Cam gripped the railing tightly but allowed himself a wry grin. His miserable mother and his deadbeat dad were in a weird way responsible for his success as an athlete. Smacking the baseball had released his aggression and at the same time had given him a sense of self-worth when he made the high school roster without the benefit of select teams and expensive equipment. From pedaling to practice on his bike to cleaning pools for cash, he had made it all on his own.
Cam wanted to ask Ty more questions about Mia, but to his credit he remained silent and stared out over the field. Besides, it would have totally blown his not-caring cover. When he heard her voice coming nearer, he swallowed hard and continued to stare ahead, but his ears strained to gather more information. He inhaled deeply, hoping the blissful baseball-field scent of cut grass and dusty earth would clear his head. But the slight floral scent of Mia’s perfume found its way to his nose, giving him warning that she was coming closer … and closer.
Just be cool, he told himself as he stood up straighter and rolled the kinks out of his neck. She’s just a chick. No big deal.
Yeah, right, his damned pesky inner voice of reason warned. Why did his voice of reason have to show up now rather than in the elevator yesterday? Oh, and if you think this is the end of the story like you so bravely announced to Ty McKenna, dude, you’re fooling yourself.
14
Clueless
MIA’S BREATH CAUGHT, AND IT HAD NOTHING TO DO with her walk up and down the stadium stands. It happened the moment she spotted Cameron Patrick in his baseball uniform. When he hit the home run, she got so excited that she almost jumped up and down applauding, but then she remembered to maintain her professional attitude. Mia had known she would most likely see Cam and had even mentally prepared herself for it, but when the moment arrived, she simply couldn’t control her racing heart.
“Follow me. I want you to meet Ty McKenna,” Noah said, and Mia gave him a brisk, businesslike nod.
Mia followed Noah down to the dugout. Although she smiled and shook Ty’s hand firmly after he walked forward, she was acutely aware of Cam standing just a few feet away. He appeared to be studying the pitcher, but she felt a pang of disappointment when he didn’t come over and at least say hi. She wondered if Noah had broken his promise and had told Cam about their deal, but from the little bit that she knew of Noah Falcon, she simply couldn’t believe that he would do such a thing. Mia had learned from her father to trust her instinct when it came to people, and for the most part she had been right in her assessment.
“Glad to have you on board,” Ty said with a megawatt smile that could make a girl melt. He had a bit of a bad-boy twinkle in his eye, but Mia knew from Wine and Diner conversations that he doted on his son and adored Jessica. “I just hope I’m not in trouble with Jess for stealing you away from Wine and Diner.”
Mia felt heat creep into her cheeks. “Um, I think it’s more likely that you’ll receive a big thank-you.”
Ty laughed. “Well, I have to admit that in your short stay in Cricket Creek you have become something of a legend. I’m sure customers have been pouring in just to get a glimpse of you.”
Mia felt the blush go from her cheeks to her neck, but she had to grin. “Kind of like bad publicity is better than no publicity?”
Noah chuckled as well. “More like a bit of excitement in a small town. If we hadn’t snatched you up, I bet Olivia would have tried to cast you in this summer’s play.”
“Oh, I do love the theater,” Mia said. She almost mentioned Chicago but caught herself just in time. “Are they doing another one of Madison’s original productions? I heard about her talent from Myra.”
Noah shook his head. “No, Madison’s still working on writing a new play. Olivia said that between teaching creative writing and traveling occasionally with Bella to watch Logan play baseball, she is way behind in her writing.”
“And she loves to babysit Ben,” Ty added. “She complains to Jessica all the time that she waited way too long to have a baby brother. Evidently it was on her Christmas list every year as a child.”
“She must have been on the naughty list,” Mia joked, drawing a laugh from Ty.
“That’s what Jess told her,” Ty replied. “At any rate, it’s great to have you, Mia. I know that Noah explained that this is our sophomore year and we want to keep the excitement going and the stands filled with fans. I’ll do my best to win games, but I can tell you that having fun promotions also brings people to the ballpark. The fact that you’ve landed Cat Carson is amazing. I hope you have more tricks up your sleeve.”
