She laughed. “No worries. I’ll let them know.” Then she walked away, leaving him alone with Melanie.
When he faced Melanie, he got the vibe that something was bothering her. Tilting his head downward so that he was gazing into her eyes, he asked, “Are you okay?” He didn’t want to intrude, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself from asking.
She nodded. “Yeah. I’m fine.”
He straightened. “Okay.”
“That was an awesome game, wasn’t it?”
Chuckling, he said, “They’re always more awesome when we win.”
“Can’t argue with that.”
“You did great.” Not sure if he should bring up their date, he went there. “Maybe that batting cage practice helped.”
She seemed to freeze for a millisecond, but then she smiled. “Every bit of practice helps.”
He couldn’t hold back. “Let’s do it again.”
Her eyes widened slightly, like she might be thinking of something besides the batting cage. Maybe their kiss?
“I mean,” he said, “let’s hit the cage again.” Although if that led to another kiss, he wouldn’t complain.
As she stood there facing him, she figured out what had made her cry. Afraid if she thought about it too hard she would burst into tears, she forced her thoughts to softball. “Yeah.”
Wait, what? Was she agreeing to a batting cage session with him? Her mind had been in turmoil and now she’d agreed to something that she hadn’t meant to.
“Great,” he said. “Saturday after practice?”
“Uh…” She wanted to tell him she hadn’t meant it, but she didn’t want to be responsible for wiping the enthusiasm from his face. Plus, maybe in a small way she wanted to go. Then again, would she later regret it? Wanting to take the easy way out, she said, “I’ll need to find a sitter for Avery.”
“A sitter for Avery?” Ashleigh asked as she joined them. “When?”
“Saturday after practice,” Gage said. “Melanie and I are going to hit the batting cage.”
“I can babysit,” Ashleigh said with a smile.
She could always count on her sister—to make sure she could spend time with Gage, that is. “Thanks.”
“No problem.”
Someone called out that their shakes were ready.
“Back in a minute,” Gage said.
The moment he walked away, Ashleigh said, “You seem to be feeling better.”
Melanie didn’t want to think about the emotions that had spiraled out of control. “I figured out what set me off.”
“Oh?”
Melanie watched as Gage handed out shakes to the other players before he approached them with three shakes in his hands.
“I’ll tell you later,” she said.
“Here you go,” Gage said as he handed them their shakes.
“Thanks,” Ashleigh said. “And thanks for treating the whole team.”
He laughed. “Hey, we won our second game. That’s a lot better than in years past.”
Ashleigh held up her cup. “Cause for celebration for sure.”
They talked about the game, and as others joined them, Melanie again enjoyed the camaraderie of being part of the team.
On the drive home, Ashleigh turned to Melanie with eyebrows raised. “So what was it? What set you off?”
After a brief pause to gather her thoughts, she said, “When Gage hugged Clarissa like that, it reminded me of Kyle…well, of Kyle choosing Jessica…over me.”
The memory of the emotion she’d felt washed over her again, and she had to swallow over the knot that formed in her throat.
“Oh, Mel,” Ashleigh said.
The empathy in her sister’s voice only made Melanie feel worse and hot tears pushed into her eyes. Blinking rapidly to force them away, she focused on driving home.
“I can’t do it, Ash. I can’t compete with another woman. Not again.”
“Who said there’s a competition going on?”
“I don’t know. It’s just…I don’t know what their relationship is. Is it just friendship? Is there more to it? I…it was a mistake to tell Gage I’d go with him to the batting cage.”
“Look, if you want to bow out, then bow out. Or, make it a fun time with a friend who’s also into softball. I mean, you told him you only want to be friends. Well, be friends.”
What Ashleigh said made sense. “You wouldn’t consider the batting cage thing a date, would you?”
“Of course not.” Ashleigh grinned. “Especially if there’s no food involved.”
“Right. No food.” That made Melanie feel better. She could do this. She could spend time with Gage as a friend, right?
She would get another opportunity to test that theory the next night, at Amethyst’s barbecue.
