by Sierra Dean
Friends.
That was totally what Alex had in mind.
Chapter Three
Alice drove ahead, slower than usual so Alex wouldn’t have any trouble following her with his spare tire on. The Porsche could run laps around her Acura on a normal day, but she didn’t think he’d be pushing it into the triple digits until he’d gotten it back in good working order.
She became suddenly self-conscious when she turned onto her block. What was she thinking inviting a multimillionaire sports star over to her little ranch bungalow? It was a nice house by Lakeland standards, and the money she got from Olivia’s paternity settlement and monthly child support helped keep them more than comfortable, but what was Alex going to think? He was used to fancy hotels and living the high life.
Alice’s life was far-flung from the five-star world Alex lived in. She’d seen all the flash and sparkle of an MLB star’s life when she’d met Matt Hernandez ten years prior. Fancy dinners and brand-new cars went hand in hand with their seven-figure incomes, and Alice knew all too well how that money tended to give them a misguided sense of the way other people saw them. Matt seemed like a great guy when she’d met him, but after he’d wined, dined and bedded her, everything changed. And when she’d told him about Olivia—or the surprise pregnancy Olivia had been the result of—she was surprised there wasn’t still a Matt-shaped hole in the wall of her old apartment.
She’d only been nineteen at the time, and to say it had embittered her to the idea of dating a baseball player again was a gross understatement.
Not for the first time during the short drive, Alice wondered at her sanity for inviting Alex to dinner. And wondered at his sanity for accepting an invitation for pizza when there would be much better food available at his hotel.
She pulled into the driveway of her house, cursing aloud to see every goddamn light on. Kevin tended to forget the bills had to be paid by someone, and that someone was her. Turning off the engine, she sat in the car for a long moment, letting her initial enraged response die down and counting to ten in her mind. Kevin was the one person on earth who could push all of her buttons without really trying. The bond between siblings only went so far to keep her from throttling him.
Or perhaps it was the reason she wanted to throttle him.
Most days she wasn’t sure.
When she got out of the car, she heard Alex’s car door slam, and he jogged across the street to meet her. The streetlights were on, casting warm yellow circles down the block, and in spite of the late hour a few kids were still out playing on the sidewalk, enjoying the brief reprieve before the heat and bugs became vicious.
“This is me.” She offered a shrug, as if to apologize for the modesty of the house. “It’s not much, but it’s home.”
“Not much?” Alex looked from her to the tan bungalow. “You should see the house I grew up in. Me and five sisters, all sharing two bedrooms and one bathroom. I’m amazed my mom didn’t try to sell us off.”
Not sure what to say, she let the first thing that came to mind pop out of her mouth. “Maybe she did and you have a half dozen more siblings running a circus somewhere.”
He stared at her for a second, making her regret the stupidity of the joke, but when he laughed—loudly and with more gusto than she thought she’d earned—the tension melted away.
“Trust me, if she’d had the option to ship us off with the gypsies, there’s no way I’d still be here. One boy with all that estrogen floating around? How do you think I was as a kid?”
“The words holy terror come to mind.”
Alex nodded. “Nailed it.”
Once Alice realized they were still standing in her driveway discussing his family history, she flushed with embarrassment. “Let’s get off the street. Pizza is probably already here.”
He followed her up the front steps. “Someone was home to get it? You said we earlier.”
Alice wished she could have fiddled in her purse for house keys or something else that would let her pretend she hadn’t heard the question. She wasn’t sure why she was so hesitant for him to know about her daughter. In about twelve seconds the secret would be out anyway, and wouldn’t it be nicer for him to have a heads-up?
“Come on in.” She offered him the opened front door instead of an explanation.
In the front hallway, she hung back and watched him assess the living room and the closet. Purple Converse sneakers—much too small to be Alice’s—and a mint-green sweater with a seahorse pattern were lying in the entrance. The living room contained a veritable Barbie crime scene and a half dozen of Alice’s old The Babysitter’s Club paperbacks.
The hall itself was lined with candid shots of Alice and Olivia, as well as Olivia’s most recent school photo and her baby portrait.