Mia felt a surge of excitement. “I might have been a lousy waitress, but I excel at event planning. I’m really looking forward to my job, and I will do everything in my power to put fans in the stands.”
“I believe you,” Ty said and then looked at Noah. “Have you shown Mia her condo?”
“No.” Noah glanced at his watch. “I would do it, but I have a meeting in just a few minutes.” Noah looked past Ty and said, “Hey, Cam, would you take Mia over to her condo and show her around?”
Mia’s heart pounded while she waited for Cam’s answer. When he hesitated, she knew something wasn’t right. What had she done to push him away?
“Mr. Falcon, I’m in the middle of practice.”
Ty waved a dismissive hand at him. “You’ve already had your at bat, and it was a damned good one. Go gather your gear and show Mia around.”
Noah reached in his pocket and handed Cam a credit card. “Take Mia shopping for some basic staples she needs in her place … food, linens, whatever, but of course within reason. And then dinner.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Mia protested, but Ty and Noah waved her off.
“Hey,” Noah said, “think of it as a small signing bonus. We can’t pay you a big salary, but your living accommodations will be nice. We want you to be comfortable. Oh, and hey, both Bella and Madison live there, so you’ll have some girlfriends to hang out with by the pool.”
“Well, thank you so much.” She peered closely at Cam, trying to figure out what was going on with him. His expression was hooded, but he didn’t really appear happy to have this duty. Her stomach did a weird little dropping thing and she swallowed hard. “I can go shopping. You don’t have to do this,” she offered in a rather small voice.
“You don’t have a car, remember?” Cam reminded her.
“Oh … right,” Mia replied but wished he had said something like I’d be glad to instead of making it sound like an obligation.
“I’m sure Cam won’t mind,” Ty said in a firm enough tone to let Cam know that he had better not protest.
“Not at all, Coach,” Cam answered readily. “Mia, I’ll meet you over at the condo office. Give me about fifteen minutes.”
“Okay,” Mia replied with a small smile. While his response had been polite enough, she felt his reluctance. His brush-off bothered her, but she reminded herself that this was a golden opportunity and she needed to focus on doing a good job as promotions manager. The little interlude in the elevator had been an in-the-heat-of-the-moment kind of situation, and she would do well to keep her emotional distance from Cameron Patrick. Besides, she thought as she watched him disappear down the steps into the locker room, he was a rough-around-the-edges bad boy and not her type at all. Mia was into Italian loafers, not cleats. This job was a means to an end, a great opportunity but by no means permanent. She would prove her ability and her worth and then move back to Chicago, where she would go on to do bigger and better things.
“Mia?” Noah asked, making her jump. Ty was deep in conversation with a baseball player.
“Sorry, I was lost in thought.
Noah gave her a curious look. “I need to get back up to my office. You have some material to read over tonight, but if you have any questions about anything or any concerns, for that matter, be sure to give me a call.”
“Thank you, Mr. Falcon. I already have your phone number in my contacts.”
“Good. Don
’t hesitate to call for any reason whatsoever.”
Mia thanked him again before walking back to her new office to grab her purse. For such a big, tough athlete, Noah Falcon sure had a nice way about him. Tough guys with a soft side were every girl’s fantasy, Mia thought with a dreamy smile. Olivia sure was a lucky woman.
Cam is like that, popped into her head, but she quickly dismissed it. She and Cam were both in Cricket Creek as a means to an end, nothing more, nothing less. End of story.
When she arrived at the front office of the condo complex, Mia was greeted by Madison Robinson, whose mother was co-owner of Wine and Diner. “Well, hello there, Mia. You sure move up fast in this town,” she said with a chuckle.
“Myra was cool about it, but I really hope Myra and your mother aren’t mad at me. They were kind enough to hire me on the spot, and then I dip out on them!”