Chapter 21
“Are you sure it’s okay that I bring Avery to the barbecue?” Melanie said into the phone.
“Totally,” Amethyst said. “I’d love to have her there, and I don’t want you to miss out because your babysitter cancelled at the last minute.”
Half-glad that Amethyst said it was okay, and half-wishing she’d said no—then she’d have an excuse to bow out—Melanie nodded. “Great. We’ll be there in half an hour.” After disconnecting the call, she tucked her phone into her purse.
“I’m guessing she said it was fine,” Ashleigh said from her spot on the couch.
“Yes.”
“I knew she would. I love Amethyst. She’s a total sweetheart.”
“I don’t know her very well yet, but I like her too.” Melanie paused a beat. “Give me a sec to get Avery ready, and then we can go.”
Half an hour later the three of them pulled up to Amethyst’s house. Without meaning to, Melanie looked for Gage’s Camaro. It wasn’t there. Maybe he wasn’t coming. She wasn’t there to see him so it didn’t matter, right? But of course it did. There was no question that she was attracted to him. She could own that. However, with his friendship with Clarissa, or whatever their relationship was, there was no choice but to hold back. Going into battle against another woman again was out of the question. Not after the debacle that was her attempted win of Kyle.
They climbed out of the car, and as they began walking up the driveway, the deep sound of Gage’s Camaro filled the air.
There he is. A smile blossomed on Melanie’s lips, but she forced herself to keep her eyes on Amethyst’s house.
“There’s Gage,” Ashleigh said, turning to wave to him.
Now it would look like she was purposely ignoring him if she didn’t wave too. Melanie turned and waved, and when she saw he was alone, she admitted to herself that in the back of her mind she’d worried that he would bring Clarissa with him tonight.
Ashleigh stopped walking, obviously waiting for Gage to catch up, so Melanie stopped too.
“It’s the race car, Mommy,” Avery said, her hand held in Melanie’s and her voice filled with excitement as she stared in the direction of Gage’s car.
Softly laughing, Melanie nodded. “Yep. It’s the race car.”
“Can we ride in it?” Avery asked. Her eyes were bright with eagerness.
Melanie knelt in front of her, her back to the street. “Not right now, baby girl. We’re going to go inside and eat some delicious food. Are you hungry?”
“Yes.”
“Good evening, ladies,” Gage said as he stopped next to them.
“Hi, Gage,” Ashleigh said.
Standing, Melanie turned and faced him, her thoughts flying to her self-admission that she was attracted to him. Now, as she took in the way his jeans hung low on his hips and the way his dark gray shirt emphasized his muscular biceps and set off his gray eyes—eyes that were focused on her—she found her pulse racing.
“Hey,” she said, her gaze steady on him. She had to get herself under control.
“Looks like we have a young attendee tonight,” Gage said, then he squatted in front of Avery. “My name’s Gage. What’s your name?”
That’s
when it hit Melanie. She’d never introduced Avery to Gage. Had that been an unconscious decision? One that would keep Gage at arm’s length? Keep him out of her life on a deeper level?
“I’m Avery,” her daughter said with confidence.
Gage took her little hand and shook it. “Hi, there, Avery. It’s nice to meet you.”
Avery giggled, then looked up at Melanie.
Gage stood and smiled at Melanie, making her heart do a little flip. “No sitter tonight?”
Melanie shook her head. “Nope. Hannah wasn’t feeling well. In fact, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to come to practice tomorrow.”
As Gage watched Melanie speak, his attention was drawn to her lips. Lips that he’d tasted one week earlier. The memory made his heart pound with longing. What would it take for her to let him kiss her again? That was something he would definitely need to investigate.
He hoped she wouldn’t have to miss practice the next morning. “We’re still on for the batting cage after practice though, right?” He glanced at Ashleigh, who had volunteered to babysit.
“I’m feeling just fine,” Ashleigh said.
They all laughed, and Melanie nodded. “Looks like that’s still happening.”