The cat was most definitely out of the bag.
The one thing Alice was grateful for was that the only photo of Matt and Olivia together was in Olivia’s room. In spite of the problems Matt and Alice had dealt with and all the legal bullshit he’d put her through, he was still Olivia’s dad. Once he’d accepted Alice hadn’t been lying, he had put in a bare minimum amount of effort to get to know their daughter. Olivia saw him about twice a year, times which tended to be the most stressful for Alice.
Generally spring training would be one of those times. Matt had yet to call to make arrangements, and Olivia had already begun to ask about it.
When Alex looked back over his shoulder to her, Alice pushed all thoughts of Matt Hernandez out of her mind and tried to focus on the slightly befuddled man in front of her. She stopped herself just short of saying Surprise when Olivia skidded out of the kitchen and down the hall towards them. Spotting Alex, Olivia came to an abrupt halt, her mouth open as if she’d been about to say something, but the sight of him had literally stolen her words.
With Matt still fresh on the brain, Alice could see her ex’s features reflected back at her in Olivia’s face. The big brown eyes were his, the narrow nose that looked nothing like Alice’s. And of course her skin—a sun-kissed caramel that was a cross between Alice’s own paleness and Matt’s Hispanic brown. Liv’s hair was stuck somewhere in between as well. Dark and curly like Matt’s, but wispy like Alice’s. Right now it was staticky as all heck and sticking up in every direction.
“Hello,” Alex said, surprising Alice by his willingness to speak first.
Olivia, long past her shy-toddler phase, gave Alex a bold once-over and pushed her unruly hair out of her eyes. “Who are you?”
“Olivia.” Alice’s voice carried a warning menace, and Olivia seemed to remember only then her mother was in the room.
“Sorry,” she mumbled before she replied to Alex’s greeting with a quiet, “Hi.”
“I’m Alex Ross.” When he offered Olivia his hand to shake, Alice thought she might drop dead right there. She wasn’t in a habit of bringing men home—especially since she never dated—but she’d known a lot of adults to treat Olivia as if she was…well, a child. The condescending tone some people used on her daughter drove Alice up the wall. With one introduction, Alex had completely endeared himself to her.
Olivia stared at Alex’s extended hand, and her gaze darted to Alice. Giving her daughter a silent nod of approval, Alice waited to see what would happen next.
“Olivia Darling. But you can call me Liv if you want to. You play for the Felons, don’t you?”
“I… Uh…” Alex looked back to Alice for help, but since Alice was too busy holding in her laughter, he wouldn’t get any aid from her. “Yeah. You a big baseball fan?”
“My dad is a—”
“Huge fan,” Alice interjected. “Liv learned to fill out a scorecard before she could ride a bike.” She hoped the compliment would distract Olivia from mentioning Matt.
Alex knowing she was a mother was okay.
Knowing she’d slept with a guy Alex probably knew? That was a different story entirely.
Besides which, Matt didn’t want his paternity to become tabloid fodder. And A
lice didn’t want Olivia to become a source of jokes for late-night talk-show hosts. The fewer people who knew the connection, the better.
“Who’s your favorite team?” Alex asked.
“The Mets. My dad—”
“Livvy, is the pizza here?”
“Oh yeah. Uncle Kevin has it in the kitchen.” Liv pivoted away from them and ran back up the hall and into the kitchen yelling, “Mom brought a boy home.”
Alice gave Alex an apologetic look, and a moment later Kevin wandered down the hall with a curious expression on his face.
“I was wondering what had kept you. Didn’t realize you’d stopped on the way home to pick something up.” Kevin, who clearly thought he was being clever, gave Alex a careful glance. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
“Kevin, this is Alex Ross. His car got a flat on the highway. I helped him out with his tire and invited him to join us for dinner.”
“No Triple A?”
Ignoring him, Alice charged on. “Alex, meet my good-for-nothing brother, Kevin.”
The two men shook hands, though Kevin didn’t seem any less suspicious of the new arrival. “What were you doing out on the highway? You know, aside from hoping passing women might take pity on you.”
