Zeke finally extracted himself from a group of men and walked to Paisley. “Ready to go?”
She nodded. She’d been ready a half hour ago.
“I’m sorry it took so long.”
“That’s okay.” She tilted her head and looked up at him. He met her gaze, and one corner of his mouth tilted in a smile.
“I appreciate you coming with me.” He helped her into her coat, and together they waited for the valet to bring around his car.
“I had fun. They’re nice people.”
“Yeah, even the billionaires are down-to-earth. I can’t believe the investors Hunter put together. This better be some fantastic horse he purchased with all that money.”
“I’m sure it is. Hunter seems like a straightforward guy.”
“He is.”
They made small talk until Zeke pulled into the garage. He helped her out of the car, and together they walked to the door of the lower-level apartment. She debated asking him inside, but decided against it. She didn’t need to add more complications to an already confusingly complicated non-relationship.
“Thank you. I had a great time.”
“So did I.” Zeke sounded surprised. “I don’t usually enjoy these things.” He cupped her face between his rough palms and bent down. His lips grazed hers with the briefest of touches. He stared into her eyes as if he could read the book of her life in their reflection.
“I’d love to do this again, but I don’t have a day off for two weeks.”
“I could go to a few of your games,” she suggested hopefully, sounding a tad too needy.
“I can make that happen, though it’s a late night for the kids.”
Paisley nodded. “I suppose I should see how Tiff made out.”
He slid his hands behind her back and tugged her closer. She could’ve resisted, could’ve pulled away, but she wasn’t interested in stopping his kisses. She pushed her fingers into his hair and took the initiative. He might be willing to dawdle and take his time. She wasn’t. Every moment they had was stolen with the kids in the house, and she’d damn well show him that slow and patient didn’t win this race. She kissed him hard on the mouth and slipped her tongue inside until they tangled together, their breathing harsh and their bodies geared up for more.
The door slammed open, par for the course for them, and Tiff the babysitter gasped.
Paisley sprang back, and Zeke rubbed the back of his head, staring everywhere but at Tiff.
“Oh, I’m sorry—I—thought I heard something.”
Paisley glanced down, noticing Tiff wielding a rolling pin. “We didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I’m okay. I’ll be getting my things. Do you want me to call my parents, or will you give me a ride?”
“I’ll take you home.” She glanced apologetically at Zeke, who just shrugged and sighed. They were both getting used to being interrupted; such was the life of a single-aunt-turned-single-mom.
* * * *
Zeke was playing the game of his career Tuesday night. Paisley and the kids were in the stands, and their support did more for his game than all the coaching he’d gotten over the past year.
As he walked up to bat, he gave Paisley a wave. It’d been a totally spontaneous gesture, and he couldn’t recall acknowledging a woman at a game before. She gave him a thumbs-up and her Sally Sunshine smile. He grinned like an idiot. His gesture probably made good media coverage if they caught the exchange on TV.
Two on, two out. Zeke was in the zone. He stepped up to the plate feeling a confidence that had eluded him. He saw the pitch as if it were in slow motion, a fastball right down the middle. He swung and hit it out of the park. Zeke jogged the bases. His three-run homer was the only scoring in the game.
Playing the part of a boyfriend wasn’t so bad after all, not if it affected his game like this. He’d gone three for three, with a single, a double, and a home run.
He’d hoped to meet Paisley after the game, but she had to tuck the kids in bed since it was a school night. Zeke decided to go out and celebrate with some of his teammates instead, or he’d be tucking Paisley in himself tonight.
He still didn’t know how to handle this “relationship.” They danced around each other, avoiding what they both wanted. Several times he’d asked himself why he was so reluctant to have sex with her. Each time the answer lay buried deep in all his insecurities. Sleeping with women he didn’t give two shits about was one thing, but sleeping with a nice girl who might expect more than he could give was a different thing entirely. Especially one who, by all appearances, was his girlfriend.