“Nah …” Madison shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. From what I hear, you saved the day for Noah. Aunt Myra and mom will find another waitress. The economy is improving but jobs are still scarce, so you’ll make someone’s day by giving them a job.” She handed Mia a packet followed by the keys. “Here is some basic information about the property. I’d show you around, but I have to man the phones today.”
“So you work here too?”
She waved her hand in the air. “I help out part-time to offset my rent.”
“Oh, wow, your ring is gorgeous.” Mia leaned forward to get a closer look at Madison’s engagement ring. “When are you getting married?”
Madison sighed. “Jason and I keep setting the date back because he keeps getting more and more jobs. He’s doing the finish work on the strip mall across the street from the stadium. We just can’t seem to fit getting married in, much to the displeasure of my mother. She says by the time Jason and I tie the knot that baby Ben can be a ring bearer,” she added with a laugh followed by a shrug. “She might be right. But Jason wants to build a dream house for us up on a ridge overlooking the river. He just bought the land.”
“That’s so romantic,” Mia said with a touch of wistfulness. She was getting used to having near strangers tell her personal things, and it was making her feel at ease and oddly at home.
“Yeah, it’s been fun looking at house plans. I’d just as soon elope and save the money, but mom wants me to have a big ceremony with all of the trimmings. She’s a pretty awesome mom, so I can’t disappoint her.”
“Oh, I understand,” Mia said breezily, but she felt a pang of sadness at the distant relationship she had with her own mother. “Make her happy and truly enjoy planning it together,” she added, thinking of the many bridezillas she had witnessed over the past few years.
Madison tucked a lock of curly hair behind her ear. “Yeah, I’m sure I will. My mother is actually more laid-back than me. I take after my aunt Myra.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” Mia stated firmly. “Your aunt is an amazing person.”
Madison gave her a bright, engaging smile. “I sure think so too. I really thought I’d hate moving from Chicago back to this small town, but I’ve grown to love it here,” she said. She shook her head. “We came back to save my aunt’s diner from going under, and I thought we’d move back to the city. At first I whined about moving back. I didn’t realize how much stress my mom felt working at Chicago Blue. It was brutal.”
“I can imagine.” Mia thought back to going to that very restaurant with a group of friends. Two of them had sent back their entreés with one trivial complaint or another and then had proceeded to only pick at their food. Mia knew from personal experience that it had nothing to do with the quality of the food.
“This was one of those blessing-in-disguise kinds of things.” Madison tilted her head and smiled. “Wow, the same thing happened to you too! Your car broke down in Cricket Creek and now you’re working for the Cougars. Life sure is crazy sometimes, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Mia agreed.
Madison gave her level look, making Mia feel as if she could see a bit of what she was thinking. “But has a funny way of working out if you let it.”
Mia nodded slowly, thinking that though Madison had to be about her age, she felt as if she were getting sage advice from someone much older.
“Oh boy …” Madison rolled her eyes. “Mia, if you let me, I’ll never shut up.”
“Believe me, I don’t mind,” Mia admitted. “Except for that sheriff, everybody here has been more than friendly. Fred is looking for used parts to fix my car and letting me keep it on his lot free of charge. Myra gave me a job and a roof over my head and didn’t fire me when I caused a bit of a commotion at Wine and Diner. She lent me money! And now Noah Falcon just hired me virtually on the spot.” She shook her head. “Incredible.”
“I won’t argue,” Madison said. “This little town was going under pretty quickly last year, but everyone banded together and refused to let this way of life die.”
“Good for them!”
Madison nodded her agreement but then chuckled. “Not that small-town life is perfect. Everybody seems to know your business, and gossip spreads like wildfire. You can’t break wind in this town without someone knowing, as Aunt Myra would put it.”
Mia tossed her head back and laughed.
“I’m just telling you the truth. We’re pretty outspoken here.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” Mia said. “Believe me, it’s better than talking behind someone’s back.”
“Oh, there’s always some of that in a small town, but by and large we all get along.” Madison grinned and then pointed to the packet. “If you have any questions, let me know.”
“Thanks.”