“Isn’t that the best reason to get a flat tire?” Alex asked without missing a beat. When Kevin didn’t reply, he added, “I’m driving in for training. I was on my way to the hotel when the breakdown happened. I’m actually really lucky your sister happened along.”
“You’re a baseball player?” Kevin’s surprise was evident in his tone, and Alice began to worry he might give away her secrets faster than her child could.
“Yeah. Catcher for San Francisco.”
“Nice.” Kevin gave Alice a meaningful look. Alice hoped her own loaded gaze was all he’d need to know he should keep his mouth shut. “Pizza’s getting cold.”
They all moved into the kitchen where Olivia was already parked at the small table, her plate loaded with cheese pizza. Or at least it resembled pizza under the thick coating of parmesan cheese powder she’d sprinkled over the top.
An open can of Coke was sitting next to Olivia’s plate, and a bottle of Budweiser was beside Kevin’s. Alice bit her lip, choosing not to mention the alcohol or the sugary, caffeinated pop. Liv was going to be a monster to put to sleep now, but there was no point in making a scene about it with Alex over. Kevin could thank his lucky stars later that company had saved him from getting a real earful.
Alex sat between Alice and Olivia, and around a mouthful of pizza, Liv asked, “Areooanyood?”
“Excuse me?” Alex looked at her as if she were speaking Swahili. Which was possible, considering only someone with exposure to children would be able to decipher what Liv had asked.
“Finish chewing then speak,” Alice reminded her daughter.
Olivia made a show of chewing her food, locking her gaze on Alice as she did. When she’d swallowed, she turned back to Alex and repeated, “Are you any good?”
“I guess I must be. They haven’t kicked me off the team yet.”
“Do you know Tucker Lloyd?”
Alice facepalmed, but Alex kept rolling right along with Olivia’s inquisition. “I do. We’re actually best friends.”
“No kidding?”
“No kidding.”
“He’s pretty good. I guess.”
Pretty good was a substantial understatement since the previous season Tucker Lloyd had pitched a perfect game. Everyone with a passing knowledge of baseball knew Lloyd’s name, which was probably the reason Olivia was grilling Alex about him.
“Well, he’s not a New York Met, but we like having him around,” Alex teased.
Olivia wrinkled her nose but honored him with a smile. “Want some of my cheese pizza?” She pushed the box towards him. Alice’s heart almost went into arrest as she watched the gesture. Not that Olivia was a selfish child, but it was still rare for her to share things she thought belonged to her. For her to grant Alex this favor was enormous, and there was no way the man could possibly appreciate it on the same level Alice did.
Kevin, too, appeared aware of the rarity of Olivia’s kindness, and both he and Alice sat in breathless quiet, watching to see what Alex would do. The new arrival didn’t bother relying on them for a hint. He helped himself to two slices of the cheese pizza and said, “Can you pass the parmesan?”
Chapter Four
It didn’t matter how much time he’d spent with personal trainers over the winter, or how much work he’d put into getting into shape, Alex was never going to like running.
He kept pace with Tucker as they jogged down one of the paths near the hotel, while Tucker’s fiancée Emmy put them both to shame running several feet ahead.
“You’re like a foot taller than she is,” Alex pointed out. “I’m pretty sure you could pass her.”
“If I passed her, I wouldn’t get to enjoy the view.” Tucker’s voice was deadpan, but Alex saw the quirk of a grin tug at his friend’s lips.
“I can hear you.” Emmy was now jogging backwards, giving them a fake look of disapproval.
“Woman, watch where you’re running,” Alex scolded. “You are an accident waiting to happen.” Though he knew Emmy wasn’t as clumsy as he tended to tease her about being, right then it was easy to remind her of the time she’d nearly run him and Tucker over with her bike on that same path.
Emmy stuck her tongue out at him and spun back around, sing-songing, “Be nice to me, Alex. I know where you were last night.”
Alex stumbled, regaining his footing before he tripped over himself. Tucker chuckled at his fumble but stood at the ready to steady Alex if necessary.