To play it safe, he hung out with the guys even though he’d rather be naked between the sheets with a certain sweet little blonde. He couldn’t take much more of this almost-sex with Paisley. They both wanted it, and celibacy wasn’t working for him. Or for her.
“Where’s your girlfriend?” he asked Fernando, surprised to find him out with the guys. He’d been joined at the hip with that woman for the past week.
“I needed a break from her.”
Zeke chuckled. “That bad?”
Fernando leaned forward and rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache. “I can’t stand her. She’s a superficial bitch. Everything is all about her. She can’t carry on a conversation more meaningful than her last shopping trip or the latest styles at Nordstrom.”
“You’re a fashion hound. Clothes are right up your alley. You should enjoy that.”
“You’d think.” Fernando sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest and focused his attention on the tableful of teammates.
Knowing a dismissal when it bonked him on the head, Zeke started a side conversation with Manny about the night’s pitching. During a lull, Rex jumped in before someone else started talking and turned his attention to Zeke. “So who’s the hot chick?”
Zeke blinked a few times. “Huh?”
Sully jumped in. “Pictures of you two are all over Twitter. I did a double take at first. I thought you’d stolen Carrie Underwood from that hockey player. God knows, you make a ton more money than him for doing next to nothing.”
Zeke bristled but forced a tolerant smile on his face. Under the table, his fingers were curled into fists. He’d always had a reputation for being a good teammate and positive influence in the locker room. He wasn’t going to let this dickhead get to him.
“Yeah, who is she? She’s a looker,” Manny said.
“Where did you see this picture?” Zeke didn’t pay much attention to social media. He let his people do that.
“You posted it, dickwad.” Rex laughed. “It’s an adorable picture of the two of you on your official Twitter account. Of course, it was retweeted a million times.”
“You trending in Seattle,” a Japanese rookie named Hon Lee added in his broken English. He held up his phone to show Zeke.
What he saw was his official Twitter with a pic of Paisley and him at last night’s gala. The caption read: Night out with my fave female. He wondered if Paisley had seen it. What would she think?
“Your fave female, huh? She have any sisters?” Rex asked.
“Can she sing?” Hon added.
“No and no,” Zeke answered, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice. Obviously the publicity wheels were turning, and he smelled a rat named Al, along with his publicist, Rebecca, a scary woman if there ever was one.
“Too bad.” Rex feigned wiping tears from his cheeks. Zeke rolled his eyes. A half dozen guys around the table stared at their phones as they retrieved @WolfeMLB10’s tweets.
“I don’t post that stuff. My publicist does.”
“Do you even know this woman?” Dan asked.
Fernando sat up straight, suddenly engaged, and spoke before Zeke could. “Know her? He lives with her and her three kids.”
“Three kids?” Sully snorted. “You poor sucker.”
“They’re not mine.”
“All the more problem. You have to deal with an ex.”
“Yeah, whatever
.” He didn’t have to deal with anyone. He started to tell the guys she was an employee, nothing more, but in keeping with the spirit of the project, he kept his mouth shut. Let them think what they would. They’d spread the rumors around that he had a live-in girlfriend. That’d get the team off his back.
Besides, she was more than an employee. She was a friend.
* * * *
After the game, Paisley tucked the girls into bed and read them a story.
They were doing so well here, and she hoped she could find a way to stay long-term. She couldn’t shake a sense of foreboding that she hadn’t heard the last of the kids’ father yet, but she checked the jail roster online religiously. As of this morning, he was still incarcerated for drug possession.
“Auntie Paze?” Sophie asked.
She looked down at two pairs of eyes staring at her from their twin beds.
“Yes, Soph?”
“Are you going to marry Mr. Zeke? ’Cause if you do, we could be his kids, too, and live here forever, and we could be a family. All of us. We like him, and we want to stay here. We could get a dog or a kitty. My new friend Savannah has two kitties, one is black and one is—”
Paisley tried to follow Sophie’s ramblings and held up a hand to stop her before she got on a bigger roll. She cast a glance at Sadie. She was staring at her with a combination of hope and perpetual disappointment. “Zeke and I are just friends. We aren’t going to get married.”