“And I hope we can hang out, Mia. There are lots of baseball players who live here, and on the upper level, more expensive condos are being bought by older, retired couples. But except for Bella, girls my age are a bit scarce. We can sit by the pool or watch movies together if you want to?”
“I’m sure I will after I get settled.”
“Great! And I’m sorry I can’t show you around.”
“That’s okay. Cameron Patrick is going to be here any minute to take me on a tour.”
“Well, now!” Madison wiggled her eyebrows. “He’s a hottie.”
“I guess,” Mia agreed with a slight shrug.
“Oh, come on, now,” Madison teased.
“Okay, he’s hot.”
“It’s nice of him to show you around,” she said with a hint of suggestion in her voice.
“Noah pretty much ordered him to,” Mia admitted. “He has to take me shopping and out to dinner, and I’m not too sure he was down for all of that.”
“What? You guys already have history. Believe me, nothing happens by accident.”
Mia looked at Madison to see if she was joking, but her blue eyes were sincere. “You think so?”
“Just listen to your gut, Mia. It works every time,” she advised.
“Do you really believe that?”
“Oh yeah,” Madison replied. “And by the way, your condo is right next door to Cameron Patrick’s.”
“Really?” Mia said in a steady voice, but she felt a surge of excitement that she couldn’t suppress. “I just can’t get away from the guy.”
“Imagine that …” Madison’s knowing voice held a hint of humor, but Mia also felt as if Madison had some sort of uncanny sense of destiny, prompting her to ask more, but the phone rang and Madison had to excuse herself. Mia had a weird kind of feeling, as if she had just had her cards read and didn’t know exactly what to make of the prediction.
A moment later, Mia heard the whoosh of the door opening, and before she had a chance to turn around, her Cam-is-in-the-room radar went on full alert. The clean, spicy scent of his aftershave trickled her way, making her want to groan.
“Are you ready?” he asked in a rather bored tone that made her a feel a little bit disappointed.
Mia turned around slowly and shrugged. “I suppose,” she answered in the same tired tone, when i
n fact her heart was bumping against her ribs. Why was he acting this way? But she’d be damned if she’d let him see how much he affected her. “Let’s get this show on the road. I have lots of work to do.”
“No problem,” he said as he stepped back to open the door for her.
Mia turned and gave Madison a wave and then headed out into the bright sunshine.
“Let’s go over to your condo so you can take a look around and get a feel for whatever you might need,” he suggested briskly. “You can make a list, and then we’ll head out to shop. Wilson’s Supermarket is just down the road. That should have everything you need, from soup to nuts.”
Mia frowned. “I’m fond of soup, but I can take or leave nuts.”
Cam chuckled. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Not really. Well, I do like pistachios—oh, and macadamia nuts and an occasional pecan if it’s in a dessert, but that about covers it. Now, soups—”
“Mia, that’s an old saying meaning from start to finish and everything in between.”
“Oh … well, good, then,” Mia answered, but it suddenly dawned on her that she had never stepped foot in a store like the one he’d described. She gave him a brave smile when in reality she was a bundle of nerves and felt sort of … ashamed. She didn’t know how to do, well … anything remotely domestic. Everything from washing her clothes to cooking her meals had been done for her. The closest she had come was microwaving a few things while away at college. But even then she and three other rich girls shared a luxury condo and had a weekly maid. Mia tried to think back to if she had ever even made her bed. Nope. She had been spoiled rotten and was, in a word, clueless.
Thus far, Mia had been eating her meals only at Wine and Diner, but really … how hard could cooking and cleaning be? Everything had instructions, right?
15
Movin’ on Up!
ONCE AGAIN, CAM WAS AT A LOSS. NOTHING ABOUT MIA made a bit of sense. But he told himself not to dwell on trying to figure her out and just get this whole little excursion over with. “Lots of stuff is already provided,” Cam said after Mia unlocked the door to the condo. She nodded as she took a look around. He also tried not to think about the fact that she was going to be living right next door to him and that their patios shared the same brick privacy wall. “There’s even a small stacked washer and dryer in here.” He opened the double doors to a small laundry room to the left of the kitchen.
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