by Mia Dymond
She took a deep breath, releasing the morning’s frustrations on an exhale, thankful she and Maverick could concentrate on positive things. As soon as he stood in the doorway to her office, all big and bad and way too sexy, she was suddenly frustrated all over again – hot, bothered, and wonderfully sexually heated.
“Hey,” he said as he sat in the chair in front of her desk.
“Hey.
“How’s your morning?”
She fought the urge to spill her guts. She knew from experience that if Maverick or any of his friends for that matter, knew what Dimitri had told her, the problem would disappear into thin air. Her tongue practically itched to tell him. But she resisted. No sense worrying anyone else. She hadn’t even reviewed the contract.
“Good. How about yours?”
“Better now.”
Suddenly she forgot all about last night’s absurd proposal. “Hard day at the office?”
“Nah. Washed a few trucks, put out a fire – all in a day’s work.”
Her eyes widened with a tiny bit of panic. “There was a fire today?”
“Grass fire. Nothing too serious.” He grinned. “You can read all about it in the newspaper tomorrow.”
“Oh, good. Are you ready to discuss property?”
He leaned back in the chair and buckled his hands behind his head. “Sure.”
“So, let’s talk specifics. You have four bedrooms now. How many do you want in your new house?”
“What do you think?”
“I think four is a good number, if you’re planning to have a family someday. Otherwise, that’s a lot of space for one person.”
“Four bedrooms.”
“Okay, what about bathrooms?”
“At least two.”
“Two-story?”
“I’m not particular about that.”
“I’ll be honest, Maverick. It’s going to be difficult to top what you have. I’m not even sure I can come close.”
He shrugged. “I can always remodel.”
“True. You definitely have skill.”
“You like my skills?”
She nodded.
“Which ones?”
“I thought we were talking about houses.”
“I was. What were you talking about?”
She rolled her eyes at his gentle teasing. “You’re very good at construction.”
“Thanks. You ready for the game tonight?”
“Of course.” She smiled. “The girls are determined to win.”
He nodded. “Mourning Dove Harbour is our biggest rival. And if we win, we go to Sue’s for ice cream afterwards.”
“What kind of ice cream?”
“Whatever kind you’d like.”
“Good thing you gave me a bigger jersey.”
“Why?”
“Chocolate chip ice cream is my biggest vise.”
He chuckled and stood. “We better head on over to the ball field. The girls are usually early on game night.”
By the time she and Maverick arrived at the field, Lexi’s excitement had her heart pounding double time. The girls arrived one by one, their excitement apparent as well. Maverick put them in the outfield, throwing balls to each other.
“Since we’re the home team, we take the field first,” he told her.
Lexi pulled her hair into a ponytail and Maverick put a Seaside Seagulls cap on her head.
“Guess that makes it official, huh?”
“Not just anybody gets to wear one of these.” Maverick slapped his own cap on his head and gave her a wink. “Later, babe.”
She have him an eyeroll. “Flirt.”
A slight tug on her jersey brought her attention back to the sideline and she looked down into Katie’s big blue eyes.
“I need my facemask.”
“Of course.” Lexi reached into one of the equipment bags and pulled out a helmet and mask. “Here ya go. Turn around and I’ll fasten it for you.” She gave her a pat on the shoulder just as the rest of the team took their positions on the field. “Go get ‘em, Tiger.”
“Thanks, Lexi.” Katie took her place behind home plate.
Travis jogged behind home plate and took his place as first base coach. Maverick headed for the third baseline.
The umpire stepped across the plate. “Game time, 6:00 p.m.”
The batter stepped up to the plate and took a few practice swings.
“Play ball!”
As soon as the umpire announced the start of the game, the batter got in her stance and Emma threw the ball. The first pitch flew straight over home plate. The batter swung.
“Strike one!” The umpire’s deep voice echoed throughout the field.
From the dugout, Lexi watched with so much nervous energy she was tempted to do the happy dance. How did parents stand it? And when the umpire called Strike two, she was elated for Emma and the team, but felt sorry for the batter. She didn’t give up, though, and with the next swing the bat made contact with the ball. It sailed right over Emma’s head and straight into Gracie’s mitt.
“Strike three! You’re out!”
The Mourning Dove Harbour side booed the umpire. The Seaside Point side cheered.
Lexi continued to watch the action, still nervous about the outcome. The second batter hit the first ball way out into left field and made it to second base. The next girl at the plate was big enough to be in high school. Had they checked her birth certificate? She towered over the rest of her team and just as Lexi suspected, she slammed the first ball high into the air. The runner on second base went to third, then home plate. The batter passed second and was headed to third base, but Gracie caught the ball thrown to her and tagged the runner.
“You’re out!”
Lexi broke into the happy dance, her head spinning from the excitement. This was a whole lot different than practice. By the seventh inning, her throat was raw from yelling.
Verity handed her a bottle. “Geez, Lexi. You won’t be able to talk if you keep this up. Drink some water.”