“Guess you know all about it too?” Alex asked when he got his feet working properly again. Emmy had slowed some, falling into line between Tucker and Alex, a cheeky, infectious grin on her face.
“I might have heard something about it,” Tucker admitted.
“Well, it’s not like it’s anything. She helped me with a flat, that’s all. I’d hardly call it a romantic evening. Me, her brother glaring at me, and her kid.”
“I’m amazed she introduced you to Olivia. I mean, I know Alice pretty well, and that’s sort of a big deal.” Emmy gave Tucker a friendly hip bump, and he sidestepped, giving her more room.
Watching the two of them together was interesting for Alex. A year earlier they’d been strangers, but somehow twelve months had transformed them from separate entities to a well-honed unit. They read each other without words, and Alex often wondered how Tucker had functioned before meeting Emmy. Everything changed once the two of them got together. Tucker was happier, warmer and downright better. Even his game had improved.
It didn’t hurt that Emmy was the team’s athletic trainer, and it was her job to help Tucker improve. She’d gone above and beyond, getting his head back on straight, his pitch where it should be, and the rest seemed to fall into place afterwards.
Alex wasn’t much of a romantic, but he liked seeing the good things love could do for people.
In Tucker’s case it had gotten him a perfect game. And a soon-to-be wife. Not too shabby.
“What do you mean, sort of a big deal?” Alex returned to Emmy’s last comment.
“She doesn’t introduce guys to Olivia. She likes to keep that part of her life private. I mean, honestly I can’t remember the last time she dated, let alone brought a guy home. Under normal circumstances I’d say it meant she really liked you. But considering she just met you, and you’re, you know, a ballplayer, that’s obviously not the case.”
How Emmy was able to chat freely without losing her breath was an impressive feat. Alex huffed along beside her, then asked, “What’s wrong with ballplayers? We’re good enough for you.” He gave her a grin to show he was only ribbing her. Emmy had a good sense of humor, but he never knew where a woman’s patience would wear thin. Five sisters had taught him to tread carefully and cover his ass.
“I got one of the good ones,” Emmy
replied.
“Ouch.” Alex held his hands over his heart, feigning injury.
Emmy responded by cuffing him in the arm. “Seriously though, she doesn’t date baseball players.”
“Who said anything about dating?” Alex caught his defensive tone and added, “Not that I care or anything. But why?”
“She’s an ump. I swear I told you that when I introduced you.”
“Maybe. Beer and brain cells are not exactly mutually beneficial.”
Emmy snorted. “Half the water in your body has been replaced with alcohol, Ross. You’d breathe beer if you could.”
“Give me some credit here, please. Whiskey. I’d breathe whiskey if I could.”
“Aaanyway. She won’t date players. Massive conflict of interest. Can you imagine an umpire dating players? Nope. No one would take her seriously. Not to mention she’d probably get fired.”
Alex figured Emmy might be editorializing, considering her own plight to be accepted as a woman in baseball—something that had been well publicized—so she was somewhat biased. But in Alex’s experience, most dating rules could be bent, if not broken entirely.
“You didn’t get fired,” he countered.
“No, but they did have to rewrite the fraternization rules, didn’t they.” Emmy gave him a patient smile. “There aren’t any umpire rules against it, I just know Alice won’t date colleagues.”
“Like I said. It wasn’t a date. She was just being nice.” In the back of his mind, though, he wondered what it meant that Alice had mentioned it to Emmy at all. It obviously implied the evening had been worthy of note. Didn’t it?
Alex shook his head. He had to stop thinking about things the way a middle-school girl with a crush might. His sisters had royally screwed him up, asking him for male opinions on things throughout high school. He’d begun looking for deeper meaning to all female actions because he’d seen into the twisted logic of his sisters’ minds, and it had made him question everything.
He had discovered at a very early age women rarely said outright what they were thinking, and there was often deeply nuanced subtext to everything they did. Too bad knowing this didn’t make it any easier to understand what the hell they were thinking at any given moment.