“Why not?” said Sadie in her quiet little voice.
“Because you should be in love when you marry someone, and we’re not in love.” At least, Zeke wasn’t. Paisley wasn’t sure what she was.
“Were Mommy and Daddy in love?” Sophie wondered.
“I’m sure they were,” Paisley fibbed. She was certain they weren’t. They’d been young and stupid. Calico got pregnant, and the rest was predictable.
“Then why was Daddy so mean to her?” Sadie asked.
“Sometimes people have tempers they can’t control, but that’s no excuse.” And the bastard was a mean drunk and professional asshole.
Sadie nodded seriously and pulled the covers up high over her face. Sophie stared at Paisley for a long moment but surprisingly said nothing.
“Good night, girls.”
“Good night,” they echoed back.
Paisley went to Brayden’s room next. He was already asleep with the autographed bat and ball from Zeke cradled in his arms. Paisley smiled and placed a kiss on Bray’s forehead. She’d protect these kids with her life and her freedom if need be. She may have already sacrificed her freedom by removing them from Idaho while their father was in jail. Living where they had, child protective services had been more than happy to let her take care of them, rather than attempt to find foster homes in the area. The system continued to fail them, but she’d be damned if she’d add herself to that list.
Sinking onto the couch in blissful exhaustion, Paisley stared at the tweet of Zeke and her from the party last night. It’d gone viral locally and was trending in Seattle. Zeke had posted it on his Twitter feed initially with the caption “Night out with my fave female.” She couldn’t get past those three words—my fave female. Hope soared within her even as she tried to tamp it down. Zeke didn’t seem like a social media guy. She rarely saw him on a computer, and he was always misplacing his phone because he didn’t pay much attention to it.
Someone else had to have posted this for him. So it meant nothing.
Her phone beeped, and she checked her text messages. It was Marnie, her one true friend from back home. Is that you with Zeke Wolfe?
She tapped on her tiny keyboard. Yup.
OMG, I’m jealous. He’s so hot.
We’re just friends. That was all publicity.
Too bad.
Yeah, but he IS hot. Paisley grinned and waited for the text. It was a long time coming, which had Paisley all kinds of nervous.
I wanted to warn you. The rumor is Virgil will be out of jail in a week or so.
A frigid winter storm swept through the room and froze Paisley to her very core.
Chapter 13—Left on Base
Zeke was to fly out tomorrow for another road trip, but he didn’t want to go. Something had changed. His Sally Sunshine had turned into Sally Doom and Gloom, even though she attempted to hide her nervousness.
Paisley startled at every little noise, locking the doors and shutting the curtains once darkness fell. Her eyes constantly darted around the room, as if she expected a monster to leap out of the shadows any minute. Zeke was torn between his usual MO of minding his own business and his newly found interest in her life.
She kept the kids close by when they weren’t at school and spent her mornings shopping for furniture or fabrics or whatever the hell a person did to plan a major remodel. He’d had a game almost every night that week. All this activity left little opportunity to ask tough questions which might require tough explanations. Part of him liked it that way, part of him didn’t.
A month ago, he could’ve easily walked away from this kind of drama and never given it another thought. He didn’t get close to people, especially women, nor did he get wrapped up in their personal lives. Hell, he considered Fernando his best friend, but when it came down to it, he knew very little about him.
Since the arrival of Paisley, something had shifted inside him. He wanted to know about her past, her dreams, her future. Hell, he even wanted to know how the kids did at school.
And now he was curious about Fernando.
The seed had been planted. He remembered the times Fernando wouldn’t go clubbing with the guys or do more than flirt with the baseball groupies. Had his best buddy been living a lie for years?
Shame settled deep in his gut as he realized Nando might not trust him enough to confide in him. He was a shitty friend, and he vowed to be better. Later.
