Curveball

by Jillian Quinn

Her eyes widen along with her mouth. “Don’t say things like that unless you plan to make them happen.”

  “Oh, I plan on it. I was thinking, maybe we could get married where we first met.”

  She throws her hands on her hips, annoyed. “You want to get married at Club Rave?”

  I laugh. “No, but you’re sexy as hell when you’re pissed off.”

  A soft punch hits my biceps. “You’re like poison…but I still love you. Sometimes, you can be such a jerk.”

  I flash a wicked grin. “I love you, too, baby. I have a cure for your poison. Get in the restroom, so I can give you your medicine.”

  She rolls her eyes.

  As she turns around, I say, “Good girl.”

  And the corner of her mouth turns up into a smile because those are her two favorite words to hear.

  Epilogue

  Olivia: Two years after the MLB Draft

  Mark had insisted we sit in the club box at Citizen’s Bank Park, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies and the stadium where my man is about to pitch his first professional no-hitter. He had reserved the box for our group in anticipation for his first Home Opener, but the rest of his friends had other plans.

  Luca and Izzie are sitting to my right with Silvia and Hunter to my left, the five of us huddled together in the seats behind home plate and freaking out about the game Mark has pitched so far. Sandwiched between the girls, I clutch each of their hands, the giant rock Mark had surprised me with last month just about ready to slide off my finger.

  I still can’t believe he proposed to me literally standing on the bar where we had first met. He’d asked Bruno if he could get up on the bar at Club Rave with the girls and make a big deal out of our engagement. I’d quit working there the day Mark had cashed his first check almost two years ago, but I'm still good friends with Donna and the girls. Mark wasn’t joking when he said he would ask me to marry him at the place where we’d met.

  At first, I was pissed about his method of proposal, as any woman should have been. But that was par for the course with our relationship. Mark is a fly by the seat of his pants kind of guy. And I wouldn’t have him any other way.

  Combined with the springtime sun and the nervous anticipation creeping up from the back of my throat, my sweat-covered palms are shaking and drenching Izzie and Silvia. We haven't spoken a word since the start of the ninth inning.

  With almost a ten year age difference between us, I was surprised how well the girls had taken to me, especially since both of them come from boatloads of money. But over the past few years, I have become more to Mark’s friends than just the older woman who had taught him Law and Ethics his final year of college and won his heart in the process. They are also my friends now and people I can rely on.

  Glancing out of the corner of my eye, I spot Luca with his elbows propped up on his thighs and his hands covering his nose and mouth. He may be even more nervous than I am, possibly more nervous than Mark. He mumbles to himself as he rocks back and forth in his chair. Hunter and his massive linebacker frame are dwarfing the chair as he hunches forward, repeating a similar motion as Luca. The more I watch either of them the more I feel sick, so I shift my gaze back to the field.

  Mark takes the red hat off his head for a second to wipe the sweat from his brow. He looks sexy-as-fuck in his tight white pants and white-and-red striped uniform. It’s the bottom of the ninth inning, and Mark only needs one more strike to close out this game. I feel as though I could puke the two bottles of water I had pounded in the last hour all over the half wall in front of me.

  Even though we have a lot of distance between the mound and us, I swear Mark winks at me. Or at least I imagine that with the sun in my eyes and beating down on my face. Pitching from the stretch, Mark raises his knee, moving toward home plate as he releases the ball. I hold my breath and want to close my eyes, but I cannot miss what might be the final pitch of the game. The ball sails off his fingertips and right into the center of the strike zone with the batter taking one final swing…and a miss.

  My eyes fill with tears, the sound of the crowd going ballistic around me too much to process all at once. He did it. After everything we had been through together, there were some days where I thought Mark would not pitch again. I watched as his self-worth and hope wavered throughout his recovery. But he waited his turn, and after proving his worth to the organization, his coach had wanted him to pitch the Home Opener, which is a big deal here in Philadelphia.

  I’m a sobbing mess, and it doesn’t help that both Izzie and I are pregnant because the two of us are now holding onto each other, our tiny baby bellies touching and tears streaming down our faces.

  Izzie screams in my ear. “The big guy did it!Oh my God this is so insane. Woo hoo!” She attempts to jump but with her big belly, it’s more like she just lifts her feet off the ground for a second.

  Silvia pats me on the shoulder and flashes a smile in my direction. She mutters something that I can't hear over the crowd.

  I just nod and smile, thankful she could be here for this day.

  Izzie’s having twin boys and due a few months after me. They run in Luca’s family. I haven’t slept in weeks, probably more like months, and with Mark’s insatiable appetite for me combined with our daughter’s love of kicking me until I wake up, I could pass out on my feet right now.