“Thanks.” She took a long swallow and welcomed the soothing liquid. “I can’t help it. This is so intense!”
“Just take it easy.” Verity smiled. “If you lose your voice, you’ll have to learn sign language or carry a dry-erase board to sell houses.”
Lexi worked hard to contain her excitement throughout the rest of the game. Finally, at the bottom of the ninth inning, the score was tied at five points each. Seaside had two outs and a runner on third when Katie came to the plate.
The pitcher threw the ball and Katie swung.
“Strike one!”
“Come on, Katie, you can do it.” Lexi sent her all the courage she could.
Another swing.
“Strike two!”
Lexi crossed her fingers. The pitcher let it fly. Katie swung and sent the ball into the field. Both girls took off running. The runner on third made it home just before Katie was tagged out. Seaside Point won six to five.
Maverick was high-fiving his team members when he glanced over and saw Lexi jumping up and down, screaming like a mad woman. He shook his head. Maybe he should have made her a cheerleader instead of a bat girl. Squeals and giggles filled the air as the girls surrounded her, impatient for a hug. He could totally relate.
All the girls and parents pitched in to pack up the equipment and ice chests. Lexi tried to hoist the still half-full ice chest into the back of Maverick’s truck. The ice chest was winning the battle.
“Here, let me help you.”
Maverick pushed the ice chest into the bed with one hand. “Have you ever considered lifting weights?”
“Have you ever considered kissing my …?” she mumbled.
He grinned. “Your what?”
“Never mind,” she said as her cheeks reddened.
And, although he didn’t tell her, he had thought about kissing her ass. And several other parts of her body. He just hadn’t expected her to ask for it.
“Be careful what you wish for,” he tea
sed as he hooked an arm around her waist, easily lifting her off her feet, carried her to the driver’s side of his truck, and plopped her on the seat.
“Scoot.” He crowded in beside her and grabbed the middle seatbelt, buckling her in before she could move further.
He pulled out of the parking lot and joined the caravan heading to Sue’s Diner.
“You liked the game.”
“My nerves won’t survive if we have games like that each week.”
He chuckled. “You were a little …. enthusiastic.”
She snorted. “A little?”
“Okay, a lot. Were you a cheerleader?”
“Two years in middle school, four in high school, and two in college. Why?”
He rested a hand on her thigh. “No reason. I just wondered.”
“What about you?”
“I wasn’t a cheerleader.”
“No.” She giggled. “Did you play baseball or football?”
“Both.”
“I should have known. Your competitive spirit gives you away.”
“I do like a challenge, Sexy Lexi.”
When they arrived at Sue’s, Maverick was pleased to see the dining room filled with Seagulls, their parents, grandparents, and siblings. Casey waved from a back corner. He gave Lexi’s hand a squeeze and led her to the booth.
“Wow. There’s lots of love in this room.” Lexi slid in next to Annessa. “Have you guys ordered yet?”
Maverick nudged her over with his hip as he sat down beside her – not because he needed more room, but because he wanted an excuse to touch her.
“No,” Annessa answered. “We waited on you.”
Casey smirked. “Took you long enough to get here.”
“I took the same road you did.” Maverick grinned. “There was just a lot of traffic.”
He glanced up at the waitress who came to their table, looking a little worse for wear. “Hi, I’m Samantha. What can I get you?”
He wondered if anyone else noticed that her hand shook while her pen hovered over her notepad.
Obviously, Verity noticed. “Are you alright?”
“Yes, thank you, Dr. Thomas. This is my second day and this is the first time it’s been this busy at one time.”
“You’ll do just fine. We’re all here to celebrate with ice cream.”
“I heard we won the game. Congratulations! You guys are the coaches?”
Maverick couldn’t help being proud of his team. “Yes, we all have a hand in it.”
“So, everyone wants ice cream?”
Maverick looked at Lexi. “Cup or cone?”
“Cup.”
“She’ll have two scoops of chocolate chip in a cup. I’ll have a strawberry shortcake sundae.”
While the others ordered, he caught Lexi’s glare out of the corner of his eye. “Did I say something wrong?”
“How did you know if I wanted one scoop or two?”
“I didn’t. How many did you want?”
“Two,” she said smugly.
“Lucky guess on my part. Wanna bet that –“
“No. No bets.”
Travis snickered from the other side of the table.
“Out.” Lexi nudged him with her shoulder.
“What?”
“I need out. I’m going to the ladies room.”
Maverick got up and helped Lexi out.
“Me too.” Verity nudged Travis with an elbow.
“Us too,” the twins said in unison.
Travis, Dane and Casey climbed out of the booth as all four women headed for the back of the diner.
“Anyone know why they go in packs?” Maverick always thought that was strange.
Dane shrugged. “To talk about us, of course. Just go with it.”
Maverick pinched the bridge of his nose. Dane was suddenly an expert on women? “So, we’re just going to stand here until they get back?”
Travis smirked. “You’re such a rookie. As soon as we sit down, they’ll come back and then we’ll just have to stand up again.”
