The Trade(5)

Now that I look closely, Jason’s eyes are slightly glazed over and he has a small sway to his body. Drunk is right.

Sighing, the girl steps up and says, “Is this because of Dottie?”

“Pishhhhh.” Jason waves his hand in front of his face. “No.”

Not sure who Dottie is, but I’m going to guess Jason’s current state of intoxication is maybe due to Dottie and a lack of her presence.

Concerned, the girl reaches up and brushes Jason’s hair off his forehead. “I think you should go home.”

He shakes his head. “No. I just need some water.” He turns to me and his face falls. “Shit, I’m being so rude.” Gesturing to me, he says, “Nat, this is Cory Fucking Potter. Cory, this is my sister, Natalie.”

His sister?

Holy shit.

Jason’s sister is fine as fuck.

Now that I look at the both of them, I see the resemblance in their eyes and the same faint dimples that indent their cheeks.

Natalie holds out her hand and says, “Do you go by Cory Fucking Potter, or can I just call you Cory?”

A sense of humor. Shit, she might very well be perfect.

“Cory Fucking Potter to strangers, just Cory to friends.”

“Where do I stand when it comes to being considered a friend?” she asks, releasing my hand and blinking up at me, eyes bright and exuding a happiness I haven’t seen in another human being in a long time. Well, apart from Milly earlier. No doubt she’ll be smiling for days.

“Friend,” I say, on an exhaled breath. “Any family member of Jason’s is a friend.”

“Does that mean you’re choosing to be friends with this guy?” Natalie asks, thumbing toward her brother.

“Unfortunately, Carson and Knox paid me to take care of him. The Rebels are tough, and they’re afraid he’s going to crack under pressure.”

“They’re worried about me?” Jason asks, hands to his heart. “That’s so fucking sweet. I thought they couldn’t stand me.”

Natalie nudges her brother toward the bar. “Water, now, before you embarrass yourself and start crying under a table.” Natalie raises a brow in my direction. “It’s happened before.”

“At a charity event for rescue animals,” Jason defends. “You’re a monster for not getting emotional over those rescue stories. Those dogs never felt grass under their paws before, Nat. Grass.”

She shoves Jason. “Water . . . now.”

“Fine.” He points at me. “Cory Fucking Potter. Love you, man. Love you hard.”

With that, he takes off and leaves me alone with his sister, who’s currently staring at me with that beautiful smile of hers shining bright.

“Jason told me about your donation. That was very kind of you.”

I shrug, hating when people thank me for things. I don’t do it for the recognition, but because I want to. “I really like his foundation and the idea of including everyone into the sport we love.”

“I remember the first time I saw Joseph out on the field.” She crosses her arms over her chest. The classic polo she’s wearing with the foundation’s logo embroidered on the side, does nothing for her frame, but everything to make the blue in her irises pop. “I’ve never seen that type of joy on another human’s face before. He was so excited, he was hopping up and down at third base. And then when Jason hit him home and Joseph crossed home plate”—she shakes her head remembering—“I cried for the rest of the inning. It’s why when Jason told me he wanted to start The Lineup, I begged him to hire me.”

Surprised, I say, “You head up the foundation?”

She nods. “Yes, and I couldn’t think of a better job. It’s taken up a lot of my time, especially getting everything started, but it’s been worth it.”

“Did you put this event together?” I ask, glancing around the ballroom space, impressed with how the space is laid out, offering enough room to mingle and talk, but with relevance to the event everywhere you look, so as an attendee, you don’t forget why you’re here.

“Yup. Thankfully Jason gave me all the power when it came to the fundraiser setup, he just had a hand in the game. If it were up to Jason, I’m sure it would have been way more fancy than this, which would have sucked money away from our goal.”

“Jason, fancy?” I ask.

Natalie rolls her eyes. “When it comes to food, he’s very particular. I’m pretty sure when he retires from baseball, he’ll go back to college to earn a degree in culinary arts.” She glances around me, I guess feeling safe about her distance from him and says, “Ever hear him boast about his potato salad?”

“Not directly from him, but I did see him post about it on Instagram.”

Natalie dramatically rolls her eyes, and it’s fucking cute. She leans in and levels with me. “You did not hear this from me, do you understand?”

Loving the fact that this girl, who’s captured my attention, is already trusting me to hold a secret, I emphatically say, “Of course.”

Coming a little closer, offering me the sweet scent of her perfume, she says, “We had a secret vote a few months back, and between our family, including grandparents, we all voted, and my version of the best potato salad ever was the winner.”