would love again after Shawn, but you’ve shown me how easy it is to fall for the right person. I love you so much and can’t wait to see your face every day when I wake up.”
“That was beautiful,” he said, wiping at a tear before it messed up her makeup. “I would have never thought almost running down someone at the track would ever lead to anything. But I’m marrying that same girl, the girl of my dreams. I’ve never been so happy. Thank you for inspiring me to be more, to do more with my life.”
He slipped a ring on her finger, and then she in turn placed a ring on his finger. They were simple white-gold bands, perfect for both of them.
When they were announced as man and wife, they shared a sweet kiss, one that reminded her of their first kiss.
“I love you, Cambria.”
She melted against him as their small crowd of friends erupted in cheers. Now she had a lifetime of kisses to look forward to.
“I love you too.”
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About the Author
After going on over 150 first dates, Jenny has a wealth of dating experience. She lives with her husband and three kids near the mountains, drawing inspiration from the constant ups and downs of relationships. When she's not writing clean, swoony romances, she's following some other dream to make a difference in the world.