Maverick crossed his arms over his chest and thought about that for a minute. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
Casey laughed. “It’s true, man.”
Samantha brought a big tray to the table and passed out the ice cream.
“Okay, Einstein. Will they come back before the ice cream melts?”
“Yes, we will.”
He turned to find Lexi behind him and grinned as he gestured to the booth. “After you.”
After several bites of ice cream, he turned to Lexi. “Tell me. Why do women go to the bathroom together? Am I missing something?”
Annessa answered before Lexi could. “Wolves hunt in packs. Survival of the fittest and all that. Besides, it’s a girl thing so you’ll never know. We honor the Bro code, so you guys need to respect the Sisterhood.”
He glanced around the table at the other men, all of whom shoveled ice cream into their mouths. Obviously, none of them wanted to contribute.
Lexi put down her spoon and scooted her cup toward him. “Here, finish this while you analyze.”
“Thanks.”
By the time he finished his dessert, he still hadn’t made any sense of their reasoning but didn’t dare ask for clarification. No, he’d rather follow Dane’s advice and just go with it.
When the crowd started to thin, a wave of disappointment fluttered through him. He wasn’t ready to let go of Lexi for the evening.
He laid a hand on her forearm. “Let’s go to the cliffs.”
“And do what?”
“I don’t know, talk, watch the stars.”
“Uh-huh. Something tells me you aren’t much of a stargazer.”
“Are you scared to find out?”
She snorted. “No.”
“Then, let’s go.”
“Go on, Lexi.” Annessa nudged her with one shoulder and winked. “With lights and sirens, Casey can be there in minutes.”
Lexi giggled at her friend’s sarcasm as she grinned at Maverick. “That means you better behave.”
“Always,” he mumbled.
The drive out of town was relatively silent, giving Lexi a chance to explore her reasoning for agreeing to Maverick’s request. All sarcasm aside, she truly enjoyed his company. His sense of humor kept her on her toes and the constant teasing sparked a firestorm of sexual tension between them. Not to mention the man had sex appeal in spades. Yet, over the last few days, she’d learned something else about him.
Maverick Ryder had a compassionate, sensitive side that only a privileged, select few were allowed to see. A side to which she found herself becoming very much attached.
“How long have you coached the Seagulls?”
“Several years.” He parked the truck in front of a roped off area. “I’ve coached most of them since t-ball.”
He left the truck, walked around the front and then opened her door. He extended a hand and she slipped hers inside just before she stepped down.
“You’re really good with them.”
“Most of the time.” He placed one foot on top of the rope so she could step over. “But, it’s nice to have a woman’s perspective now.”
She weighed his comment through her brain, curious about his meaning. Careful not to press him too much, she waited until they climbed several rocks to a smooth ledge that overlooked the ground below.
When they finally sat with their legs dangling over the side, he reached between them and braided their fingers.
“Why haven’t you had one before?” she finally asked.
“One what?”
“Woman’s perspective.”
“I’ve just never had the opportunity.”
“Okay, but you love all things female, Maverick. Surely you wouldn’t have had difficulty in finding a volunteer.”
He released a low chuckle. “Everything female, huh?” He gave her hand a squeeze. “That’s a sore spot with you, isn’t it?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“You’re bothered by the number of women you’ve seen me with.”
“Not necessarily. I just question your motives.”
“How so?”
“I’ve known you for a little over a year now and I’ve never seen you without female companionship. The thing is, I always see a different woman.”
He shrugged. “Like you said, companionship.”
“Don’t you ever want to settle down with one? You’re the last Musketeer, you know.”
“Dropping like flies.” He snickered. “I was waiting for the right woman to come along.”
“Was?”
He nodded. “Was. Let me ask you something. Have you ever heard me call anyone else by a nickname?”
“No.”
“And I told you that I’ve never invited a woman to ball.”
“You did.”
“So, it seems to me I’ve found the right woman. One who resembles every letter of her nickname and makes a very nice addition to our team.”
“Maybe I’m not that easy.”
“You, Sexy Lexi, are the furthest thing from easy.” He unwound their fingers, moved his hands to her hips and turned her to face him. “And I like you that way. In fact, I like you a lot.”
“A lot?”
“I love you, Lexi.”
She stared into his deep brown eyes. Could he possibly love her? Granted, they hadn’t been officially together long, but it seemed they had been together a lot. Sometimes by default, sometimes not. And, no matter when or where they were, they had a lot of fun. She’d actually grown pretty close to Maverick. But love?
Then again, what was love?
Love was spending time with someone who made you feel special – made you feel your actions brought happiness to both of you. Love was understanding the past failures and learning from them – making the future brighter for each other. Love was teasing someone to the point of annoyance and then laughing about it.
Love was what she felt for Maverick.
“I love you too,” she whispered.
Suddenly he closed the small, heated space between them, raised one hand from her hip, and tiled her chin with one finger. In the reflection of moonlight, she gazed into the depths of his eyes and waited. Waited for his tender assault. Waited for the sparks between them to catch fire.