Right now, he had a game to win.
The sun was out in Seattle on this gorgeous Sunday afternoon, the end of a great home stand for the Skookums. In a little less than four weeks the new coaching staff had turned the team around; management made a few crucial trades and brought in a talented young pitcher. The Skookums were winning more than losing and approaching the five hundred mark in win percentage. Meanwhile, Zeke’s batting average over the past three weeks had hovered over three hundred.
The Skookums led five to four in the top of the ninth with two outs. Zeke had played another stellar game with two hits and a couple of outstanding plays at first base. Paisley and the kids sat in the stands a few rows directly up from first base. He glanced their way and raised his glove in acknowledgment while a new pitcher warmed up on the mound.
Turning back, he waited for the windup. The batter hit a line drive straight to Zeke. He snagged the ball in his glove, and a huge grin stretched the corners of his mouth.
Game over.
Zeke shook hands with his teammates and headed for the locker room. He was taking Paisley and crew out for pizza. He wasn’t sure which made him happiest, another win or the dinner out. He might be taking this family man thing a little too far.
Zeke showered and dressed as quickly as he could, fielding the press’s questions in his usual friendly manner even though deep down he wanted to tell them to shove it. He should run for office when he retired from baseball, but he couldn’t tolerate the bullshit.
He hustled out of the locker room as quickly as possible after extracting himself from the last of the reporters. His gaze swept the long, wide hallway and fell upon Paisley and the kids standing several feet from the locker room door. Still grinning, he strode toward them.
“Ready to go?”
Paisley smiled up at him. A warm feeling spread through him, like hot fudge spreading over ice cream. He’d made her smile, and she hadn’t been smiling so much lately, not a real smile, but this smile lit up her eyes and relaxed the tension he’d seen reflected in the worry lines of her face the past few days.
Tonight he’d find out what put those lines there, b
ecause the more he pretended not to care, the more he actually cared. Once the kids were in bed, he’d insist she tell him, and he had his persuasive ways.
Zeke patted Brayden on the head, squeezed Sophie’s shoulder, and smiled down at Sadie. She didn’t shrink back against Paisley but met his gaze and managed a small smile. Progress, he decided.
“Zeke, wait!”
Zeke turned, masking his annoyance. Al hurried toward him with a tall man in khakis and a Skookums polo in tow. Zeke recognized him immediately. Scott Decker, the new majority owner of the Skookums and all-around asshole rich guy. His shrewd gaze assessed Zeke and company as if they were prize livestock he’d just purchased.
Al huffed to a stop in front of them, while Decker, cool and calm, took his time.
“Scott Decker, meet Zeke Wolfe.”
Decker didn’t smile or offer his hand. He scrutinized Zeke like a forensic scientist evaluating DNA. Finally, he turned his attention to Paisley. “So you must be the little lady who’s turned our all-star first baseman around.”
“My name is Paisley. Mr. Decker, I’ve heard so many good things about you and your charity endeavors. It’s an honor to meet you.” Paisley offered him one of her winning smiles and managed to charm the uncharmable. It was remarkable, really, and somewhat disgusting, as Decker basked in the glow of her sunny disposition.
“Scott, please. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” He took her hand and actually fucking kissed her knuckles. Zeke’s stomach turned, and he saw red.
Paisley giggled.
“And these lovely children are yours?”
“Yes, they are.”
He bent down and dug in his pockets, pulling out three chocolate Seattle mints. Two of the three kids gratefully took them, murmuring thanks, while Sadie peered at him from behind Paisley. He offered her a smile of encouragement.
“She’s a little shy.”
“I understand.” He didn’t push Sadie but offered a reassuring smile. Sadie was the only one of them with any brains. She must have known a snake when it slithered up to her. She didn’t fall prey to him like the others had.
Bottom of the Ninth: Seattle Skookums Baseball (Game On in Seattle Book 6) Page 14