The Trade(9)

I nod toward the discarded fisherman hat and the sunglasses Milly used to wear. “Snuck in quickly and came right here.”

“Why do you have that hat? I thought I got rid of it.”

“Carson mailed it to me.” I chuckle. “Thought I would want to keep it in case we ever need to remind you of how ridiculous you looked in it.”

“I really don’t like that you two are friends.”

I nudge her leg. “Don’t lie. You love that I’m good friends with your husband.”

“Not at times like this.” She crosses her legs on the couch and says, “Why are you here, bothering me on my break?”

From the side table, I pick up a bag of caramel M&Ms and chuck them her way. She easily catches them and grins. “Need some advice.”

“Oh?” She lifts a brow and opens the package, offering me a few. It’s the off season, I tend to relax on my diet for the rest of the year, but January one, I get back on my strict diet and start training heavily for spring training.

“Yeah, I . . . uh . . . I think I want to ask a girl out.”

Her brows shoot to her hairline and she almost chokes on an M&M in shock. After a few seconds of coughing, she asks, “Are you serious? Please tell me this isn’t a joke. I don’t think I could take it.”

“I’m dead serious.”

“Oh my GOD!” Milly squeals and claps her hands. Mind you, Milly is not that girl, the one who gets all squealy and excited over a love match. She saves the excited claps for baseball news and top-ten plays on ESPN. But, she’s also been on my case about putting myself out there and dating, so her reaction fits. “How did this happen? When? I need all the details.”

She sets the M&Ms to the side and scoots closer so she’s right next to me, eyes gleaming, ready for me to talk her ear off.

“I met her at Jason’s fundraiser.”

“Gah, really?” She looks to the side and I can see her trying to figure out who it was. “Do I know her?”

“Maybe.” I try to be coy, not wanting to tell her who it is just yet. I never pass up an opportunity to torture my little sister, especially since she loves torturing me with her off-speed pitch whenever we’re in the cages. “I’d never met her before, but she definitely caught my attention.” Thinking back to the event, I say, “She has the most gorgeous smile I’ve ever seen. Genuinely happy, not fake, not trying to be overtly pretty with it, just a genuine, beautiful smile. It was the first thing I noticed about her.”

“Oh God, that’s really sweet.” Milly clasps her hands together.

“And then she introduced herself.” I shake my head, remembering the way her hand fit so perfectly in mine. “She’s beautiful, but there’s more to her than her beauty. She really loves her family, like I do, and she has this lightness about her that shines through her voice when she speaks. She also has no problem joking around, and she’s made it quite clear she’s a Bobbie for life.”

“That’s my kind of girl,” Milly says unapologetically. “I like her already. So if you like her so much, why didn’t you ask her out at the event?”

“Because, she’s the sister of one of my teammates and I didn’t think it was appropriate at the time.” I wasn’t about to ask her out while she was still working. Didn’t seem right, especially since she seemed like she still had a lot going on even toward the end of the night.

“Oh, a sister of a player. Please don’t tell me it’s Maddox Paige’s sister, because pretty sure he would rip your head off before he even considered you going out with his sister.”

“Does he even have a sister?”

Milly shrugs. “No idea. I don’t Google-stalk Rebels players, as my hands are full with the Bobbies.”

I roll my eyes and say, “Well, it’s not Maddox Paige.”

“Then who is it?”

I look away, contemplating if I should say. What does it really matter? I want to get to know her either way. The cat will be out of the bag the moment I ask Jason for her number.

“Hey, you can tell me.”

“I know.” I sigh. “I really like her and it’s scary, because I only spent probably an hour max with her but within that hour, I felt a connection that I’ve never felt before with another human. It was almost as if we clicked, like we were two meandering puzzle pieces and we finally found each other.” Sardonically chuckling to myself, I add, “Hell, I don’t even know if she feels the same way. I could have perceived her interest in talking with me as her just being a nice human. But I felt like something was there and even though I don’t want to try to start a relationship with my life feeling out of control, I know I’d regret it if I didn’t at least ask her out on a date to see where her head was at. You know?”

“Then ask her out.”

She makes it seem so simple. Pushing my hand through my hair, I say, “I just hope Jason is cool with it.”

Milly pauses, her breath caught in her throat. “Jason Orson?”

“I know you’re not a Rebels fan, but you’re not that inept when it comes to the roster. You know there is only one Jason on the team.”

“So are you talking about Natalie?” Milly asks, a pinch to her brow.