Relieved, Gage smiled. “Good.” Maybe that would be his chance to see if they could be more than friends.
“I’m hungry, Mommy,” Avery said.
“Okay, baby girl,” Melanie said. “Let’s get you something to eat.”
Gage followed them to Amethyst’s front door, noticing the way Melanie’s jeans hugged her slender curves.
“Hello,” Amethyst said with a wide smile as they stepped inside. “I hope you’re all hungry. We have lots of food.”
“I’m hungry,” Avery said.
They all laughed, and Amethyst bent towards Avery.
“Hello, Avery. My name’s Amethyst.”
Gage watched Melanie as she knelt beside her daughter and whispered something into her ear.
“Nice to meet you,” Avery said.
Impressed with everything Melanie did, Gage couldn’t take his eyes from her.
“Gage,” a voice called to him from the living room.
Gage looked up to see his friends—Travis, Gabby, Sawyer, Cody, and Chloe—sitting on various chairs and couches. Cody motioned for Gage to join them. With one final look at Melanie, he strode into the living room to join them.
“Sounds like I missed a good game last night,” Sawyer said to him.
“Yeah,” Gage said. “If you and Amethyst can pull yourselves away from work, you can come to one of our games. Hopefully one that we win.”
Sawyer glanced toward Amethyst, who was walking with Melanie, Ashleigh, and Avery into the living room. “I’d have to talk to the boss about that.”
Amethyst sat beside him. “Are you referring to me?” When she looked at Sawyer, her eyes glowed with warmth and love.
“I may only work for you part-time,” Sawyer said with a grin, “but everyone knows you’re in charge of my schedule.”
“Oh stop,” she said with a smile. “Anyway, what are you guys talking about?”
“How awesome we did at last night’s game,” Gage said. Then he looked at Melanie. “If it wasn’t for Melanie, we wouldn’t have won.”
All eyes swiveled in her direction, and a blush colored her face a lovely shade of pink. “Gage is being modest. His hit put us over the top.”
“But if you hadn’t batted Kirk in, we may have gone into a tenth inning and ended up losing.”
“That’s true,” she said with a smirk. “It’s all thanks to me.”
Everyone laughed.
“I just hope you can come to practice tomorrow and show us how to play,” Gage added. What was he doing? Did he want to get shot down in front of all of his friends? Still, he couldn’t seem to stop himself.
“Of course she’ll come,” Chloe said. “She hasn’t missed yet.”
“My sitter is sick,” Melanie said, then she tightened her arms around Avery, who was sitting on her lap munching on cheese and crackers that Amethyst had given her. “That’s why I brought this little lady with me tonight.”
“I can watch Avery during tomorrow’s practice,” Gabby said. She looked at Avery. “I’ll even bring Bella.”
“Bella!” Avery said, straightening.
That elicited a laugh from the group.
“Are you sure?” Melanie asked.
“Totally. Avery’s easy to babysit.”
“Thank you, Gabby. I really appreciate it.”
Gage appreciated it too, but he kept his thoughts to himself.
Melanie’s gaze swept over each of the people in the room. These people really were the best. The warmth of friendship wrapped around her, and once again she was grateful Ashleigh had asked her to move in with her.
“Okay,” Amethyst said. “Let’s go outside and throw the meat on the grill, shall we?”
The group headed out back, stopping in the kitchen on the way to help carry everything outside. Two long tables with chairs surrounding them were set up under the shade of a tree. Melanie helped Avery into a seat and put her cheese and crackers onto her plate. “Stay here, baby girl, okay?”
Avery nodded happily as she reached for another cracker.
Melanie walked over to Amethyst, who was arranging the food on another table. “Thanks for letting me bring Avery.”
Amethyst turned to her with a smile. “Oh, it’s no big deal. I’m glad you were able to come.” Then she leaned closer to Melanie and lowered her voice. “Is there something going on between you and Gage?”
“Why do you think that?” The words spilled out of Melanie’s mouth a little too quickly. She looked around to see if anyone had overheard. The only person nearby was Chloe, who was setting out the paper products.