  Luckily, Luca comes up from behind me and grips my shoulder, spinning me around to pull me into a hug. He has either rubbed his sweat on my cheek or his tears. Knowing Luca and his softer side, I am willing to bet he’s fighting back the waterworks. On the surface, he seems like such a tough guy. Factor in the son of a Mafia boss part and you would think he’d be as rough as they come, but like Mark, he’s nothing like what I had originally thought.

  “Liv,” he says, holding me at an arm's-length. He smiles so wide it reaches up to his blue eyes. Then he glances down at my baby bump and places his hand over my stomach. “You and Emma are the reason he got his shit back together.”

  I know that much is true. There were some shaky times in the two years Mark had played for the Phillies. He didn’t start at first. In fact, he pitched very little his first year with the team because they already had their pitching rotation and only used him for relief.

  Then, Mark’s arm started acting up mid-way through his first year, causing some issues that limited his full range of motion. But now he’s back in game-ready shape and just has pitched his first no-hitter since entering the league.

  “It was all Mark,” I tell Luca. “I knew he could do it.”

  “So did I,” he says, his voice trailing off, “so did I. I never doubted him for a second.”

  Hunter high-fives Luca, which makes me laugh because that’s such a jock thing to do. “Bro, Mark killed it. This was worth the trip out here.”

  Now that football is over for the season and Silvia finished her master’s degree, Hunter and Olivia were able to fly out from San Francisco to see the game, which makes this so much sweeter for Mark since Hunter missed the draft announcement by one hour.

  Luca is one month away from graduating from law school. He told me all about how he plans to propose to Izzie, and I already know she’s going to love it. She had a rule that he couldn’t ask her until after he graduates. And he busted his ass after all the sacrifices she had made for him.

  The crowd goes wild behind me, and when I turn around, I discover the noise is from Mark hopping the wall the separates our seats from the field. And, now he’s now standing here, with a shit-eating grin on his face.

  He pulls me into his arms, careful not to press too hard with my stomach being so big. “There’s my lucky charm.” Mark kisses me on the lips as he runs his hand over my stomach. After our lips separate, he bends down to kiss our baby over my Phillies shirt. “And there’s my mini good luck charm.”

  For once, I don’t feel her kick when he talks to her. She already did plenty of that throughout the game to satisfy her quota for the day. Consumed by Mark and this moment, I don
’t even realize that everyone in the stadium is watching us until I spot a camera crew layered around us, taping every second.

  My cheeks flush, because unlike Mark, I do not want to be the center of attention. The news outlets had a field day with our age difference a few years ago, and I have never been the type of person to welcome the spotlight Mark’s fame has brought upon us.

  “My girls,” he says to me, still holding onto my stomach. “I love you both so much.”

  I place my hand over his. “We love you, too.”

  With everyone staring at us, I’m a bit apprehensive when he leans forward to kiss me. This time, he kisses me like he means it, as if the people in the stadium are no longer here, and we are the only ones left.

  Also by Jillian Quinn

  LOVE IN THE END ZONE SERIES

  Roughing

  Holding

  MORE THAN SERIES

  More Than Friends

  More Than Roommates

  FACE-OFF SERIES

  Parker

  Kane

  Donovan

  Jameson

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  Acknowledgments

  I always have such a hard time writing the acknowledgments for my books because I have so many people I want to thank for making my dream a reality and for standing beside me through all of it.

  First, I’d like to thank my family for their patience and support. I know I miss a lot of dinners and family gatherings to meet deadlines and take part in author functions. I promise, this is all for my books and not because I would rather sit in the house, attached to my laptop, even if I am one of the most introverted people you will ever meet.

  I refuse to publish a book without my beta readers’ stamp of approval. I have three beta readers who are my friends who help me make my books better when I’m too engrossed to see the flaws. Donna, Payton, and Amanda—you guys are amazing. I’m so happy we met through book blogging and became friends in the process. I couldn’t do this without you guys. Love you, Beta Babes!

  Most importantly, thank you to the bloggers and readers for your support. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful team and amazing fans. Thank you!

  About the Author

  Jillian Quinn is an international bestselling romance author who likes her females just as alpha as their swoon-worthy counterparts. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Jillian sets all of her books in the City of Brotherly Love, cheers for her local sports teams, and enjoys a good cheesesteak. When she’s not writing, reading, or blogging, she’s fangirling over hockey and can be found wherever she can watch the next game.

  For more information about Jillian’s books, visit her website at JillianQuinnBooks.com.

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