Tilting her head, Amethyst smiled. “Anyone can see that you’re into each other.”
People could read her feelings about Gage? Yikes. Wait. Hang on. People could also read Gage’s feelings about her? And those feelings were what, exactly? She knew he was interested in her, but that didn’t equal him being interested in only her.
“We’re just friends,” Melanie told Amethyst, desperate to believe that’s all she felt for Gage. But even as the words left her mouth she knew it was a lie. A lie she had to make come true. That was the only way to keep the walls around her heart strong and impenetrable. And making sure those walls could not be breached was her most important mission.
Chapter 22
While they ate the burgers and grilled chicken, Gage found his gaze wandering in Melanie’s direction over and over. Even so, she never looked his way. Was she ignoring him on purpose? Yes, she was taking care of Avery, but she interacted with everyone at the table. Everyone except him. What was up with that?
He hadn’t accomplished everything in his life by accident. He had gotten where he was—owning a successful bakery, changing from the nerdy kid to a decent looking guy, gaining confidence in himself—because he’d gone after what he wanted. And he wanted Melanie. So, when she went in the house to refill Avery’s cup with milk, he stood, ready to follow her inside.
“Excuse me,” he said to the group, and he noticed some of them smirking. Well, it was kind of obvious where he was going and why.
“Good luck, Gage,” he heard someone whisper.
Not sure who it was, he smiled despite himself and hurried to the door that led to Amethyst’s kitchen. He wanted to catch Melanie before she headed back out.
When he stepped into the kitchen, Melanie was putting the milk back into the fridge.
“I want to talk to you,” he said.
Melanie spun around, her eyes wide and her heart pounding. She hadn’t heard Gage approaching. But now that he was standing right in front of her, no one else there to create a buffer between them, a buffer for her heart, she didn’t know what to do.
“You scared me,” she finally said, her hand pressed to her chest.
“Sorry.”
&nb
sp; Her gaze slid to his mouth. What would it feel like to kiss him again? Startled by the idea, she said, “You shouldn’t sneak up on people.” Now she was just trying to buy time as she got her thoughts under control.
He chuckled. “I don’t consider that sneaking up.”
“Oh yeah? What would you consider sneaking up?”
“Hmm. Well, if I had been tiptoeing up behind you, being all stealthy-like, then I would say I was sneaking up on you.”
An image of him on tiptoe leapt into her mind and she laughed. “Okay. I guess you weren’t sneaking up on me.”
“Good. Now that we’ve straightened that out…” He smiled.
The way his gray eyes seemed to sparkle was so alluring, Melanie had to remind herself that she didn’t want anything beyond friendship.
“So,” she said, “what did you want to talk to me about?”
His smile grew and his eyes seemed to dance as he took a step in her direction, leaving just two feet between them. He gazed at her steadily, making her heart pound. He was so close that the scent of his cologne wrapped around her, riveting her attention to him.
“Well,” he said, his voice soft and low. “Maybe it’s not so much conversation I want.” His lips curved into a sexy smile. “What I want is to kiss you.”
Melanie’s lips parted in surprise. Her eyes were locked on his, but they dipped to his lips and she remembered how it had felt when his mouth had claimed hers one week earlier. The memory sent a pulse of heat through her body.
“Well?” His eyebrows rose in question.
She lifted her eyes to his. Did she want to kiss him? Yes, of course. But she was afraid. Afraid that doing so would cause a crack in the walls around her heart. A crack that could lead to a total collapse.
Then a new idea filled her mind. What if she kissed him as a sort of inoculation? If she kissed him and she didn’t feel anything, or even if she just felt a little something, that could give her immunity against wanting more. Kind of like shoring up the walls around her heart to prevent them from buckling.
Warming up to the idea, ridiculous as she knew it was, she nodded. “Okay. But just one.”
Chance Encounter: Gage and Melanie (An Emerald Falls Romance, Book Three) (Companion to the Over You series) Page 11